CHAPEL HILL—With a crowd exceeding 50,000 and the Victory Bell on the line, the first 30 minutes of play between Duke and No. 24 North Carolina at Kenan Memorial Stadium have been relatively one-sided. But a late surge from the Blue Devils has them narrowly trailing the Tar Heels 16-14 at the break:
Five observations
Maye flowers: North Carolina’s redshirt sophomore quarterback is considered by many a top-three pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and he proved why in the first half of Saturday night’s matchup. After shattering the Blue Devil defense with two quick third-down conversions, Drake Maye found junior receiver Devontez Walker for a 43-yard bomb that placed the Tar Heels within Duke’s 10-yard line. A screen pass to junior tight end Bryson Nesbit got North Carolina on the doorstep and Maye waltzed into the end zone unchallenged on the following play, giving the home team an early 7-0 lead. He found Walker again under pressure for a 48-yard gain late in the second half, too, leading to the Tar Heels’ third field goal of the night. By the end of the half, Maye had 180 total yards in the air.
Barton back in the lineup: After missing the Blue Devils’ loss to Louisville and win against Wake Forest, senior left tackle Graham Barton made his return on the offensive line, shoring up the pocket for Duke’s rushers and third-string quarterback Grayson Loftis. In three games the Brentwood, Tenn., native was absent, including the Blue Devils’ loss to Notre Dame, Duke surrendered eight combined sacks — 72.7% of the team’s total on the year. Barton made his presence known amid a rocky first half of football, preventing the Tar Heel defense from reaching Loftis once.
Loftis’ second start: With starting quarterback Riley Leonard out for an indefinite amount of time with a toe injury and usual backup Henry Belin IV nursing an ailing shoulder, the freshman Loftis was charged with starting the key rivalry matchup under center. The Gaffney, S.C. native failed to connect with junior wideout Jordan Moore on his first drive and then sailed a pass well out of bounds, but improved as the half went on, connecting on three consecutive passes. The third of those passes found Moore in the end zone with 5:18 to play, breaking Duke’s scoring duck at long last and securing Loftis his second career touchdown.
Early struggles in the secondary: At one point this season, Duke’s defense was among the top five in the country and the outright best in the ACC, but it struggled mightily to contain North Carolina’s talented receiver corps Saturday. Still without graduate corner Myles Jones, the likes of Jaylen Stinson and Terry Moore surrendered 180 yards to the Tar Heels’ weapons. Leading the way was Walker with 96, helping North Carolina score on each of its first three possessions and four of its total five.
A scoreless, then score-full quarter: For the third game in a row, Duke failed to tally any points in the opening quarter, digging an early 10-0 hole against a Tar Heel offense known for making big plays. North Carolina did exactly that, too, including the aforementioned deep shot to Walker and a 31-yard haul to junior receiver J.J. Jones, who brought the ball in over his defender’s head en route to the team’s second field goal. However, just like in the Blue Devils’ win against Wake Forest, they responded with scores of their own, turning a lopsided contest into a surprisingly competitive one.
By the numbers
North Carolina third-down conversions: Just when it seemed like the Blue Devil defense would keep Maye empty-handed on his first drive, the Tar Heels converted on two consecutive third downs to open the scoring. By the end of the half, North Carolina was more productive on third down than the visitors, moving the chains six times compared to Duke’s 3-for-5 rate. The most important third-down conversion was a Blue Devil one, though — Loftis’ second-quarter scamper to give his team the lead (more on that later).
Incomplete passes: Loftis struggled in the air, completing just four of his seven attempts, but certainly was not helped by some wasteful hands from his receivers. Both Moore and redshirt senior Jalon Calhoun let gilt-edged opportunities slip away, something made especially brutal by Maye’s accuracy; he had just seven passes fall incomplete. However, Loftis and his receivers seemed to gain some synchronicity, with both receivers catching passes en route to Duke’s second-quarter score.
Duke rushing yards: As it was against the Demon Deacons, Duke’s offense flowed through its running-back room. The duo of Jordan Waters and Jaylen Coleman put together a solid performance on the ground with fairly limited opportunities, combining for 67 total yards by the end of the half. As a team, the Blue Devils tallied 78.
A play that mattered
Immediately after Moore’s opening score, Stinson capitalized on an overshot pass from Maye, intercepting the ball and moving it to the North Carolina 14-yard line. A couple rushes from Waters brought the Blue Devils within three yards of the end zone, and Loftis took it in himself on third down to give Duke the unlikeliest of 14-13 advantages after a half in which the Tar Heels largely dominated.
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Andrew Long is a Trinity junior and sports editor of The Chronicle's 119th volume.