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CHAPEL HILL -- Ask Butch Davis whether there's any added significance to leading North Carolina against Miami, and you'll probably be disappointed with the response.

"To be honest with you, not particularly," said Davis, a former Miami coach.

Still, it's clear that while Davis is all about the present, his six years as the Hurricanes' coach play an integral part in how he tries to lead the downtrodden Tar Heels back to the prominence they enjoyed a decade ago.

And with Miami arriving today in Chapel Hill, he knows that a victory would help his young team immensely as it fights through a difficult midseason schedule.

There's plenty to play for in the ACC for both teams. Miami (4-1, 1-0) is closing the easiest part of its league schedule, and North Carolina (1-4, 0-2) is trying to end a four-game losing streak. But the story line of Davis facing Miami and former assistant coach and player Randy Shannon makes for more interesting fare, even if Davis doesn't seem all that interested in talking about it.

When Davis took over at Miami, the team was hindered by NCAA sanctions that limited scholarships for his first three seasons, but he gradually brought the Hurricanes back to the nation's elite. Davis went 51-20 while leading Miami to three Big East championships and four bowl victories.

His last team went 11-1 and finished ranked No. 2 nationally in 2000 after winning the Sugar Bowl. Then, after Davis left to coach the Cleveland Browns, his former players went unbeaten in 2001 and won a national title.

Davis said coaching the Tar Heels against Miami would be different than when N.C. State first-year coach Tom O'Brien led the Wolfpack against his former Boston College team earlier this season.

"He walked on the field, and virtually every single player on the team were kids he'd been in their homes and recruited them," Davis said. "I've been gone from Miami now for six years, so it's all new players."

Shannon seemed to feel the same way.

"It isn't me against Butch or the University of Miami against Butch," Shannon said. "This is a different team than when coach Davis was here.

"I know coach Davis. I know maybe six other guys on his staff, and we're friends and we communicate. But this football game is just a regular football game. We've got to come out prepared. They've got to come out prepared. And the best team will win."

Davis refuses to compare the challenges of rebuilding North Carolina to the job he did at Miami. But his success with the Hurricanes clearly has bolstered his reputation as a proven winner who was part of Super Bowl teams as an assistant with the Dallas Cowboys and a national title winner as an assistant to Jimmy Johnson at Miami during the 1980s.

That's more than enough to get his players' attention.

"He talks sometimes about it, about how it was when he first got to Miami and how they changed it around and how he wants it to be here at North Carolina," said freshman defensive tackle Marvin Austin.

"You might want to listen to him when he talks about how to get to the next level."