Duke football squares off with UNC for Coastal Division title

In the past, the Duke-North Carolina football game has been noted as a rivalry game and not much else, as the Tar Heels owned the series with a 21-2 record since 1990. But with the Blue Devils’ ACC Coastal Division title hopes on the line and North Carolina hanging 80 points last week, Saturday’s matchup quickly became a lot more meaningful.

Both teams come into Saturday’s contest with the momentum of a wrecking ball. Duke is playing its best football in two decades and is riding a seven-game winning streak. North Carolina has gone from a 1-5 start to reeling off five-straight victories and becoming bowl eligible with an opportunity to play spoiler to its biggest rival on Senior Day.

"There's no hiding the fact that [North Carolina] had been more talented then we were in the past," redshirt senior guard Dave Harding said. "But that gap's closing thanks to great recruiting being done here and the coaching staff coaching up our players really well. The mentality against North Carolina is always the same. We know that it's a rivalry game. We're going to see their best and we're going to give them our best."

The Blue Devil offense has been on a roll during their ascent to the top of the Coastal Division. Duke has scored at least 28 points in six of their seven straight wins, with the exception being the Blue Devils’ victory at Virginia Tech—a 13-10 win in which the two teams combined for eight interceptions.

Even in turnover-heavy games such as the Virginia Tech contest, the offense is led by junior quarterback Anthony Boone. Boone is 9-0 as a starter—the first Duke quarterback in program history to win his first nine starts—and has spent the season splitting time with backup Brandon Connette. Through the first nine contests, the pair had the same number of no-interception performances as it had four-interception performances—two. After focusing on making smarter decisions with the ball, the duo combined to throw four scores and no interceptions in victories against Miami and Wake Forest in the last two weeks.

"I think [Boone's 9-0 record as a starter] is certainly worthy of paying attention to,” Duke head coach David Cutcliffe said. “He hasn’t played great in all nine games. But he has been a great leader. Being 9-0 as a starter is a lot more than competition percentage or whether you’ve thrown an interception. It’s the summer work, it’s the leadership, it’s rallying the guys as one of their leaders."

The Blue Devils should have no problem establishing the run against the Tar Heels, as Duke’s average of 179.3 rushing yards per game is on pace with the 183.4 yards North Carolina’s opponents have averaged this season. But the Blue Devils will take nothing for granted against a talented Tar Heels squad.

"This is our toughest game yet and it's going to be in a hostile environment against a very good team," Harding said. "We saw how well they score. Their offense is explosive, even without their starting quarterback. Our offense is definitely going to have to put up points in order for us to win."

On the other side of the ball, Duke’s defense will be tested by a Marquise Williams-led Tar Heel squad that put up 80 points in three quarters of play against Old Dominion last week. The Blue Devil front six will be tasked with putting pressure on Williams. The elusive sophomore quarterback has averaged 61.7 rushing yards per game in his three starts and will look to take on a Duke defense that has allowed opposing quarterbacks to rush for more than 30 yards in six contests this season .

"We try to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of every player, especially the quarterback. And one of [Williams'] strengths is that he's a very talented runner," redshirt senior cornerback Ross Cockrell said. "We know that he's going to try to hit us on some deep shots. They have some screen plays that they like to run. But we have to stop the run first, and that's something we've been trying to do all year."

If Duke wins Saturday, the Blue Devils will clinch the Coastal Division and a date with Florida State in Charlotte for the ACC Championship game. If they lose to the Tar Heels, there is no scenario that would give the Blue Devils the outright title or a trip to the championship game. With talk outside the team focusing on Florida State's future—both on and off the field—and bowl scenarios, Duke players are making sure to put that talk out of their mind until after Saturday’s game.

“There are a lot of people talking about scenarios. ‘What happens if Duke loses? What’s their bowl look like?’” linebacker Kelby Brown said. “If we get caught up in that, it’s easy to forget what we’re seeking. We’re trying to get this win.”