University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Look To Reclaim Victory Bell
November 18, 2004 | Football
Nov. 18, 2004
North Carolina vs. Duke Live Game Coverage
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Game Facts
Date: Saturday, November 20, 2004
Time: 12:08 p.m.
Site: Wallace Wade Stadium (33,941, natural grass)
Rankings: Neither team is ranked
TV: Jefferson-Pilot Sports (Bill Rosinski, play-by-play; Dave Archer, analyst; Scott Pryzwansky, sideline)
Radio: Tar Heel Sports Radio Network, a division of Learfield Communications. Woody Durham (play-by-play), Jones Angell (color) and Lee Pace (sideline) provide the call. A live broadcast also is available on the University of North Carolina's official athletic website, TarHeelBlue.com
Websites: North Carolina (TarHeelBlue.com); Duke (GoDuke.com)
North Carolina looks to win back-to-back games for the first time since 2001 and become eligible for a bowl berth when it takes on Duke on Saturday, November 20 at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:08 and the game will be televised by Jefferson-Pilot Sports.
The winner of the game will receive the Victory Bell, which has been presented annually to the winner of the Carolina-Duke football game since the 1940s. A large bell on wheels, this prize was originated by Norm Sper, a Tar Heel cheerleader.
Last season, Duke claimed the Victory Bell for the first time in 13 years with a 30-22 win in Chapel Hill.
The Tar Heels (5-5, 4-3 ACC) and Blue Devils (2-8, 1-6) are both coming off exciting victories. Last Saturday, Carolina quarterback Darian Durant tossed a 45-yard touchdown pass to Jesse Holley with 36 seconds remaining to beat Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, 31-24. Meanwhile, in Durham, place-kicker Matt Brooks booted a 53-yard field goal as time expired to upset Clemson 16-13.
The win at Wake was Carolina's first road victory of the season and first since beating East Carolina last season in Greenville.
If Carolina Defeats Duke, The Tar Heels will:
If Carolina Loses to Duke, The Tar Heels will:
have their third-straight losing season. The last time Carolina had three consecutive losing seasons was 1987 (5-6), 1988 (1-10) and 1989 (1-10).
Carlyle Cup Points Up For Grabs
The fall schedule of the fourth annual Carlyle Cup competition concludes Saturday with the annual Carolina-Duke football game in Durham at noon.
The Carlyle Cup is a 23-sport competition between Duke and North Carolina. A total of 26 points are at stake. Two points will be awarded for the season series winner in football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The other 20 sports will each be worth one point. Should Duke and UNC tie in the competition, 13-13, the Carlyle Cup will be retained by the school that last won it.
Points for each sport are awarded "winner take all" on which school wins more head-to-head meetings or has a higher ACC finish. If all head-to-head meetings are split, each school gets one-half of the designated point total. Postseason (ACC, NCAA Tournament) is included in head-to-head meetings.
Duke won last year's Carlyle Cup, 14-12.
Sereis Notes vs. Duke
• North Carolina and Duke will renew its rivalry for the 91st time on Saturday with the Tar Heels holding a 51-35-4 advantage, including a 25-16-2 record in Durham. The last time Carolina lost at Wallace Wade Stadium was a 35-29 setback in 1988.
• Carolina will be looking to prevent Duke from winning back-to-back games in the series for the first time since the Blue Devils won three straight from 1987-1989.
• In ACC games only, Carolina leads the Blue Devils, 33-17-1.
• Carolina head coach John Bunting (UNC `72) was 2-1 against Duke as a player and is 2-1 as a coach. The Tar Heels lost 17-13 in Bunting's sophomore season, but won 59-34 as a junior. In his senior season, Bunting led a defense that completely shut down the Blue Devils, 38-0, giving Carolina its first undisputed ACC championship. As head coach, Bunting beat Duke, 52-17 in 2001 and 23-21 in 2002 and lost 30-22 in 2003.
• A Carolina player has rushed for at least 100 yards in the Duke series 30 times. The most recent player to do so was current tailback Jacque Lewis who had 102 yards as a sophomore in a 23-21 victory in 2002.
• North Carolina defensive coordinator and linebackers coach John Gutekunst is a 1966 graduate of Duke University. A defensive back at Duke from 1963-66, Gutekunst began his coaching career with the Blue Devils, where he was an assistant from 1967-78. He was a two-sport standout in football and baseball, serving as team captain in both sports.
Durant Against Duke
• Quarterback Darian Durant is 2-1 against the Blue Devils, including a 1-1 record as a starter. In three games against Duke, he is 50 of 87 for 616 yards and four touchdowns. He played one of his best games against the Blue Devils in his sophomore season after returning from a broken thumb injury that caused him to miss four games. In that game he was 21 of 35 for 262 yards and one touchdown. Last season, he struggled in the first half before throwing for two touchdowns and running for another in the second period.
Durant vs. Duke Start C-A-I Pct. Yards TD LP Rush Yards TD LP vs. Duke (W) - 11-17-0 .647 151 1 34 3 -6 0 1 at Duke (W) Yes 21-35-1 .600 262 1 77 15 23 1 15 vs. Duke (L) Yes 18-35-1 .514 203 2 31 9 22 1 10 Totals (2-1) 2 starts 87-50-2 .575 616 4 77 27 39 2 15
Looking For Consecutive Wins
North Carolina is looking to win consecutive games for the first time this season. The Tar Heels have not won two consecutive games since closing out the 2001 season with three straight wins over Duke, SMU and Auburn (Peach Bowl).
Following a win, Carolina has lost the next game by an average of 24.8 points. However, the most recent loss following a win was by just three points to Virginia Tech, 27-24.
One Win Needed For Bowl Consideration
North Carolina must defeat Duke to become bowl eligible. The Tar Heels have not been to a bowl game since beating Auburn 16-10 in the 2001 Peach Bowl. Five teams from the ACC have qualified for a bowl game already, including Virginia, Virginia Tech, Miami, Florida State and Georgia Tech. The league has tie-ins to the following bowls:
•Bowl Championship Series (league champion)
• Toyota Gator Bowl (second pick): January 1, 2005, Jacksonville, Fla., vs. Big East
• Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (third pick): December 31, 2004, Atlanta, Ga., vs. SEC
• Champ Sports Tangerine Bowl (fourth or fifth pick): December 21, 2004, Orlando, Fla., vs. Big 12
•Continental Tire Bowl (fourth or fifth pick): December 30, 2004, Charlotte, N.C., vs. Big East
•MPC Computers Bowl (sixth pick): December 27, 2004, Boise, Idaho, vs. WAC
Running Game Key to UNC Success
Carolina's running game has been the key to its success this season. In Carolina's five wins, the Tar Heels have rushed for 1,234 yards on 210 carries, an average of 5.9 yards per carry and 246.8 yards per game. In the five losses, the Tar Heels have rushed for a total of 491 yards on 145 carries, an average of 3.4 yards per carry and 98.2 yards per game.
The Tar Heels are averaging 4.9 yards per carry, second only to Virginia, who leads the league at 5.3.
Brown Leads Tar Heel Offensive Line
North Carolina center Jason Brown headlines an experienced offensive line that has played well throughout the season. Brown has graded out over 90 percent in five games this season (80 is considered excellent in UNC OL coach Hal Hunter's system), including William & Mary, Louisville, Florida State, Miami and Wake Forest. He came within one play of becoming the first player in Hunter's 20 years of coaching to earn a perfect grade against Louisville. Brown is a candidate for the Rimington Award as the nation's top center. He has been named ACC offensive lineman of the week three times this season.
Brown and senior tackle Willie McNeill are the two veteran starters on the offensive line with 79 combined starts. Both have been starters since their freshman season. Skip Seagraves, another senior with 26 career starts, was lost for the season with a broken foot in the Virginia game.
Offensive LIne Starts 2004 Career Willie McNeill, Sr., OT 10 42 Jason Brown, Sr., C 10 37 Skip Seagraves, Sr., OT 2 26 Kyle Ralph, Jr., OG 10 15 Brian Chacos, Jr., OT 10 10 Charlston Gray, Fr.*, OG 7 7 Steven Bell, Jr., OG/C 1 3
Carolina's Tailback Trio
North Carolina tailbacks Jacque Lewis, Ronnie McGill and Chad Scott have combined to rush for 1,431 yards on 228 carries, an average of 6.3 yards per carry. All three have rushed for 100 yards in a game this season. Lewis had 123 against William and Mary and 161 against Georgia Tech. McGill had 137 against William and Mary. Scott had 175 against Miami and 122 against Virginia Tech.
The last time Carolina had three different running backs rush for 100 yards or more was in 1991 when William Henderson, Natrone Means and Randy Jordan accomplished the feat. All three of those running backs enjoyed lengthy careers in the NFL and Henderson is still Green Bay's starting fullback.
Scott Makes Most Of Opportunity
After playing behind tailbacks Jacque Lewis and Ronnie McGill during his two years at North Carolina, senior tailback Chad Scott is making the most of his opportunity as the starter in each of the last three games against Miami, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.
In his last three games, Scott has rushed for 367 yards on 41 carries and scored four touchdowns. He had 175 yards and two scores against No. 4 Miami, 122 yards and one touchdown against No. 18 Virginia Tech and 70 yards and one touchdown at Wake Forest.
Tar Heels have Nation's No. 3 Schedule
• According to the Sagarin rankings, North Carolina's schedule is ranked as the third-most difficult in the country. The schedule ratings represent the average schedule difficulty faced by each team in the games that it has played so far. The schedule difficulty of a given game takes into account the rating of the opponent and the location of the game.
• Carolina's opponents combined record is 70-33 (.680), including one undefeated team (Utah). The first nine teams on the Tar Heels' schedule are a combined 64-20 (.762). UNC's non-conference opponents - William & Mary (8-2), No. 8 Louisville (7-1) and No. 5 Utah (10-0) are a combined 25-3 (.892).
• The NCAA does not factor in Division I-AA teams when calculating the strength of schedule. According to the NCAA web site, North Carolina's past opponents are 51-19 (.729), which ranks No. 1 in the country.
Durant Moves Up The ACC Charts
North Carolina quarterback Darian Durant is sixth in ACC career total offense (9,156) and eighth in passing yardage (8,322). Durant's career pass efficiency mark of 136.06 ranks 14th all-time in the ACC.
Durant Playing Well Down The Stretch
Quarterback Darian Durant has saved his best play of the season for the Tar Heels' stretch run, leading Carolina to victories over NC State, Miami and Wake Forest. In those three games, he is 54 of 88 (.614) for 683 yards and seven touchdowns.
vs. Miami: Against Miami on October 30, Durant was 21 of 29 for 266 yards and two touchdowns. He began the game by leading the Tar Heels on a 57-yard drive that culminated in a 35-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Mike Mason. Later, Durant found tight end Scott Brumett for an 18-yard touchdown strike. After Miami tied the game at 28, Durant led Carolina on a nine-play, 65-yard drive, setting up Connor Barth's 42-yard game-winning field goal. On that drive, Durant completed all four pass attempts for distances of 12, 14, 22 and six yards. Durant was 9 of 10 in the second half against the Hurricanes
vs. NC State: Durant directed the Tar Heels to a 30-24 victory over archrival NC State on October 9. He was 15 of 23 for 192 yards with zero interceptions and three touchdowns. It was his first three-touchdown game since last season's game at NC State. Durant connected on a 23-yard pass to Jesse Holley in the second quarter to give Carolina a 13-3 lead. Trailing 16-13 in the fourth quarter, Durant tossed two touchdown passes, including a 46-yard completion to Adarius Bowman and a three-yard completion to tight end Jon Hamlett.
at Wake Forest: Durant completed 18 of 36 attempts for 225 yards and two touchdowns, including a game-winning 45-yard pass to Jesse Holley with 36 seconds remaining, in Carolina's 31-24 victory over Wake Forest. Durant also rushed for a touchdown, dragging Deacon defenders into the end zone after seemingly getting stopped at the three-yard line. He also completed a two-yard touchdown pass to tight end Justin Phillips. Despite eight dropped passes, Durant had his 20th career 200-yard game and led the Tar Heels to their fifth victory of the season.
Durant's Second Half Of The Season
After getting off to a slow start, senior quarterback Darian Durant has played outstanding in the second half of the season. He has thrown for more yards, more touchdowns and has a higher completion percentage in the most recent five games, than in the first five games.
Durant in 2004 C-A-I Pct. Yards TD First Five Games 63-111-6 .568 838 5 Last Five Games 78-128-3 .609 967 8
