3 takeaways from Duke’s stunning comeback win against rival North Carolina
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DURHAM, N.C. – If there’s one thing North Carolina and Mack Brown could always count on, even when times are tough, it’s beating rival Duke and retaining possession of the Victory Bell.
Not anymore.
The Blue Devils’ added to Brown’s recent misfortune by roaring from behind Saturday, setting off a field-storming celebration by beating the Tar Heels 21-20 at Wallace Wade Stadium.
Brown had won all 5 meetings against Duke since returning for his 2nd tenure in Chapel Hill and hadn’t lost to the Blue Devils since 1989. Those streaks came to a stunning end with a dramatic turnaround from one half to another.
UNC appeared to bounce back from last week’s 70-50 embarrassment against James Madison by dominating the first 2 periods. But its 17-0 halftime quickly evaporated as Duke outgained the Tar Heels 287-197 over the final 2 quarters.
The Blue Devils took their 1st lead on a 5-yard touchdown run by Peyton Jones with 5:42 remaining, then sealed the deal with a game-saving interception by Tre Freeman in the final minutes.
Here are 3 takeaways from the win that improves Duke to 5-0 and could spell the beginning of the end for UNC’s Hall of Fame coach:
Duke’s Star is shining
UNC’s Hampton is the premier running back in the ACC. But Duke has a Star of its own in the backfield. And the transfer from New Mexico State has been shining of late.
Star Thomas followed up his 2 previous 100-yard efforts in a Blue Devils’ wins against Conn and Middle Tennessee State with an even more impressive performance against the Tar Heels. Thomas outgained Hampton 166-103 while scoring 2 of his team’s 3 touchdowns.
He was the workhorse that led the 2nd half charge that helped Duke erase a 17-point halftime deficit by picking up 122 of his rushing yards and all 45 of his receiving yards during the final 2 periods. Thomas began the comeback by turning a harmless swing pass into a 29-yard score with 5:29 left in the 3rd period. He then began gouging UNC’s tiring defense with punishing runs between the tackles, turning short runs into big gains with yards after contact.
Thomas took another chunk out of the Tar Heels’ lead with a 2-yard run early in the 4th quarter before setting up the go-ahead score by backup Peyton Jones with a 16-yard reception and a 19-yard run.
This time, the blocked punt worked in UNC’s favor
For the 2nd straight week, the Tar Heels’ Tom Maginness had a punt blocked. But unlike last Saturday, when JMU returned the block for a touchdown that helped catapult them on to a lopsided victory, this special teams breakdown actually benefited UNC.
With the Tar Heels leading 17-0 midway through the third quarter, Duke finally showed some signs of life when Vincent Anthony Jr. came in off the edge and got his hands on Maginness’ punt.
Break for the Blue Devils, right?
It would have been had Ryan Smith left the ball alone. But the graduate defensive end didn’t. He tried to pick it up. When he dropped it, the ball became live, allowing Will Hardy – whose interception clinched a victory in UNC’s most recent to Wallace Wade Stadium – to fall on it.
Instead of Duke taking over inside the Tar Heels’ 30-yard line with an opportunity to get back in the game, UNC retained possession and eventually drove for a field goal that increased its lead.
Hampton is a weapon, even when he doesn’t carry the ball
Hampton surpassed the 100-yard mark for the 3rd time in 4 games by running for 103 yards on 29 carries. But the ACC’s leading rusher isn’t just dangerous in the ground game. He also caught 4 passes for 50 yards against the Blue Devils, including a 37-yarder that set up UNC’s 2nd touchdown of the day, just before halftime.
The junior running back is such an important piece to the Tar Heels’ offense that he’s able to make meaningful contributions even when he doesn’t get the ball.
One such instance came early in the game. With UNC leading 3-0 and facing a 4th-and-1 play from the Duke 24, the Blue Devils loaded up in the middle anticipating a Hampton carry. In this case, though, he was only the decoy. And when Duke bit on the play fake to him, wide receiver JJ Jones was left wide open for Criswell to hit for a walk-in touchdown.
Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.
