UNC and Duke tangle for Victory Bell

by Sharon Thorsland

Well, it never fails – at some point during the football season I utter the words “wait ’til basketball.” It’s not often I have to do that just four games into the season, but after that utter debacle in Chapel Hill last week when North Carolina got blasted by JMU, here we are. Now the Tar Heels (3-1) will look to pick up the pieces against an arch rival, heading down Highway 54 to Durham to take on Duke. The Blue Devils are 4-0 on the year under new coach Manny Diaz and would like nothing more than to add salt to UNC’s wounds. Kick-off is set for 4:00 at Wallace Wade Stadium.

This game features Duke’s aggressive defense against UNC’s offense, which can put up plenty of points. The Blue Devils are tied for second in the nation with 15 sacks, and are number one averaging 11.5 tackles for loss per game. They’re stingy when it counts as well, allowing just 15.3 points per game. Senior linebacker Alex Howard is a stud, he leads the team in tackles and has three sacks. Safety Terry Moore has a team-high two interceptions. They’ll face a UNC offense that averages over 39 points per game but is now on its third quarterback in Jacolby Criswell. The offense runs through junior running back Omarion Hampton, who is fifth in the country averaging nearly 139 rushing yards per game and has six touchdowns.

The Blue Devils have a new quarterback in Texas transfer Maalik Murphy, who has thrown for over 1,000 yards with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions. His top target is receiver Jordan Moore, with three touchdowns and two 100-yard outings in the first four games. Moore teams with Eli Pacol, who has 15 catches, three of them going for touchdowns. Duke’s potent rushing attack from last season is no more, as leading rusher Jordan Waters left for NC State. The Blue Devils are managing just 104 rushing yards per game behind the duo of Jaquez Moore and New Mexico State transfer Star Thomas, who leads the way with 314 yards and two touchdowns. UNC ‘s defense looked like wet paper last week and will need to improve in a big way to have a chance in this one, even if Duke’s offense isn’t exactly intimidating.

This is the 110th match up between these rivals that are separated by just eight miles. North Carolina is riding a five game win streak in the series, winning a double overtime thriller in Chapel Hill last season. To keep the Victory Bell for another season, they’ll have to big time tighten up the defense after that atrocious showing performance last week. But UNC coach Mack Brown has never lost to Duke, with a 13-game streak on the line, and I don’t see that happening this week. Go Tar Heels!