No. 1 Miami holds off North Carolina 38-35 in Chapel Hill to stay unbeaten

No. 1 Miami needed every point on Saturday night. The Hurricanes beat North Carolina 38-35 at Kenan Stadium to improve to 8-0, after the Tar Heels led twice in the second half and scored with 1:38 left to make it a three-point game.

Darian Mensah completed 22 of 29 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Mark Fletcher Jr. scored three times, on a 31-yard catch in the second quarter and on 2-yard runs in the third and fourth. Malachi Toney caught seven passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns, including the 9-yard score with 2:33 left that made it 38-28.

UNC kept answering. Billy Edwards Jr. went 28 of 34 for 341 yards and four touchdowns, two of them 8-yard throws to Jelani Thurman. His 16-yard touchdown to Jordan Shipp gave North Carolina a 21-17 lead early in the third quarter, and Demon June's 1-yard run put the Tar Heels back in front 28-24 with 11:46 to play. Fletcher answered with his go-ahead run with 7:49 left.

The play that decided it came two possessions later. Marquise Lightfoot sacked Edwards with 5:33 left, the ball came loose and Justin Scott recovered at the UNC 37, setting up Toney's touchdown. Lightfoot was in on three sacks, according to the ESPN play-by-play. That fumble was the only turnover of the game. After Edwards hit Trech Kekahuna for a 15-yard score with 1:38 left, Miami held on.

The teams were nearly even on paper. Miami outgained UNC 416 to 407, and North Carolina held the ball for 30:51. The difference was Miami's running game near the goal line and its pass rush late. UNC ran for 66 yards on the night.

Miami is 8-0 heading into November. North Carolina falls to 4-4.

What's next: Watch whether Miami holds the No. 1 spot after a three-point win over a .500 team. North Carolina has to find a pass rush answer after giving up three sacks in the fourth quarter alone.