University of North Carolina Athletics
Jacobs: Rivalry Reborn
November 10, 2009 | Football
Nov. 10, 2009
By Barry Jacobs, TarHeelBlue.com
A few more games like the one played last weekend between North Carolina and Duke, and folks must start paying stricter attention to what was once a premier college football rivalry.
A Tar Heel victory was nothing new. But the Blue Devils' clear improvement on both sides of the ball raised the level of competitiveness a few notches. Duke already has scored one more point this season in nine games than it has in any of the past 14 years. David Cutcliffe's defense is better too.
That didn't prevent the Heels from handling Duke with relative ease.
When and if the Devils are good enough to appear, however briefly, in the polls, or to earn a bowl bid, both heights last achieved in 1994, expect to see the game return to greater prominence. For now, though, little notice was paid when the ACC spurned precedent this year, replacing a season-ending clash with an early-November meeting.
From UNC coach Butch Davis' point of view, anyway, the timing of the game, the ninth of a dozen scheduled contests for each team, didn't diminish the ferocity of play in the Heels' 19-6 victory.
"Everybody's playing extra hard just because of the nature of the rivalry," he said of a game that had unaccustomed bowl implications for both squads. "It's just a heated contest. We talked about this. People said, `What's it like not playing Duke at the last game of the season?' I swear to God, I don't think it makes one bit of difference. If we played them week one, week six, week 12, we played them in the summertime, it's going to be a hard-fought contest and both teams want to win."
Heated, sure. Hard-fought, certainly. Close, frequently. But let's be honest here. How much of a rivalry can it be when one team dominates almost to the point of predetermination, as UNC has in winning 19 of its last 20 contests against Duke?
"I think that's a slanted question," Carolina's Deunta Williams, a junior from Jacksonville, N.C., said with a laugh. "It's definitely a rivalry. Rivalry speaks of more than just records and stuff like that. It's all about the intensity that's (brought) to the game, and you definitely saw that out there when we played them."
This year's game remained close into the fourth quarter, and still there was little doubt the Tar Heels, seemingly in a tailspin barely two weeks ago, were the better team. That was particularly evident at the line of scrimmage and most particularly on defense.
The Devils entered the game averaging 400.4 yards, but fell 275 yards short of their customary offensive output. Needing to establish some semblance of a running attack to counter what Davis rightly called the "relentless pressure" applied by UNC's defensive rush, Duke managed 12 yards in 19 carries. Both of its field goals came after being handed excellent field position, and marked the ends of drives that sputtered inside Carolina's 10-yard-line.
Thad Lewis, Duke's generally unflappable senior quarterback, threw for less than a third of his average yardage (113 versus 383). The school's career leader in touchdown passes (62) failed to throw for a score, only the second time that's happened this season. The other time, at Kansas, he ran for a touchdown.
This time there were no touchdowns for Duke.
The Heels succeeded on the majority of their 20 third-down conversions and enjoyed a nearly two-to-one advantage in time of possession, with 25 more plays than the Blue Devils.
Immediately following the game Tydreke Powell, a 6-3 sophomore defensive tackle from Ahoskie, cadged a ride on the cart carrying the victory bell, which was quickly returned to the west end of Kenan Stadium in front of the student section. There, senior E.J. Wilson, a 280-pound defensive tackle, nimbly led the celebration with a Danny Green-like dance, showing the sort of nimble footwork that confounded Lewis during the game.
The players then posed for photos, in the process missing an opportunity to mutely mock one of Duke's few modern highlights in the series.
Back in 1959, the Heels ran up a 50-0 score against Duke. Thirty years later, with the Heels staggering to a second consecutive 1-10 record under Mack Brown, Duke coach Steve Spurrier intentionally avenged the earlier result. During the final five minutes of a 41-0 victory at Chapel Hill, Spurrier called for a reverse, a fleaflicker, and a pass from Duke's end zone.
Then, to further rub in his team's rare show of superiority, he had his squad pose for photos in front of the scoreboard near the Kenan field house.
That marked the end of Spurrier's brief ACC tenure, as well as the close of an era of relative equality between the two programs. UNC led the series 20-17 from 1953 through 1989. Since then, Duke won only in 2003.
One ancient practice did continue the other evening, courtesy of Carolina's Ryan Houston.
Quite the load at 245 pounds, Houston battered Duke's uncharacteristically respectable defense for 164 yards on 37 carries. On UNC's drive for a decisive touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, secured on 3-yard sweep around right end by wide receiver Jheranie Boyd, Houston ran 10 times in 12 plays for 55 yards.
"I haven't carried the ball like that since high school," said the graduate of Charlotte's Butler High. "I want 40 now. I want a touchdown too."
The backup tailback got his chance when Shaun Draughn broke his shoulder blade on his team's first possession. Houston's effort marked the fifth time in the past six years, and the 35th time in series history, that a Tar Heel running back gained at least 100 yards against the Blue Devils.
Now, that's tradition.
Players Mentioned
