After a week full of criticism, the UNC defense stood tall against their arch rivals from down the road, smothering Duke’s offense and their dangerous running back, Mataeo Durant. Durant, who had scored eight touchdowns in his first four games, didn’t find the end zone once against Carolina. The rest of the Blue Devils didn’t do much better. Hard tackling from Jeremiah Gemmel, Cam’Ron Kelly and Myles Murphy powered Jay Bateman’s unit, one which markedly improved from their poor performance against Georgia Tech.
The Tar Heels held Duke to just 2-15 on third downs, and notched five sacks with nine tackles for loss. On a day when the UNC offense wasn’t on its A-game, the stifling defensive performance kept Duke from ever gaining any momentum.
“We played our best defense of the year,” head coach Mack Brown said after the game. “And maybe since we’ve been here. And I was really, really proud of those guys… I thought that the defensive front was dominant. But I also felt like Cam Kelly played well today.”
Kelly, a transfer from Auburn who is now in his third season at UNC, finished the game with seven tackles. He’d had only 10 in the previous four games. Kelly also grabbed his first interception as a Tar Heel when he deflected a pass from Duke quarterback Gunnar Holmberg in the third quarter and picked the ball out of the air.
“We just played very physical,” Kelly said. “Effort was there. Communication was amazing. Everybody was on the same level and the same point. As a whole, we did amazing. I’m proud of this defense.”
Kelly’s interception was the second takeaway of the game for a hungry Carolina defense. A 63-yard fumble return touchdown by senior defensive back Trey Morrison early in the second quarter marked UNC’s first defensive score of the season, and their first fumble return touchdown since 2018. The offense had only managed a single touchdown of its own to that point, and Morrison’s scoop and score doubled the Carolina advantage to 14-0.
For as much pressure as the UNC defense put on Holmberg, the Blue Devils responded in kind against Sam Howell. Duke’s defense sacked Howell five times on the day. Howell has been sacked 22 times in total this season over five games.
But the pressure couldn’t quite hold down the explosive UNC offense, with Ty Chandler catching a swing pass from Howell and sprinting 75 yards into the end zone for the game’s first score. Howell’s second touchdown pass was of the much shorter variety, a two-yard pitch-and-catch with tight end Kamari Morales. Morales has been one of UNC’s most consistent weapons this season, and now has a touchdown catch in three straight games.
“Kamari’s an awesome player,” Howell said. “He works super hard. He’s a professional. The way he prepares, how hard he works, he stays after practice for probably an hour every single day. He’s a super smart kid. If he wants to be a coach one day, he could definitely be a coach. He knows our whole entire offense. He knows why we’re trying to do things. I’m just glad we have him on our team. He’s a great player for us.”
But UNC’s halftime lead of 24-0 only lasted a single play into the second half, with Holmberg finding receiver Jalon Calhoun for an 80-yard catch-and-run on Duke’s first play from scrimmage.
“We’re all [Division I] college football players,” Kelly said. “Somebody’s gonna make a play on the other side sometimes. And you’ve just gotta bounce back. And that’s what we did.”
The defense prevented any further Duke progress in the third quarter, with Kelly’s interception and a stop on 4th-and-2 from the UNC 30-yard line ending the next two Blue Devil possessions. After the 80-yard score, the Tar Heels allowed just 75 total yards from Duke for the rest of the period.
The strong performance proved essential, as UNC’s offense was shut out in the third quarter for the first time all season. Brown mentioned inconsistency as one of the offense’s biggest flaws.
“Offensively, it was a frustrating day in some ways,” he said. “I felt like the bad thing was that it was great play, bad play.”
Finally, two fourth quarter touchdowns from Ty Chandler and Josh Downs put Carolina’s lead out of reach. Chandler’s 14-yard run broke a streak of four straight drives ending in punts for the offense, and Downs’ 63-yard catch-and-run marked his sixth straight game as a Tar Heel with a score.
Duke couldn’t manage any more points, and UNC took their third straight Battle for the Victory Bell with a 38-7 final. It’s Carolina’s longest winning streak over Duke since 2011. The seven points allowed are the lowest from the UNC defense against a Power 5 opponent since Week 1 of the 2020 season against Syracuse. Quite the turnaround from a week ago.
“We looked past that,” Kelly said, referring to the Georgia Tech loss in Week 4. “And we want to just dominate for the rest of the season. So, that’s what we’re gonna do.”
Up Next
UNC will host Florida State in Kenan Stadium next Saturday. The game is scheduled to kick off at either 3 p.m. or 3:30 p.m.
Game Notes
- This was Sam Howell’s 17th career game with three or more touchdown passes. He’s played 30 games as a Tar Heel.
- Howell is now third all-time at UNC in total offense, trailing only quarterbacks Marquise Williams and Darian Durant.
- Carolina is now 11-4 at home in Mack Brown’s second stint as head coach.
- This was just the second game in which both Tomon and Tomari Fox have recorded a sack. The other was Week 1 of the 2020 season against Syracuse.
Featured image via USA Today Sports
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