UNC Dominates Duke in Battle for Victory Bell

The coveted Victory Bell, retained by the winner of the annual Duke vs UNC football game, will stay put, as the Tar Heel defeated the Blue Devils 38-7.

If you just watched the first quarter, you’d think we’d be in for a defense battle between these two Tobacco Road foes, but a 75 yard touchdown from UNC quarterback Sam Howell to Ty Chandler with seven seconds remaining in the period and a Gunner Holmberg fumble returned for a touchdown by Tar Heel cornerback Ty Morrison on the next possession, took all the wind out of Duke’s sail. The Blue Devils did score on the 1st play out of halftime on a 80 yard touchdown from Holmberg to Jalon Calhoun, but that would be all of the points the stingy Tar Heel defense would give up.

“We played our best defense of the year and maybe since we’ve been here. I’m really, really proud of those guys,” UNC head coach Mack Brown said after the win. “Two turnovers and sacks made them change their game plan for the second half. Offensively it was a frustrating day in some ways and we still scored 38 points. I felt like the bad thing was that it was great play, bad play and that’s not what we want.”

“Proud to win, Brown continued. This is an important game for us. It’s important to bounce back”

The Blue Devils, who have been undefeated since their season opening loss to Charlotte, were disappointed with the outcome.

“Obviously I think everyone in that locker room is disappointed,” Duke head coach David Cutcliffe said after the loss. “Anyone who is a Duke football fan, certainly there is a lot of disappointment. Where I look at it from my perspective, we had some good football that we played. But, the inconsistencies, the penalties, the turnovers, the assignment issues that can happen at times, I have to own them. That’s all on the head coach. When you have a disciplined football team, that’s in everything that you do every day. When you are getting those types of inconsistent results, that is the thing you can’t run from. I have to own it and run to it. Now, they have to own their end of this. They have to be where their feet are every day. We carried the fight to them to start this football game but it is not enough when you stop yourselves and go backwards.”

Next up the Tar Heels will face Florida State in Chapel Hill and the Blue Devils will take on Georgia Tech in Durham.

Game Notes:

• UNC improves to 64-40-4 all-time vs. Duke, including 33-19-2 at home against the Blue Devils (23-16-2 at Kenan Stadium). The Tar Heels have won the last three games overall against Duke and four of the last five against the Blue Devils in Chapel Hill.

• The seven points were the fewest allowed by Carolina against Duke since a 19-6 Tar Heel win in 2009, a win that was later vacated. Excluding that game, the seven points are the fewest by Duke since a 38-0 UNC win 1999.

• The Tar Heels have out-scored the Blue Devils by 32 (56-24 in 2020) and 31 points in the last two games.

• Sam Howell completed 18 of 32 passes for 321 yards and three touchdowns. He has thrown for 300 or more yards in four straight games, the longest streak of his career, and has 13 300+ passing-yard games in his career.

• Mack Brown is now 11-2 against Duke. Brown has won his teams’ last 11 games against the Blue Devils. The streak includes games from 1990-97 and continued with victories in 2019, 2021 and 2021. 

• Holmberg finished 17-of-24 passing for 184 yards and one score.

• Senior RB Mataeo Durant opened the game with a 37-yard rush on Duke’s first offensive play. It was his fourth rush of 35+ yards this season. Durant finished with 19 carries for 114 rushing yards. He now sits at 1,957 career rushing yards, ranking 10th in program history. Durant is one of six players all-time at Duke with seven-plus 100-yard rushing games, the first since Chris Douglas did so 2001-03.
  

• Junior WR Jalon Calhoun caught a pass from Holmberg for an 80-yard score to open the second half, Duke’s longest scoring play of the year and the 10th longest in program history.