University of North Carolina Athletics
Walston: More Than Pride
November 3, 2009 | Football
Nov. 3, 2009
On Saturday, the Duke Blue Devils will visit Kenan Stadium, and the Duke-Carolina rivalry will be renewed for the 96th time on the gridiron. Because the football teams have not had the relative success of their basketball counterparts, it's a rivalry that doesn't get nearly as much attention. But it's a rivalry nonetheless.
Since 2005, the largest margin of victory in the series has been eight points, and that came in 2008. With 15 seconds to play, Trimane Goddard sealed a 28-20 victory with an interception at the four-yard line. The last time the Blue Devils came to Kenan Stadium, Carolina needed a 25-yard rush from Greg Little to win in overtime.
In the last several years, one or both of these teams have been out of bowl contention, and all that's left is to capture or defend the Victory Bell. The game has been exciting, sure, but it never carried much weight. All that changes in 2009. For the first time in five years, both teams enter the game coming off of wins. Carolina won at Virginia Tech last Thursday, and two days later the Blue Devils came from behind on the road at Virginia. For the first time since 1994, both teams have winning records entering the annual tilt.
"The rivalry goes back many, many, many years. Those games are always fun to play in," Duke defensive tackle Vince Oghobaase said this summer. "It all goes down to the wire and can go either way."
In eight of the last 10 years, this game has been the regular season finale. That isn't the case this weekend, as both teams will have three games remaining as the jockey for position in the ACC's Coastal division. Duke is tied atop the divisional standings with Georgia Tech (who come to Durham next weekend) at 3-1 in conference. The 5-3 Blue Devils can become bowl-eligible with a win on Saturday and one more. Carolina is looking for its second win in conference and sixth overall, which would put them one away from bowl eligibility.
In his second year as head coach, Duke's David Cutcliffe has the Blue Devils believing - not only that they can knock off North Carolina, but that they can make some noise in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
"We always know we're going to get their best effort," Carolina quarterback T.J. Yates said Monday. "On top of that, them being a much better team than they've been in years past is definitely going to make this game that much more intense, that much more of a hard-fought game, because both of our seasons are kind of on the line. It's going to be high-energy. People are going to be fighting and clawing the whole time."
"It's going to be a real intense game, a real physical game," Carolina safety Deunta Williams said. "We have to have that mindset from the first play. The last time that they were here, we didn't have that mindset, and we went into overtime . . . The main thing that we have to do is go out there and play physical off gate, and if we do that, we'll give ourselves a chance to win."
Last Thursday, Carolina celebrated its tenth road victory over a Top 15 team. But depending on how the Tar Heels follow it, the upset of the Hokies will be either a turning point or a footnote on the season. "Coach kind of reiterated to us that the win we just had doesn't mean anything if we don't win this next game," Yates said. "It doesn't really matter if you can't back it up with another win."
On Saturday, Duke and Carolina will face off for the 96th time. This time, it's about more than pride.
Turner Walston is the managing editor of Tar Heel Monthly. Turner's weekly Tar Heel football podcast, The Walkthrough, is available on iTunes.
Follow the THM staff on Twitter.
