CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- Miami's largest margin of victory over a Power Five opponent in the last 13 years came in last season's meeting against North Carolina with a 47-10 win.

It has only been one game, but this year's Tar Heels look much different than last year's two-win team when they pulled off a come-from-behind 24-20 win over South Carolina in their opener.

"It's what you would expect, a new program, a new culture, very similar to us where you see players that aren't burdened by the ghosts of the past," Miami first-year head coach Manny Diaz said. "If they can play like that, their demeanor and toughness was very upbeat and positive, which is all what is to be expected."

The Hurricanes must be wary of the new look-Tar Heels guided by Mack Brown to avoid their first 0-2 start since 1978 after dropping 24-20 to Florida in their opener when the two teams square off on Saturday (8:00 p.m., ACC Network) in front of a sell-out crowd in Chapel Hill.

Brown and Diaz will be on the same field together since Brown fired Diaz after two games into the 2013 season while at Texas with Brown taking over at North Carolina in the offseason.

"He had won a lot of games and they had a lot of success winning a lot of games," Diaz said of Brown. "At times when you win and you get on one of those runs like what Texas had for a while, it can look easy. It is never easy. So you learn, like from every head coach, a little bit of the ins and outs of the program and some of the things that make him successful and you get a chance to chose from some of those and incorporate them into your program."

Miami (0-1, 0-0 ACC) and North Carolina (1-0, 0-0) are meeting for the 16th consecutive season as conference foes since Miami joined the ACC with Miami leading 8-7 including winning the last two.

"The first thing you look at is their defense," Brown said. "They're an old-timey Miami defense. Maybe the best set of linebackers in the country; if not, they're in that group. Those two guys (Shaquille Quarterman and Michael Pinckney) are all over the field...and when you look at those guys, they're so impressive. They've got really good pass-rushers on the edge. I mean, they're so talented from top to bottom. (Trajan) Bandy's one of the best corners I've seen. He's very, very impressive."

Miami's defense will be looking to stop the run after going 1-6 in games where they allowed their opponents to rush for at least 140 yards. The only win was against North Carolina, which ran for 215.

North Carolina rushed for 238 yards against South Carolina, which was the third-most in the ACC in the first week.

"They do what they do well, the same thing they did last year," Quarterman said. "They're going to run the ball. They really like their backs so they're going to do everything they can to keep the ball in their playmakers' hands. It always starts with the run. If they can open up the run, they can open up a lot of things."

Miami's defense ranks third in the ACC against the run as they allowed 50 yards to Florida.

While the running game could dictate who has the leg up in the game, all eyes will be on a pair of freshman quarterbacks making their second career starts with redshirt freshman Jarren Williams (19 of 30 for 214 yards and a touchdown) leading Miami and true freshman Sam Howell (15 of 24 for 245 yards and two touchdowns) guiding the Tar Heels.

Williams was sacked 10 times, but says he will have a better understanding of the pressure against the Tar Heels, who recorded three sacks.

"I would say really my pocket presence (has improved since last game), not watching the rush," Williams said. "Every play you've got to keep your eyes down the field. If you have to run, you can run. When you watch the rush you tend to run out the pocket when you can step up and make the throw. I've been making that a point of emphasis this week of not watching the rush, just keeping my eyes on my progressions and getting the ball downfield to my receivers."

North Carolina should have a good understanding of what to expect from Miami's offense line with Stacy Searels coaching in Chapel Hill after being at Miami the previous three seasons before he was let go by Diaz.

Diaz has an opportunity to get the better hand of Brown and Searels on Saturday, but more importantly he must prevent the Hurricanes from a disappointing start after a lackluster season in 2018.

Christopher Stock has covered the Miami Hurricanes since 2003 and can be reached by e-mail at stock@insidetheu.com and on Twitter @InsideTheU.