From bragging rights to recruiting, why a win over Duke is so important for UNC
There was almost total silence on the nearly four-hour bus ride home from Blacksburg last Saturday night.
The Tar Heels had just lost to Virginia Tech 43-41 in six overtimes, and fell a game behind Virginia for first-place in the ACC’s Coastal Division. It was a game they should have won.
“It was heart-breaking. Gut-wrenching,” UNC senior linebacker Dominique Ross told the N&O Tuesday, as he shook his head. “Every single soul on this staff was hurt. It was tough.”
The Tar Heels are trying to make sure that loss doesn’t have a carryover effect on the rest of the season. UNC needs three wins in its next five games to be bowl eligible, and likely needs to win the rest of its ACC games to win the Coastal Division.
UNC (3-4, 2-2 ACC) will on Saturday first face rival Duke (4-3, 2-2), a team it hasn’t beaten since the 2015 season. The Tar Heels won the 2015 game 66-31, behind then-quarterback Marquise Williams’ school-record 494 yards passing and four touchdowns.
Only eight players on UNC’s current roster were on that 2015 team: Aaron Crawford, Jason Strowbridge, Nick Polino, Brandon Fritz, Jake Bargas, Carl Tucker, Corey Bell Jr. and Charlie Heck.
The rest have never beaten Duke.
Everyone knows when it’s Duke week
For those players who graduate after this season, or exhaust their eligibility, this will be their final chance to claim the Victory Bell.
“I told them it’s not a rival until we get better,” UNC coach Mack Brown said Wednesday. “It’s time for us to stand up.”
UNC junior running back Michael Carter, who is from Florida, said he learned the importance of the Duke-UNC rivalry as soon as he got to UNC. When it’s “Duke week” everyone knows. The distance between Kenan Stadium and Wallace Wade Stadium, where Duke plays, is only 11 miles.
Bragging rights after a win last a year until the next game. The Tar Heels’ three-game losing streak against the Blue Devils is their longest since UNC lost three straight from 1987 to 1989.
“You might go into a Bojangles, and you might see a guy from Duke, and he might want to talk some trash,” Carter said. “It would feel good to have the bell and be able to talk back.”
Good for recruiting
A win over Duke on Saturday is important for the Tar Heels’ recruiting. UNC landed five-star defensive end Desmond Evans last week, and hopes to continue the trend of picking up top players.
Brown said more than 100 recruits are expected to be at Saturday’s game. He said a few of them will be on official visits. So far, recruits have seen that the Tar Heels seem to be improving. A win will help solidify that notion.
The Tar Heels haven’t fared well against in-state teams recently. In those games this season, UNC is 0-2 with losses to Appalachian State and Wake Forest. They are 0-9 against in-state teams since a November 2015 win against N.C. State.
Duke presents a big test for the Tar Heels. The Blue Devils lost to Virginia, 48-14, last week, but beat Virginia Tech, 45-10, on Sept. 27. Brown on Wednesday, and offensive and defensive coordinators Phil Longo and Jay Bateman on Monday, said Duke will be the most well-coached team they will face this season.
“So, we need to step up because it’s important to our fans,” Brown said, “Important to our place and they need to understand that.”
Duke at UNC
When: 4 p.m., Saturday
Where: Kenan Stadium, Chapel Hill
Watch: Fox Sports Carolinas
Listen: WTKK-106.1 Raleigh; WCHL-97.9, WCHL-1360 Chapel Hill; WBT-99.3, WBT-1110 Charlotte
This story was originally published October 25, 2019 at 2:43 PM.
