UNC Football: Tar Heels rebound with win over Duke to claim Victory Bell

Mack Brown and the UNC Football program needed that one.

A week after the Tar Heels were embarrassed in Atlanta at the hands of Georgia Tech, Brown’s team responded with a win over their rival Duke at home on Saturday to retain the Victory Bell for the third-straight year.

Things got off to a slow start for UNC, failing to score on their first two offensive drives of the game, struggling to run the ball and get anything going. It was a familiar scene for the Tar Heels with the offensive line struggling to block and quarterback Sam Howell seeming to press a little more than he should.

But once they got on the board late in the first quarter, they never looked back.

Howell hit running back Ty Chandler for a 75 yard touchdown pass in which the running back broke a few tackles. It was a sign of life for the Tar Heels’ offense which had its struggles all week against Georgia Tech.

On the ensuing drive, UNC’s defense came up big with a fumble recovery in which Trey Morrison took it 63 yards for the score. With UNC leading 14-0, they added 10 more points before halftime including a touchdown pass from Howell to tight end Kamari Morales to extend their lead to 24-0 at halftime.

Duke showed some signs of life at times in this one, specifically on their first drive of the second half.

The Blue Devils needed just one play as Jalon Calhoun caught an 80-yard touchdown pass from Gunnar Holmberg to cut the lead to 24-7. Duke then got the ball back and marched into UNC territory to try and put a dent in the lead again. But UNC’s defense came up with a big stop again in this one to keep the score where it was.

UNC tacked on a 14 yard touchdown run from Chandler and another pass from Howell to Josh Downs for 63 yards to close things out. The Tar Heels defense played very well in this one, holding Duke to just 314 total yards of offense and one touchdown. UNC dominated in the trenches, sacking Holmberg five times on the game.

It’s also a chance for UNC to turn things around this season by getting their second ACC win of the year. Next up for UNC is a date with Florida State at home next week.

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