Butch Davis and his staff are teaching the University of North Carolina football team how to win.

That is a huge task that involves much, much more than just how to tackle and where to line up, and right now the Tar Heels’ progress is better measured in inches rather than feet.

“We could write a whole book on that,” Davis said. “Some is football related. Some is not football related. Some has to do with the preparation part of it, the watching film, studying, knowing your game plan, executing the fundamentals during the course of practice.

“Some of it comes from confidence of being in similar situations and having positive outcomes,” Davis said. “Experience is part of it. So many players on this team, they’re just struggling to be able to do the right thing. It’s a major accomplishment when they know their assignments. They just haven’t had enough opportunities. It comes. During this first year, there are no insignificant opportunities, whether it is games, practices, plays. Everything makes us better for the next week, the next season. It’s just building a body of work that you can pull upon.”

No. 17 Virginia Tech defeated the Tar Heels 17-10 on Saturday, but Davis said that UNC did progress.

“I thought (Saturday) in some respects was a positive step,” Davis said. “You’re not playing for second. You’re not playing for moral victories, but there were positive things. We ran the ball a little bit better. We did some good things on defense. When the defense was really challenged late in the ball game, they got three straight three-and-outs and gave us a chance to get back into the game.”

Carolina will need to take a leap ahead this week, as 4-1 Miami visits Kenan Stadium for a noon game on Saturday.

Davis coached at Miami as an assistant in the 1980s and as the head coach in the 1990s. He knows full well the kind of players the Hurricanes will bring to Chapel Hill.

“Miami has a very, very veteran, experienced football team,” Davis said, noting that 26 of the team's 44 starters and backups are seniors. "You can tell with the recruiting consistency during Larry Coker’s tenure, they retained a lot of those guys, and they are significant contributors.

“Their overall team speed, I don’t know that we’ll play a faster team this year.”

The Tar Heels will need to continue to develop their running game this week; otherwise, the Hurricanes’ pass rush will come after UNC quarterback T.J. Yates with no fear of reprisal.

“We have to do a better job of protecting T.J.,” Davis said. “Early in the year, we were able to capitalize on some good, solid protection. By the same token, T.J. has to understand it’s nice to hit home runs; it’s nice to get the big, deep throws. Sometimes you may need to go to your check downs; you may need to go to the second level of receiver.

“Quarterbacks, there is a clock that goes off in their heads,” Davis said. “They have to know. The more he plays, the greater he’ll grasp that concept. I love T.J.’s attitude. As a quarterback you have to be able to go through some growing pains.”

Carolina must play the rest of the season without cornerback Kendric Williams. He injured a knee against Virginia Tech and will miss the remainder of the season.

Jermaine Strong, a 5-10, 185-pound sophomore, filled in for Williams against Tech. Strong started toward the end of last season, so he has some experience. Freshman Charles Brown could also play there if needed. He usually plays as an extra defensive back in certain packages.

As for the rest of the team, Davis was pleased with how the players responded to his challenge last week to study more film on their own and get better prepared each week.

“It was indicative in our play,” Davis said. “We played better because we prepared better. There was an improvement in guys coming in and watching film. There was an improvement in the focus in practice. You’re only on the field for an hour and 45 to an hour and 55 minutes. You can’t waste any opportunities.

“You can tell their preparation and knowing their assignments from the meetings by how many times you have to repeat things in practice. You have a limited amount of practice. If you have 60 or 70 plays you are trying to cover in two hours and you have to run 20 of them over three or four times to get it right, you know there is not a lot of focus. You know there is not a lot of preparation prior to practice.

“Last week was one of the better ones, but it still has to improve. It has to continue to improve every single week so you cut down on the mental mistakes, so you cut down on breakdowns in pass protections, coverage units in kickoffs.”