Duke's loss against the Tar Heels Saturday, which came on its fifth missed extra point of the year, was a fitting end to its season. The Blue Devils displayed the same elements in their 2006 finale that they have many times throughout the year-offensive improvement, defensive disappointment and a failed comeback bid.
True freshman quarterback Thaddeus Lewis had a career day, throwing for 285 yards and four touchdowns. Fullback Tielor Robinson accounted for 20 points-three touchdowns and a two-point conversion-despite his modest 11 yards receiving.
The most impressive offensive statistic, however, was the team's perfect conversion rate inside the redzone. Duke scored on all six of its trips inside the 20-yard line against the Tar Heels, after the team had only converted 13 times on its 33 combined chances leading into Saturday's tilt.
"We just found a way to put the ball in the endzone," Lewis said. "We stressed that all season, and I guess the team came to grips at the end of the season and laid it all out on the line."
Duke's coaching staff certainly dug deep into its playbook on its hunt for the Blue Devils' first Victory Bell-the traveling trophy awarded annually to the winner of the rivalry matchup-since 2003. Whether they ran an option, a deep pass, a rollout, or a reverse, the Blue Devils were on a tear, posting their best offensive game of the year. Saturday was the only contest of the season in which Duke ran for more than 100 yards and also passed for more than 200.
"You can't even describe the improvement we've made from [the first game against] Richmond to UNC," running back Re'quan Boyette said. "We went out everyday at practice, and we practiced hard, and we never gave up. That was one of the things for this team-we never wanted to give up, and we never wanted to put our heads down because we know that the change for this program is ahead of us."
On the other side of the ball, the Blue Devils' defense continued the poor play it has exhibited over the second half of the year. Statistically, Duke's performance against the Tar Heels was its best in over a month in yards allowed, yet the Blue Devils allowed a staggering 453 on more than seven yards per play.
Duke's defense and special teams were unable to prevent numerous big plays throughout the course of the game, as the Tar Heels scored only 10 of their points from within the redzone. North Carolina's remaining 35 points came on plays of 39, 45, 54, 83 and 97 yards. And despite Duke's success on offense, the Blue Devils were unable to keep pace with the Tar Heels.
"We understand where we can go," head coach Ted Roof said. "But at the same time, there's a lot of work to be done. If you use this taste, this bad taste that's in your mouth to motivate you and to move forward, then by all means use it. It's certainly a bitter pill to swallow."
Duke also kept alive one common theme until the final moments of the 2006 campaign-its ability to almost win.
Although the Blue Devils had legitimate opportunities to steal wins from Wake Forest, Alabama, Miami and Vanderbilt this season, Roof has said the margin for error in these games has been so small that Duke had to execute almost perfectly in order to win. The game against North Carolina was no different.
"We showed each other that we can come out and play, and fight, and stick together," Lewis said. "But we have to win all facets of the game to be victorious, and we didn't do that today."
Although its record may show a team that consistently comes up short, Saturday's game showed that the Blue Devils have certainly grown throughout the season. But after an 0-12 campaign, Duke players said preparations for the 2007 season start today, and they hope to develop the ability to close out a win.
"There's a lot of things this team has gone through this year," defensive end Patrick Bailey said. "We've been in a lot of tough spots, but, no matter what, we've been resilient."
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