There’s nothing wrong with the Hurricanes that a 9-game win streak and a long-awaited coronation as ACC champions wouldn’t cure.

That’s the wildly optimistic view for the Canes (2-2), who are in the midst of a bye week before playing host to North Carolina in Miami’s ACC opener at 4 p.m. ET on Oct. 8.

The realistic view is that the 2022 Canes so far have not shown to be capable of such a monumental run.

Their offense was anemic at Texas A&M, and Miami got embarrassed at home by mid-major Middle Tennessee State.

Worse yet, there’s a potential quarterback controversy at Miami, where starter Tyler Van Dyke has regressed.

Van Dyke, projected prior to this season as an NFL first-round pick for 2023, has struggled in 3 straight opening halves, including Southern Miss in addition to Texas A&M and Middle Tennessee State.

Against Middle Tennessee State, Van Dyke’s first 2 passes were intercepted, and he was benched after completing 16 for 32 for 138 yards, 1 touchdown and the 2 picks.

Van Dyke missed open receivers on several occasions. But, to be fair, his receivers also have dropped quite a few well-thrown balls.

Second-year freshman Jake Garcia replaced Van Dyke during the 3rd quarter and was electric right away. Garcia came in and led Miami to an immediate touchdown, including a terrific deep throw to Key’Shawn Smith for 39 yards.

Overall, Garcia completed 10 of 19 passes for 169 yards with no interceptions. He led Miami to a pair of touchdowns.

So, now what?

Coach Mario Cristobal, predictably, wouldn’t way who will start against UNC, but he did praise Garcia.

“Jake provided some big plays,” Cristobal said. “He threw the ball well, created opportunities for us to score. He did a really good job.”

Of Van Dyke, Cristobal said: “He’s a great player. We have a great competitor in him.”

Rather than criticize Van Dyke, Cristobal provided reasons/excuses – depending on your perspective – for his struggles.

“There’s a scheme change (with the new coaching staff),” Cristobal said. “It’s different. And there’s about 65% of his receiving production from last year gone (to graduation). Then there’s the injury to Xavier (Restrepo).

“We have to do a better job of setting (Van Dyke) up for success. It feels like (our passing game) has regressed, and we’ve got to do a better job.”

It’s noteworthy that Van Dyke – who is 1-2 against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents this year – also got off to a slow start last season. In fact, he lost his first 2 starts to FBS teams last season – 30-28 to Virginia and 45-42 at North Carolina.

The Canes and Van Dyke got on a roll after that, winning 5 of their final 6 games, all against ACC teams.

Then again, Miami scored at least 28 points in all 9 of Van Dyke’s starts last year. That’s what made Miami’s 9-point effort against Texas A&M so jarring, and losing at home to a mid-major the next week has made the situation far worse.

Van Dyke in 2022 was especially effective throwing deep, unbothered by the blitz.

This year, only 7 of Van Dyke’s 118 passes have gone longer than 20 yards in the air, according to Pro Football Focus, and PFF said his throws against pressure have been his lowest-graded tosses.

Garcia, meanwhile, came in firing, with the beautiful deep lob to Smith a prime example. Garcia also is 17-for-19 for 210 yards this year on throws up to 20 yards. That’s an impressive 89%, which compares favorably to Van Dyke’s 63% on those throws.

It’s a small sample size, however, and it would be a bold move by Cristobal to bench his NFL prospect quarterback 4 games into his 1st season as coach.

But, with a 10-year contract, Cristobal certainly has the job security to do it, and the bye week will give him more time to work Garcia with the starters if that is the route he chooses.