On one side of the ACC are 4 ranked teams and another in Florida State that just dropped out of the Top 25, all chasing the dominant force of Clemson for supremacy in the Atlantic Division.

And on the other side of the conference, Coastal Chaos is rearing its head again as mediocrity seems to be the theme in the division’s final year.

But with that mediocrity comes opportunity for anyone to grab a hold of the Coastal, which moves the spotlight this weekend to a game between North Carolina and Miami.

The Hurricanes were the overwhelming favorite to win the Coastal ahead of the season, garnering 98 of 164 1st-place votes for the division in the league’s preseason media poll. And while the Canes have yet to play an ACC game, they’re not looking like the force they were expected to be after an embarrassing home loss to Middle Tennessee State.

Elsewhere in the Coastal, things also have been muddied up. Pitt, picked to finish 2nd in the division, just lost at home to Georgia Tech. Virginia already is 0-2 in ACC play, while Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech sit at 1-1.

So as the season enters October, it’s North Carolina, Duke and Miami that remain in the Coastal without an ACC loss.

And now 2 of those teams will play each other this weekend in Miami, as the Canes look to show that despite the nonconference slip ups there’s no reason to believe they can’t still win the division. For the Tar Heels, the opportunity this weekend is one that Carolina can cement itself as a legitimate contender to make it to Charlotte.

But to do that, the Tar Heels have to carry over all the good they did in last weekend’s impressive 41-10 victory over Virginia Tech. For the first time this season, Carolina’s defense played well, limiting the Hokies to just 273 yards, 3.9 yards per play and just 10 points.

Even with that performance against the Hokies, Carolina’s defense still ranks last in the ACC in scoring, total defense and rushing defense, and only Clemson sits behind the Heels in passing defense.

Now against Miami, it’s time for the Tar Heels to prove beating the the Hokies wasn’t a fluke result against an abysmal offense, but instead a defense starting to put things together a little.

The Hurricanes’ offense definitely is better than Virginia Tech’s, but it hasn’t been flawless. Miami does rank 3rd in the ACC in total offense and is tied for 5th in scoring offense, but it’s still riding a big statistical boost from a 70-point, 586-yard performance Sept. 3 against Bethune-Cookman.

In the Sept. 24 loss to Middle Tennessee State, the Hurricanes had just 367 yards of offense and averaged 4.1 yards per play. Only 60 of those yards came on the ground, and the air attack was shaky as Tyler Van Dyke was switched out midgame for Jake Garcia.

Miami’s offense is trending in the wrong direction. Carolina’s defense is trending in the right direction, even if the sample size is just a game against Virginia Tech. Saturday in Miami, the Heels have to show some resistance on that side of the ball again, not as much as they did this past weekend but certainly more than during the first 4 games of the season.

And as Carolina’s defense gets tested, there’s a new test for the Heels’ high-flying offense as well. Drake Maye and company have been fantastic, but they also haven’t faced a true Power 5 test away from home.

The trip to Miami will be its first road trip of the season against a Power 5 team, which means the first for Maye as a starter. Yes, the Heels went to Boone, N.C., and beat Appalachian State in a raucous, but small, environment. And yes, Miami hasn’t necessarily been filling Hard Rock Stadium to the brim with passionate fans.

But there’s still a challenge in any ACC road game, especially for a young quarterback facing a defense that got gashed by Middle Tennessee State but is having a really strong season apart from that game. For Maye, and other young players in the offense like Omarion Hampton, it’s time to show up again.

The Coastal Chaos is reigning supreme, and Carolina is in a prime position to reap the benefits. The Tar Heels absolutely can win the division, there’s no denying that. But if they’re going to prove they truly are contenders, it’ll start Saturday afternoon against a Hurricanes team that is desperate for something to go right.