UNC Football Quick Hitters at Duke

Isaac Schade presents Quick Hitters from UNC Football’s 38-35 road win over Duke on Saturday evening.

Highlights:

Condensed Game:

• Listen, when Mack Brown called timeout with 2:32 left in the game and Duke leading 35-31, all hope seemed lost. Duke had a 3rd & 2 at Carolina 11 and the Tar Heels were doing nothing to slow down the Blue Devils. But then a Duke first down was negated by a penalty. And then a Duke touchdown was negated by another penalty. Suddenly, even a field goal was no gimme. The Blue Devils in fact missed the try, setting up Drake Maye’s game-winning two-minute drill.
• They’ve done it again: a year after going winless on the road, the Tar Heels are now 4-0 away from Kenan Stadium in 2022. Each of those four have been single-possession games.
• For the second straight week, it was an interception that sealed the victory for Carolina. This time it was freshman Will Hardy hauling in a ball that Noah Taylor tipped at the line. Chazz Surratt and Will Hardy: Blue Devil beaters.
• The fact that the game got to a place of hopelessness didn’t seem possible near the end of the third quarter. Carolina had reeled off 21 straight to take a 31-21 lead. They then stopped Duke on 4th & 1 at the Duke 30 with an opportunity to salt away the game. Instead, they wasted that possession, and rather than hold a potential three-possession game, Duke got a quick touchdown to start the fourth quarter and bring the lead down to three.
• Drake Maye threw for a career-high 380 yards and added three touchdowns. He also led the team with 70 rushing yards. He got back to his usual “no interceptions” self.
• Maye might even be maturing – he stepped out of bounds in a play similar to where he’s previously gone airborne this season.
• Josh Downs had a monster game, as his stat line indicates, finishing with nine receptions for 126 yards. And while he didn’t have a touchdown in this one, he finished with several massively important completions to either extend drives on fourth down or catch a seemingly impossible ball with a defender draped all over him.
• If fantasy college football was a thing, you wouldn’t want anything to do with a Tar Heel running back. It’s full-on RBBC, with Drake Maye leading the way against Duke. Caleb Hood was thankfully able to start and had the most productive ground game outside of Maye. He also hauled in an extremely important touchdown catch just before halftime.
• Interestingly, it was RB Elijah Green who had some meaningful moments for the first time this season. With Hood clearly hampered, Green got his opportunity and made the most of it. He had just three carries, but scored on two of them, including a 20-yard scamper.
• For the second straight week, Power Echols led the team in tackles (eight). The most curious thing is that for the first time this season, one of the duo of Echols and Cedric Gray fill out of the top three in tackles in a single game.
• The Tar Heels were once again perfect in the red zone, going 6-6 with five touchdowns and one field goal.
• A potentially forgotten, but yet crucial, drive in this game is Carolina’s touchdown drive just before halftime. After taking a 10-7 lead, Carolina allowed 14 straight points to Duke and the defense appeared incapable of slowing down the Blue Devils. Not to mention that Coach Elko’s team would start the second half with the ball. Carolina had 98 seconds and used 85 of them to score a touchdown to pull within four. As you might recall, they then stopped the Blue Devils coming out of halftime and followed that up with their own touchdown.
• On two separate occasions, the Tar Heels started a drive with a delay of game penalty. You just can’t have that.
• Carolina ran some option in the game. Not a PRO, but straight-up option. By my count, there were at least four such plays.
• Several calls and reviews went against Carolina in this one, but the most important review, whether or not Antoine Green stayed in bounds on his game-winning catch, was thankfully not overturned.
• The Tar Heels now get an off week to rest up their weary and aching bodies before hosting Pitt on October 29 for Homecoming in a pivotal ACC Coastal matchup.

Box Score

Mack Brown Postgame Press Conference

Players Postgame Press Conference

Drake Maye

Antoine Green

Remember to check in for Quick Hitters after every North Carolina football game. Next up is homecoming against Pittsburgh on Saturday, October 29. Kickoff time and TV are still TBA.

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