Battle for the Victory Bell: UNC Narrowly Wins Rivalry Game vs Duke

In a matchup that had a lot of ebb and flows, UNC was able to land the final blow to the Duke Blue Devils in a 38-35 win Saturday night. The game started off with a lot of action, as UNC took their opening possession down the field for a field goal. Then Duke answered with a touchdown drive of their own. UNC responded with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Drake Maye to Kamari Morales. The next 14 points would be scored by the Blue Devils. Riley Leonard took a quarterback draw 74 yards to the house, then Jaquez Moore put Duke up 21-10 with 1:38 left in the first half on a two-yard touchdown run. The Tar Heels were able to answer quickly before half with Maye connecting with Caleb Hood for six with 13 seconds remaining. After the win Mack Brown said that 2-minute and 1-minute offense is something that the Tar Heels practice often.

The third quarter belonged to the Tar Heels as Elijah Green would score two touchdowns runs – putting UNC up by 10 entering the final period. The momentum in the final period shifting to the Blue Devils early. Duke scored two touchdowns in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter to put Duke back on top. The Blue Devils had an opportunity to put the game out of reach after a Drake Maye fumble. Riley Leonard led the Blue Devils down the field, but penalties pushed them backward. The first penalty took Duke out of third and short and the second took the game-sealing touchdown off the board. Duke would then miss a 43-yard field goal attempt – giving UNC a final shot to win the game.

With 2:09 left, Drake Maye started the final possession with a 24-yard strike to J.J. Jones. Maye led UNC all the way down to the Duke 20, but the Blue Devils’ defense was able to force a 4th and 5. On fourth down Maye was able to connect with Josh Downs for 11 yards. On 3rd and goal, Maye rolled to the right and was able to find Antoine Green for a 8-yard touchdown pass. Green barely stayed inbounds, but after a long review the ruling on the field stood and UNC came out on top.

Next up for UNC is a match up with Pittsburgh on October 29th. Duke will travel to Miami on Saturday.