The Blue Devils' first Thursday-night home game in 20 years didn't end up the way they dreamed it would.
A pair of fumbles on Duke's first two possessions spelled disaster for the Blue Devils and foreshadowed a long night to come, as North Carolina controlled all aspects of the game in a 45-20 drubbing that took Duke out of the running for the ACC Coastal Division crown and spots in the ACC Championship Game and the Orange Bowl.
As the Victory Bell heads back to Chapel Hill for the first time in two seasons, the most important thing the Blue Devils can do is regroup, and quickly. Duke will need to bring its two-game losing streak to a halt Nov. 29 against Wake Forest to build some confidence before readying for its third bowl game in as many years.
Offense: D
Pass: For the second straight game, quarterback Anthony Boone struggled to get in a rhythm, completing just 22 of his 40 pass attempts for 262 yards and an interception. The redshirt senior tossed a pair of scores, but one came in garbage time with the Tar Heels well ahead. Duke's receiving corps had trouble creating separation downfield, and Boone took several sacks while waiting for his targets to get open. When the receivers did find some room to maneuver, they dropped some passes that were needed to keep drives alive or at least give the Duke offense some positive energy.
Sophomore Johnell Barnes led the Blue Devils with six catches for 85 yards, and although senior Jamison Crowder wound up with 73 yards and a score, Duke did not do nearly a good-enough job of getting the ball in the hands of its most explosive play-maker.
Rush: North Carolina entered Thursday's game as one of the most porous rush defenses in the nation, but Duke struggled to find holes in the Tar Heel front line all night. Most confusingly, the Blue Devils only handed off to their trio of tailbacks 13 times; Boone and backup quarterback Thomas Sirk combined for 23 rushes. Duke's rushes to the edge were moderately effective, but the Blue Devils got bogged down again rushing straight up the middle, which they did frequently on first downs with little to show for it.
Overall, Duke finished with 116 yards on the ground, well below its season average of 193.7 yards per contest entering Thursday. The early fumbles by Sirk and Boone didn't help the ground game, either, setting the stage for a sloppy showing.
X's and O's: With nothing going well on the ground or through the air Thursday, the Blue Devils over-relied on the legs of Boone. After not finding success rushing up the middle against Virginia Tech last Saturday, Duke again tried to do so against North Carolina, and never found big holes. The passing game was similarly bottled up, as the Blue Devils threw only a handful of their typical screen passes and couldn't convert on the majority of their slants and deep balls.
Defense: D+
Pass: Tar Heel quarterback Marquise Williams didn't drop back often, but when he did, he hit his man. Williams was 18-of-27 for 276 yards and a pair of scores, and seemed to have the perfect play call every time the Blue Devils brought the house, usually in the form of dump-offs to receivers in the flat for big gains after the catch.
Rush: Duke has struggled throughout the year to stop the ground game, and Thursday was no different. Running back T.J. Logan matched the Blue Devils' total all by himself, rushing for 116 yards on 18 carries. A true dual-threat signal-caller, Williams added 98 yards with his legs, eluding defenders in the backfield on multiple occasions and turning upfield. By the end of the night, North Carolina racked up an eye-popping 316 yards on the ground, a new season-high.
X's and O's: The Tar Heels gashed the Blue Devils for big gains both between the tackles and on the edge. Duke made North Carolina work to punch it in from the one-yard-line on a few drives with some early-down stuffs, but the Tar Heels managed to hit paydirt each time on fourth and goal. The defense forced turnovers on three possessions by getting to Williams and knocking the ball loose, but Duke's offense could not do anything with the giveaways. Had the Blue Devils not generated those giveaways—all of which occurred deep in Duke territory—the score likely would've been much more lopsided than it wound up.
Special Teams: C-
Punter Will Monday had a poor showing Thursday; his five boots went for an average of 36.4 yards, and one of them traveled a meager 13 yards. Apart from a 30-yard return from Crowder on the first of just three Tar Heel punts, Duke couldn't get anything going in the return game, either. After returning a kickoff for a touchdown at a critical juncture in last year's rivalry game in Chapel Hill, redshirt sophomore DeVon Edwards was bottled up Thursday, averaging just 17.8 yards per return.
A week after missing two field goals in a one-point loss, kicker Ross Martin didn't see much action against North Carolina, a product of the Blue Devils' lack of offensive production. Martin converted both of his extra point opportunities—wide receiver Isaac Blakeney dropped a bullet from Boone on a two-point conversion attempt following Duke's final touchdown—but did not attempt a field goal.
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