Miami's Mario Cristobal Knows Beating UNC Won't be Easy Task

North Carolina fans unfortunately figured out on Saturday against Syracuse that anything can happen in college football. The harsh reality is that this season's college football has been all over the place, and that's unlikely to change anytime soon. 

There's also reason to believe that North Carolina just might not be as talented as it has played for parts of the season. It's almost tough to get a feel for what the Tar Heels are on both sides of the football, as there are times when they look to be one of the better defensive teams in the country, while others have suggested that this is just about an average team on both sides of things.

Entering its biggest game of the season, North Carolina will have to figure some things out on both sides if it wants to save the year. 

Miami comes in as the No. 1-ranked team in America, and there's no debate that the Hurricanes at least deserve that No. 1 ranking. 

Miami enters this one after dominating both sides of the ball through the first two months of the regular season, now sitting at 7-0 overall and 5-0 in the ACC.

While there's a lot to like about what Miami has done on both sides of the ball, its head coach also knows there's no guarantee in this sport, especially this season.

"Nothing in college is surprising," Mario Cristobal said Monday, H/T SI. "You know, I say week in, week out because I do believe in, really good. 
And remember, to get into a conference championship, to get into the playoffs, teams have to, they need help from other teams, so they're not only playing against the teams; you’re playing against all the staffs that need you to lose.

"So that they can get it also. So the amount of share of information, the amount of work, the amount of good players on different rosters that show up, the amount of think that happened out of the blue, you, last minute, you, illness, the last minute that's in the family that where you lose a guy, maybe mentally, or physically can't be there, there's a lot of things that go into this, so you've got to come in every single time, ready to play your best, if not, you're putting a win at risk.”

North Carolina would need a miracle to make the ACC title game, but it's still bowl-eligible and will get even closer if it comes away with a win. 

Even if it doesn't win the ACC, this could be a program-changing win against a Miami squad that looks to be taking over college football after what it's done over the past two seasons.

North Carolina is a heavy underdog in this game, and not many are expecting it to win, but it's going to have a chance to do so if it can play well on both sides of the football.