No. 1 Hurricanes dodge upset, rally past Tar Heels to remain unbeaten — SkimNews
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- Miami Hurricanes defeated North Carolina 38-35, moving to 8-0 overall and 6-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play while remaining No. 1-ranked.
- Mark Fletcher Jr. scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 2-yard fourth-down run with 7:49 remaining, his third score of the night.
- Marquise Lightfoot stripped Illy Edwards Jr. on an attempted throw and Justin Scott recovered the fumble with 5:33 left, giving Miami the deciding takeaway.
- Elija Lofton caught the ball while leaping over a would-be tackler to move the chains, setting up Darian Mensah’s 9-yard scoring strike to Malachi Toney for a 38-28 lead.
- North Carolina fell to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the ACC and finished 0-12 against No. 1-ranked teams.
- Miami Hurricanes had to recover an onside kick in the final minute after two North Carolina recoveries were negated by penalties, as their defense struggled to get off the field throughout.
- Notre Dame is next for No. 5 Miami in a marquee road matchup scheduled for next week after the Hurricanes’ escape from North Carolina.
Why it matters: Miami preserves its No. 1 ranking and perfect 8-0, 6-0 ACC record while heading to next week’s road matchup with No. 5 Notre Dame; North Carolina falls to 4-4 and remains winless against No. 1 teams at 0-12. The defensive struggle that repeatedly prolonged the game also shows how narrow the escape was.
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