Durham, N.C. –– It was a tale of two halves last night in Durham as Duke finally got the upper hand over their Carolina-blue hued foes.
North Carolina (3-2) relinquished ownership of the Victory Bell after choking a 20-point lead versus rival Duke (5-0) at Wallace Wade Stadium yesterday, marking the first time the Blue Devils have won the rivalry since 2018.
After an embarrassing loss to JMU last weekend, UNC got complacent in the second half and were out-coached and out-played the final two quarters, raising a lot of questions regarding the stability of the program.
The Tar Heels offense delivered a strong first half with quarterback Jacolby Criswell completing two touchdowns along with a Noah Burnette field goal. And the defense was disruptive, not allowing any points while the Devils were on offense, resulting in a 17-0 advantage going into halftime.
But their first half success was a fluke as they ultimately collapsed in the second, while Blue Devils quarterback Maalik Murphy eventually found his rhythm – finishing with 209 yards and one touchdown.
“The second half we had a really struggling drive with a couple of big plays to start which really bothered me,” UNC head coach Mack Brown said. “I thought we’d come out and take over the game to start the third quarter and we didn’t.”
Running back Star Thomas put two touchdowns on the board for Duke, the first of which came with 5:49 left in the third quarter which was a 29-yard pass from Murphy, the team’s first points of the night. UNC’s run game struggled as Omarion Hampton barely eclipsed 100 yards on the ground and no other running backs were able to take it in for a score.
Early in the fourth quarter, UNC’s red zone defense collapsed as Thomas forced his way in for a 2-yard rush into the endzone. He finished with 166 yards and 30 carries.
The go-ahead touchdown was scored in the final six minutes as receiver Peyton Jones ran in and gave his team the gift lead of the night, completing a successful rally-from-behind win.
“I’m in awe of our guys,” Duke head coach Manny Diaz said. “We talked about at halftime that we have a chance to do something legendary and that would take all of our belief.”
The comeback win was the second-largest in Duke football program history.
“Unlike last week, I thought they gave it everything they had and they tried and this was a great college football game that we came up short on,” coach Brown said. “I’m proud of their effort.”
Circumstances are grim for the Tar Heels and Criswell put it all on him saying that it was devastating to lose to Duke, something he’s never experienced before.
But there are more games to be played and North Carolina must figure out something soon ahead of their own homecoming versus the undefeated Pittsburgh next Saturday.