Game blog: North Carolina beats Duke 19-6
North Carolina defensive end Donte Paige-Moss rings the Victory Bell after the Tar Heels defeated Duke 19-6 on November 7, 2009.
Nov 7, 2009
6:36 p.m., Thaddeus Lewis out: A couple personal foul late hits for Carolina here. The second one by Marvin Austin was really late and Lewis left after the play. Sean Renfree came in and thew a pick on his first pass attempt. The Tar Heels will run out the clock and win 19-6.
The Heels improve to 6-3 and 2-3 in the ACC. They have Miami at home, BC and N.C. State on the road to finish up. They need to win one more to qualify for a bowl. Duke falls to 5-4 and 3-2 in the conference. They need to win two out of their last three games to make it to a bowl. Georgia Tech, Miami and Wake Forest remain for Duke.
6:30 p.m., National college football day: The first Saturday of every November is National College Football Day. I'm not really sure what the day is about but it's only been going on for six years now. The day is supposed to recognize when Rutgers and Princeton played some 140 years ago in what was the first college football game. It's also raising awareness and raising money for the Jimmy V Foundation for cancer research.
6:27 p.m., Field goal for UNC: Barth tacks on a 33-yard field goal to take a 19-6 lead with 3:56 to play. The time of possession right now is about 36 minutes for UNC and 19 minutes for Duke. Duke's offense has not been able to stay on the field because they have rarely been able to get a first down.
6:18 p.m., Gotta pass now: Nothing is working for Duke. Robert Quinn came up with his second sack of the day. Those that knew the Heels defense would dominate this game - they were right. All the talk about Duke's air attack has been shut up. They have looked like a high school offense out here today. It's been really, really bad. They haven't come close to establishing any kind of rhythm on offense. Duke punts it and Carolina gets a huge return. This game is over.
6:15 p.m., Touchdown Carolina: We finally have a TD in the game. UNC knows how to do the WR end around. They run it to the right side with Jheranie Boyd. Now the Heels are on top 16-6 with just 6:57 left to play. The victory bell is almost Carolina's.
6:10 p.m., UNC pounding the football: A heavy dose of Ryan Houston on this drive has Carolina inside the 5 yard-line. Mike Ingersoll is in the game at offensive tackle. They announced before the game that he wouldn't play today with an injured back. The run game right now is working through Houston. He has 33 carries for 150 yards. That is some smash mouth football.
6:02 p.m., Duke misses 4th down try: Lewis threw an incomplete pass on 4th and 5 from the UNC 35 yard-line. With 13 minutes left in the fourth Carolina's offense goes back to work.
5:59 p.m., They run up the middle!: You're kidding me Duke! It's not working. Stop it.
You probably saw this on our website front page already but Shaun Draughn injured his shoulder and he is not coming back today.
5:52 p.m., Field goal, we go to fourth quarter: Carolina gets negative yards on the drive but connects on the field goal to go up 9-6. Duke has a huge return on the ensuing kick-off and picks up a late-hit penalty. Duke will start at the UNC 41 yard-line. I would love to see Kurt Roper's play calling improve for Duke. Take a freaking shot down the field on first down! Stop running it up the middle for a loss of yards!
5:49 p.m., Wait, UNC picks it right back!: This was a better return too. Charles Brown picked off Thad Lewis as he tried to squeeze it into Conner Vernon. Brown should have gone all the way for a TD but Re'quan Boyette got back and made the stop but not until a 53-yard return into the red zone.
5:46 p.m., Big play, Duke with the pick: A big momentum change here as Leon Wright comes up with his fifth interception of the season and runs it back for 30 yards. Vinny Rey tipped the ball up as Yates tried to go to Greg Little. That play was all defense. The Sideline really got pumped up after it to. In a game like this that could be huge.
5:41 p.m., Maybe a fumble: Greg Little caught a first down pass and he appeared to fumble at the end of the play. The call on the field was no fumble and Duke challenges it. There is no really good replay angle to show where the knee was, officials go with the call on the field - no fumble.
Wes Chesson over to my left in the Duke radio booth has developed a habit of slamming his fist down on the press table. He's gonna break that table before the night is done.
5:39 p.m., Nothing for Duke: They don't take a shot, they run the ball twice and get stuffed for a huge loss the second time, then throw an incompletion on 3rd down. Duke gets small win with a nice punt and a personal foul called on UNC. Puts Carolina back at their own 24 yard-line to start. They won some field position back.
5:33 p.m., Take a shot Duke!: The Blue Devils supposedly have this great FedEx air attack. But they have not even attempted a long pass play. I seriously can't remember Lewis throwing even a 20-yard route today. They need to start or they will lose. It's 6-6 with eight minutes to go in the third.
5:31 p.m., Jones drops a TD: This was as good a throw as T.J. Yates is going to make. He looked to have a 37-yard TD pass to Dwight Jones. Jones had one-on-one coverage on a go route in the end zone. He turned around at the goal line and the ball bounced right off his hands/chest. Should have caught it. Yates isn't going to put the ball on the money that often.
5:27 p.m., Trickery: A dangerous trick play for Carolina here. They run a hook-and-ladder and it only goes for 11 yards or so and it was deep in their own end. I like my trick plays to get big yards. This didn't develop but they did execute. Highsmith caught it and pitched it back to Little.
5:22 p.m., UNC defense holds: The Carolina defense gets off the field but Thaddeus Lewis had two huge runs up the middle. Duke did the job to flip the field position.
5:20 p.m., Good start: The Duke radio crew is right to my left through a pane of glass. The color analyst Wes Chesson slammed his fist down when Duke got called for holding on a nice return play. Easy Wes...
5:15 p.m., The numbers: This game is boring me out of my mind. There have only been 16 first downs in this game. Duke only has 82 yards of total yards. They have negative four yards on the ground. UNC only has 139 yards of offense, most coming on the ground with 81 yards. Ryan Houston is the leading offensive player with 62 yards on 14 carries. Deon Thompson said to get him the ball 18 times. I think he may get close to 30 if things keep going this way.
4:57 p.m., Game tied at halftime: Maggio kicks in another chip shot as Duke ties it at six going into the break. Duke only took one shot at the end zone and it wasn't even close. This game isn't doing it for me! I need some points!
4:55 p.m., Two tries here: Duke got a break and got a first down on a defensive holding penalty. The Blue Devils have 11 seconds with the ball at the 8 yard-line. I think it's time for two shots at the end zone.
4:49 p.m., Guts: Duke ran it right up the gut with Jay Hollingsworth. All he got was the necessary yard to get the first down. But David Cutcliffe showed guts there. The drive stays alive as Duke will try to take the lead before halftime. There is under a minute left in the half.
4:46 p.m., I'm a Tar Heel: And again running up the middle does not work. I haven't seen Duke have a single run more than 2 yards. Lewis has also made his share of bad throws and throws to nobody.
The I'm a Tar Heel video spot is always a crowd energizer in the stadium. The powder blue loves to listen to all the famous athletes tell everyone that they'll always be a Tar Heel. Julius Peppers, MJ and now Lawrence Taylor round out the video. It gets the fans pumped up.
Duke has a 4th and 1 from the Tar Heel 30 yard-line. They are going for it.
4:34 p.m., Vernon back in: Conner Vernon is back on the field for Duke so that is a good sign for the offense. Duke only picks up one first down here and then the offense sputters. I think the Blue Devils need to do like the N.C. State game and throw it every play. The QB sneaks and the slow developing run plays will not work on this defensive front. They are two fast, strong and athletic.
4:26 p.m., Bend don't break: The Duke defense seemingly can't stop the run. Every play seems to be good for five yards. When Carolina tries to throw that's when things don't work. Yates was just 4-11 passing for 30 yards in the first quarter. But Duke holds in the red zone and UNC gets just a short field goal on this latest drive. It's 6-3 Carolina in the second quarter.
Your Vegas odd for this game was Carolina by 10. The over-under was 44.5 points. It's looking good for the under right now.
4:22 p.m., Draughn not in there: A couple series ago Shaun Draughn left the field and headed to the locker room for observations. We'll update you on his status when we hear something. For now its going to be a whole lot of smashing with Ryan Houston. UNC on this drive got a big 16 yard catch on a 3rd and nine play from Dwight Jones.
4:14 p.m., I would have gone for it: Duke settled for a short field goal to tie the game at 3. They had at 4th and a little under a yard to pick up a 1st and goal. You are on the road, playing your rival, needing to get your offense some confidence. But that's just me. The defense also just held UNC to two straight 3 and outs. Also something confusing as Nick Maggio kicked it for Duke. He's the back-up kicker. Snyderwine for them was the ACC specialist of the week. He made five field goals last week.
4:10 p.m., Duke blocks a punt: After UNC does nothing with the football it has its punt blocked. Duke is going to have the football at the 30 yard-line. Jordan Byas blocked it and recovered it. He came right up the gut untouched. Big special teams play for the Blue Devils.
3:59 p.m., Duke defense makes a stop: Fans wanted a pass interference call on this latest 3rd down play for UNC. It looked like the Duke cornerback got in the receiver's grill but Yates was under pressure and he didn't deliver a catchable ball. So no flag was thrown and UNC punts it away.
Crowd today is very good. It looks like a capacity crowd in here. I can't see the south side of the field because I am above it, but the north side is completely full.
Scary moment for Duke here as Conner Vernon got drilled by Bruce Carter. He was down for a while and had to be helped off the field. The freshman WR may be Duke's best weapon this year. He was rookie of the week for his play at Virginia last week. He had over 100 yards receiving and caught the winning TD. Hopefully he just had the wind knocked out of him. Duke goes 3 and out again.
3:51 p.m., New Kenan: The athletics department is in the midst of raising money and renovating this stadium. They already finished the west end-zone project which included a fifth floor addition and some remodeling of the football offices and team space. The east end-zone project is being financed right now. I talked to athletics director Dick Baddour about it a month ago or so and they have to sell tickets and get the financial support before they break ground. The plan is to put in the "Blue Zone" premium seating area. It will add about 3,000 seats to the total capacity. It also includes a new student-athlete center for excellence. Currently in that end-zone there is the video-board and a really crummy old building behind it. Check out www.newkenan.com for a look at all the plans.
Carolina offense has crossed mid-field here again.
3:49 p.m., UNC defense holds: Duke offense does nothing. Carolina defense gets a 3 and out to start the game. Robert Quinn had a sack and a forced fumble that Duke recovered. Carolina offense will go back to work already with a 3-0 lead early in the game.
3:43 p.m., Carolina tacks on a FG: A ten play 53-yard drive to start the game for UNC. They got some help with a roughing the passer 15-yard penalty too. But they established the run with Draughn and Houston and the moved the chains a few times. Carolina is still not very good in 3rd and long situations and that's how Duke finally got the stop.
3:33 p.m., Tar Heels receive it, key players out: UNC offense will start first. Center Lowell Dyer is not playing with an illness. Also a surprise loss as RT Mike Ingersoll will not play. He wasn't even listed on the injury report this week. Brennan Williams, a freshman, will get his first career start today. He is a 6-7 285 pounder from Massachussetts.
It's game time!
3:18 p.m., Basketball players are here: I talked some football with Deon Thompson after last night's exhibition win over Belmont Abbey. He was awesome with 23 points on 11 of 12 shooting. Thompson said the whole team planned on coming over to the game today. He said that one of the keys to this game is getting Ryan Houston some more touches. Give him the ball around 18 times or so. Thompson also agreed with me that the winner of this game will probably go to a bowl game and the loser probably will not. I also saw Roy Williams after the game asking some friends if they were heading out to the football game, so you know he's here supporting Butch Davis. There's no doubt this is a big important game for both sides.
My prediction is that North Carolina wins this game 28-24. I think the offense is going to be game enough to provide a few TD scoring drives on Duke's defense. And the UNC defense today is going to be jazzed up and better than anything Thaddeus Lewis has seen all year....by a long shot.
2:43 p.m., Great game coming: All things about this game are great for football in the triangle. For a while it was looking like this entire football season for all three schools was heading down the "jon". Now we have a game where the winner will be just a win away from bowl eligibility with three games left in the season. The winner SHOULD go to a bowl game.
My god it's a great day for college football. I left the apartment at 1 p.m. and leaves are falling, the air is cool and it's the perfect day for college football. It's 65 degrees and clear. I wouldn't even mind if it dropped into the 50's.
I wrote in the story header that both teams haven't entered a game with winning records since 1994. That year both teams were ranked in the Top 25. UNC was 7-3 and Duke was 8-2. Carolina won the game 41-40 at Wallace Wade. Octavus Barnes caught the winning TD pass with two minutes left in the game. He had 6 grabs for 165 yards and a 48 yard TD pass. Nice fantasy game. He works at UNC now and he even joined "The Insiders" on The Fan before the UNC-FSU game a couple Thursdays ago.
I'm going to get some food.
