‘I saw a lot of green grass.’ How Duke kicker Todd Pelino ran past UNC
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- Duke used a fake field goal; placekicker Todd Pelino scrambled 26 yards.
- Duke ran a fake kick on fourth-and-3 at UNC 27 with 2:26 left, flipping momentum.
- Pelino, a walk-on turned scholarship player, preserved lead and honored family.
Duke ran 76 plays Saturday in a 32-25 victory over North Carolina that had the Blue Devils keeping and merrily ringing the Victory Bell at Kenan Stadium.
But like many a football rivalry, there are single plays that stand the test of time, that fans like to recall and reminisce over in the years to come.
Something like Todd Pelino’s mad dash on a fake field goal.
Duke defensive tackle Aaron Hall said he calls the Devils’ placekicker “T Money,” saying, “Todd is money when he kicks that ball.”
But there Pelino was late in the fourth quarter, the ball under his arm, the end zone in sight.
“Knees up, ball high,” Hall said, smiling, critiquing Pelino’s running style.
The crazy thing about it: Pelino had never run the ball in his football career, at any level.
“It’s the first time in a football game I’ve ever had the ball in my hands,” Pelino said.
How Duke’s kicker became a ballcarrier
The Blue Devils trailed 25-24 late in the fourth quarter Saturday, having lost a two-touchdown lead to the surging Tar Heels, but had moved into field-goal range. Out came Pelino, who already had kicked a 33-yarder and also been involved in another critical play: a roughing-the-kicker penalty against UNC in the first half that resulted in Duke keeping the ball and scoring a TD.
On fourth-and-3 at the UNC 27, with 2:26 remaining in the fourth quarter, Pelino came out with holder Kade Reynoldson. He took a few practice kicks, did his usual routine of eyeing the goal posts. It would be a 44-yard kick, or so it seemed.
The trap was set. But would it work?
“We’ve been working on it for a month and a half, so I had faith in it,” Pelino said. “We ran it Tuesday in practice and it worked really well.”
The Blue Devils had sophomore Kevin O’Conner on the wing, ready to block and seal the corner. Reynoldson, Pelino said, went over to tell O’Connor the play was “hot” – that is, a go.
“I tried to take my steps like I normally would, so it didn’t look like anything special,” Pelino said. “I looked up at the uprights like I do when I kick. I looked back down … and got ready to run.”
Then, he was off. The Blue Devils needed three yards and Pelino took the pitch from Reynoldson, followed an inside block from lineman Bradley Smith and then down field from O‘Connor, bursting around left end for 26 yards.
“When I caught the ball,” he said, “I saw two or three D linemen running my way and I thought, ‘Oh, I’ve got to get three here.’ I kept running and I kind of got them on the edge and I saw a lot of green grass and I was like, ‘Oh my god, I might score.’
“I got to the outside and I was at the 5 and I thought about diving for a touchdown. But something we talk about all the time is you only reach (out) the ball on fourth down and two-point conversions. So that re-clicked back into my mind.”
UNC linebacker Andrew Simpson knocked Pelino out of bounds at the 1-yard line with 2:20 showing. Anderson Castle scored on the next play – the third TD for the big back from Boone – and Duke added a two-pointer on a Darian Mensah pass to Nate Sheppard.
Todd Pelino’s journey to Duke
Pelino, a senior from Cornelius, is named for an uncle who was a power broker at Cantor Fitzgerald in New York. Todd D. Pelino, 34, married and the father of two, died on Sept. 11, 2001 when the World Trade Center towers fell after the terrorist attacks.
Pelino, whose family moved to North Carolina not long after 9-11, says he has worn No. 29 at Duke to honor his late uncle’s memory. It’s a reminder, he says, of the importance of family.
Todd’s uncle, an athlete at Colgate, wore No. 9. His nephew did the same in high school. Arriving at Duke as a non-scholarship player, Pelino found that No. 9 was taken so he took No. 29 – in his mind, he was the second No. 9.
At Duke, Pelino has earned a scholarship, played 42 games and been a part of big wins and painful losses. As a freshman and sophomore, he was a part of Duke’s close losses to the Tar Heels. A year ago, he was a part of a 21-20 comeback victory that allowed the Devils to claim the Victory Bell.
The Blue Devils kept the Bell. They did it with just enough offense and some big defensive stops in the fourth quarter. And with some trickery.
Pelino said Duke coach Manny Diaz didn’t say anything after his run.
“He did like a shoulder bump,” Pelino said. “But to be honest, after I went to the ground and got all excited, I just blacked out.”
Until Duke won. Then it was time to ring the bell.
This story was originally published November 23, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
