Playing in their first Thursday night game in 20 years, the Blue Devils have looked lost in the limelight thus far, as they trail the Tar Heels 28-7 after two quarters of play at Wallace Wade Stadium.
Duke seemed to be ready to strike first, as it held the Tar Heels to a three-and-out on their first possession. Senior Jamison Crowder then exploded on the following punt for a 30-yard return to the Tar Heel 44-yard line. The Blue Devils continued their initial push, as redshirt senior quarterback Anthony Boone found Max McCaffrey for a 16-yard completion on third down.
But, just like last week, Duke could not hang onto the ball when it mattered, as it would give the ball right back two plays later when Thomas Sirk fumbled the ball on a second-down run, giving North Carolina the ball at its own 22-yard line.
The Tar Heels would not squander their second possession, driving 78 yards in 3:44, capping the drive with a four-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Marquise Williams to Quinshad Davis.
The Blue Devil woes would not end there, as Boone would fumble the ball on the second play from scrimmage on the ensuing drive. North Carolina's Tim Scott scooped up the loose ball and returned it 10 yards to put the Tar Heels up 14-0 with just 7:19 left in the first quarter.
But Duke would not roll over in the early going.
On fourth-and-three, Duke's coaching staff decided to leave the offense on the field, and Crowder rewarded the decision by making a leaping 31-yard snag to swing the momentum back to the Blue Devils. Two plays later, Boone hit redshirt senior Issac Blakeney across the middle for an 10-yard score to cut the lead in half.
Logan rumbled for 47 yards to the one-yard line, and after three-straight running plays for no gain, Williams found Mack Hollins on the back shoulder fade to put the Tar Heels up 21-7 with 1:26 left in the first quarter.
The second quarter didn't go much better for Duke. After a three-and-out to give the ball back to North Carolina, Williams hit sophomore speedster Ryan Switzer for a 45-yard gain. Williams would punch it in himself from the one-yard line to push the Tar Heel lead to 21.
Switzer struck again on North Carolina's next drive, taking a screen pass 65 yards to the 13-yard line. But the Blue Devils finally caught a break, as Williams coughed up the ball to Duke's Bryon Fields. The Blue Devils could not do anything with the extra possession, as they would go three-and-out and punt the ball back to the Tar Heels.
The turnovers and squandered opportunities would not end there. After driving down to the Duke 15-yard line, DeVon Edwards sacked Williams, popping the ball out in the process to give the Blue Devils the ball back with less than two minutes remaining. Duke would just run the clock out and head into the locker room down 28-7 with lots of questions to answer before the second half.
Observations in the first half:
- For the first time since the season opener against Elon, Wallace Wade was packed. From the student section to the new blue seats, Blue Devil fans were out in full force Thursday. Unfortunately for those fans, they did not have much to cheer about.
- Duke's defense—which entered the game ranked 11th in the nation in points allowed—was torched by Williams and the Tar Heels on every drive in the first half. He is 11-of-16 for 188 yards with two scores and one more on the ground.
- Boone has been making decent passes, but give credit where credit is due: North Carolina's front four and defensive backs have dominated their Duke offensive counterparts. Boone has just 89 yards and a score in the first half.
- McCaffrey has quietly been the Blue Devils' best option in the passing game tonight. Although Crowder posted the highlight fourth-down catch, McCaffrey bailed Duke out twice on third down with 15-plus yard snags.
- North Carolina gave the Blue Devils several opportunities to get back into the game, but Duke failed to get anything going and just gave the ball back after three-and-outs.
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