Heel Tough Blog: Duke Recap
Billy’s first words were “Beat Duke” and he did just that on Saturday. After racing out to a 17-0 lead in the first half, the Tar Heel offense fell silent, allowing Duke to storm back and take a 20-17 lead with 4:39 to go in the game. The offense would respond with their first scoring drive since the middle of the second quarter, capped by a 24-yard touchdown run by Jaylen McGill with 1:53 remaining which gave the Tar Heels the lead back. The defense would concede some yards, but on 3rd & 14 from the UNC 34, Duke quarterback Walker Eget would float one over the head of his intended receiver straight into the hands of the diving Kenton Dopson III to seal the game with :14 remaining. Here is a look at our biggest takeaways from another heart pounding edition of this rivalry that gave the Tar Heels the Victory Bell back.
Running Game Responds
The Tar Heel running game was basically non-existent in the games against Notre Dame and Pittsburgh, but they responded on Saturday. It started up front, where the offensive line as a whole was firing off the ball and getting more push against the Blue Devils than they did in the previous two games. The running back room deserves a ton of credit, as well, especially with the fact that starting running back Benjamin Hall went down with an injury on the first drive of the day. In his place, Demon June saw more carries, but it was McGill who shined the most throughout the day, as he ran for 75 yards and 6.3 yards per carry on 12 rush attempts and found the end zone for the game-winning score. The team finished the day with 135 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on 39 carries against a run defense that was allowing just 84.0 rushing yards per game coming in. With lesser run defenses on the horizon for the Tar Heels, the hope is that they can rely on this unit the way they did at times today moving forward.
Defense Makes the Important Plays Once Again
This defense had a lot on their shoulders once again on Saturday, especially after the first three offensive drives and once again made the stops when they had to. It started with a big tackle on 4th down deep in Tar Heel territory when Greg Smith brought Duke running back CJ Campbell down inches short of the line to gain to keep it a 17-0 lead at the time. Duke kicked the second half off with a long 19-play drive that took 8:06 off the clock, but it was the Tar Heel defense that bowed up to hold the team to a field goal to close out the drive. The defense would follow a similar recipe on Duke’s first possession of the 4th quarter as they held them to a field goal after Duke got great field position off a short punt. It wasn’t until Duke's penultimate drive of the game that the defense would concede a touchdown, but they would respond in a big way on that final drive. After not getting much pressure at all on Eget throughout the afternoon, linebacker Peyton Seelmann would force an intentional grounding penalty on a blitz that would put Duke behind the chains. The biggest play of the day, though, came from Dopson, who made the diving play to officially give the program the Bell back. This defense may bend, but it does not break in important situations, which is why this team is now 4-2.
Depth Continues to Show Out
Injuries have forced the Tar Heels to count on their depth pieces more than they probably want to, but those guys stepped up once again on Saturday. McGill, who had played just eight offensive snaps a week ago against Pittsburgh, and Dopson, who was playing important snaps after Tre Miller’s severe injury last week, were the headliners because they made the biggest plays of the game, but there were plenty of other examples. Even though Isaiah Johnson returned to the lineup after a lower-body injury kept him out last week, Nicco Maggio was counted on to play significant reps again. In 45 snaps, he finished with two total tackles, including 1.0 tackle for loss, and got some nice push throughout the day. Coleman Bryson was another name that was forced to step up after an injury to Peyton Waters on the first defensive drive of the day. After struggling mightily in the Clemson game, Bryson bounced back with a solid performance where he finished with four total tackles and an important pass breakup that forced Duke to kick a field goal on the opening drive of the second half. True freshman offensive lineman Cristian Alvarez also deserves another tip of the cap for his efforts after playing every snap again and holding his own throughout the day. The Tar Heels have needed guys to step up with all of the injuries and boy have they.
Turnovers Nearly Cost the Tar Heels
Interceptions were the biggest issues for the Tar Heels in the previous two games, but it was fumbles that were the issue on Saturday. The Tar Heels were rolling in the first half when Jordan Shipp fumbled and it was recovered and returned for a touchdown by the Duke defense, giving them the momentum they needed to start the comeback. In the second half, there was a much more controversial fumble just when it looked like the Tar Heels were going to steal back that momentum. On a play where McGill was stacked up and his forward progress looked to be stopped, the refs failed to blow the whistle leading to the ball being ripped out of his hands and recovered by Duke. The one that felt like the nail in the coffin at the time, though, was the fumble of the snap on the punt attempt by Adam McCann-Gibbs in the 4th quarter. While it wasn’t recovered by Duke, he fell on it at the UNC 34, which set the Blue Devils up with great field position to eventually take the lead. In the end, the Tar Heels have won back-to-back games despite multiple turnovers, but this shouldn’t be counted on as something that is going to work every week.
This Was the Biggest Win of the Bill Belichick Era
There was a debate last week after the first ranked win of the Belichick era as to what the biggest win of the last two years was. After today, it’s hard not to place this atop the list. The crazy nature of this game is certainly a factor, but the biggest reason is because of the team that was on the other side. Despite missing a couple of starters, this Duke team was much the same as the one that got off to a 4-0 start to the season and was on the brink of being ranked. This is also the first in-state rivalry win for the Tar Heels under Belichick and comes against the team he mentioned by name in his introductory press conference. If you hadn’t bought in on the fact that things are different this season in Year 2 under Belichick prior to today, this should be the win that shows you that.
Bowl Eligibility Grows Closer and Thoughts of More Than That Starting to Happen
Today’s game marked the midpoint of the season for the Tar Heels and they sit just two wins away from bowl eligibility. While the Clemson loss may still be frustrating, it feels like Saturday officially puts that game in the rear view and the focus should be on what’s ahead. The remaining schedule still provides some tough tests, but it’s not looking nearly as difficult as it once was. Syracuse and UConn were games that we thought this team had a solid chance to win in preseason and they have become ones that the team should be heavily favored in. Louisville, who many thought could be an outside College Football Playoff contender is currently 4-3, while Virginia and NC State also look more gettable than they did preseason. Even Miami doesn’t feel impossible because of the fact that the game is in Chapel Hill and the history that the program has against the Hurricanes. Getting bowl eligible needs to be the focus right now, but it’s hard not to look at the schedule and feel like seven or eight wins could be a ceiling for this team after that win.
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