‘We’ve got a spot waiting on it’: Losses to UNC leave Duke wanting for Victory Bell
Unheard of during the 1990s and early 2000s, Duke actually feels a void with the Victory Bell’s absence since late October 2019.
The trophy on wheels that remains in possession of the winner of the annual Duke-North Carolina football game had previously established a home in Duke’s Yoh Football Center.
“We have a perfect place down there right by our locker room, and I’ve enjoyed that when we’ve had it, it’s got a home,” Duke coach David Cutcliffe said. “It’s well in sight for our guys right by our training room between our training room and our locker room. And when that space is empty, it’s very noticeable.”
From 1990-2011, UNC won 21 of the 22 games, a streak so dominant the trophy could have been renamed “Carolina’s Victory Bell.”
Duke changed that in 2012 with a win beginning a stretch where the Blue Devils captured five of the seven games. That included three consecutive wins from 2016-18, the first time Duke had defeated UNC three times in a row since 1987-89 when Steve Spurrier coached the Blue Devils.
UNC took what has been a two-year possession of the trophy on Oct. 26, 2019, with a 20-17 win over the Blue Devils at Kenan Stadium. The Tar Heels emphatically retained it last Nov. 7 with a 56-24 rout of Duke at Wallace Wade Stadium, keeping it painted in their lighter shade of blue.
Reviewing that game footage in preparation for this Saturday’s noon game, while not enjoyable, has been equal parts instructional and motivational for the Blue Devils.
“Their scheme is their scheme,” Duke senior wide receiver Jake Bobo said. “They are going to play us how they played us last year so you have to go back and watch it. It’s painful to watch, to be honest with you. Obviously, hoping to have a different result this year.”
A much different result is needed to bring the Victory Bell back to Duke’s campus, where it’s not only visually but also audibly missing.
The frequent clanging became part of the Yoh Center’s soundtrack.
“You know it’s there,” Bobo said. “People outside of the program, when they are in the building, the football facility, they get to ring it. So when you are in there, you are hearing it. When it’s not there, you definitely know it. That spot is vacant. There’s no bells ringing.”
As Duke (3-1) turned from reviewing last Saturday’s 52-33 win over Kansas to preparing for UNC, Cutcliffe said the importance of getting the bell back to Durham wasn’t lost on his players.
“I didn’t have to bring it up,” Cutcliffe said. “They’ve already brought it up. They’re well aware. We’ve got older guys in our program that have rung it and it’s a big difference. Yeah, it’s an important part of the prize.”
The Blue Devils enter the game on a three-game winning streak while UNC (2-2), a preseason top-10 team in The Associated Press poll, fell out of the rankings after suffering a 45-22 loss at Georgia Tech last Saturday.
The nation’s sports books, though, are confident UNC will retain the Victory Bell. The Tar Heels are favored by three touchdowns (20.5 points) as of Wednesday. The spread was 18 points earlier in the week, a sign that bettors so far are confident UNC will win handily.
Bobo played as a freshman in the 2018 game with UNC, when Daniel Jones rushed for 186 yards and a touchdown while throwing for 361 yards and three scores in a 42-35 Blue Devils’ win.
He’s ready to ring the bell and return it to Duke’s campus.
“It’s been over there a little bit too long, in my opinion,” Bobo said. “We’ve got a spot waiting on it. Can’t wait to bring it back.”
This story was originally published September 29, 2021 at 1:34 PM.