What a difference a week makes. Better yet, what a difference a half makes.
Last time out, the Blue Devils poured in 45 points against Middle Tennessee and North Carolina gave up 70 to James Madison. In Durham Saturday, the Tar Heels’ defense came out with something to prove, holding Duke scoreless and forcing six first-half punts. But after stifling the Duke offense in the first half, graduate running back Star Thomas ran up and down the field to bring the Blue Devils back to life and secure a 21-20 win, the program’s first against North Carolina since 2018.
"We talked about it at halftime, that we had a chance to do something legendary, and that would require all of our belief in ourselves and in each other," head coach Manny Diaz said. "...We challenged our offensive line and our defensive line at halftime to take over the game, and I thought, without a shadow of a doubt, that's exactly what happened."
The first 40 minutes of the game might as well have not happened when the Tar Heels got the ball back with less than two minutes in the fourth. Duke’s defense, which had only allowed three second-half points to that moment, needed a stop.
Graduate quarterback Jacolby Criswell was able to evade pressure repeatedly, however, and bring his team within 25 yards of field-goal range. At that point, the Blue Devils ratcheted up the pressure even more, attempting to force poor decisions from the signal caller.
As if on cue, safety Jaylen Stinson got home and hit Criswell while he was throwing. The ball’s flight wobbled over the middle of the field long enough for linebacker Tre Freeman to snag it and clinch the win.
The Blue Devils flipped the game on its head by taking the lead in the fourth, and forced North Carolina — for the first time all day — to play from behind. This breathed new life into the Duke defense, which engaged with the fans frequently in an attempt to confuse the Tar Heels. The strategy worked, as the blitz was successful on three straight plays to force yet another punt.
When the Blue Devils got the ball back, the plan was simple: feed the hot hand. They started the drive with six-straight handoffs to Thomas — good for 32 yards. On the game’s most crucial third down, though, Thomas came up a yard short of the marker.
After three quarters in which North Carolina was almost always in control, the Blue Devils seemed to have everything going their way to start the fourth. Even a few big offensive plays from the Tar Heels didn’t seem to matter, as Duke stood strong just inside its own territory. And despite surrendering a turnover on downs, the Blue Devils took advantage of a holding and unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the same play to get the ball right back.
A shanked punt gave Duke yet another break, as it started at the 50-yard line with 7:31 remaining, down 20-14. The spark plug was once again Star Thomas, who juked his way for 35 yards over two plays.
It was Peyton Jones, though, who broke off the next run. The sophomore took an inside handoff and sidestepped his way through the Tar Heel defense to run untouched into the endzone and give Duke a 21-20 lead.
“[Strength coach David Feeley] basically trains us to take [the opponent] into the sewer and finish games,” Graduate wideout Eli Pancol said. “We work [in the] fourth quarter better than any team in the nation, and that's what Coach Diaz installs in us every single day.”
Earlier in the third, Duke reignited the home crowd with some flashy offensive moves. Despite struggles in the passing game all afternoon, star wideout Jordan Moore hauled in a jump ball deep in North Carolina territory. He stopped his route and high-pointed the ball perfectly, with his elbow landing just in-bounds.
Thomas converted on a fourth down a few plays later, and the Blue Devils were in the red zone heading into the final period of play. To start the fourth, the two rivals traded a pair of key penalties: A holding call brought back a Thomas touchdown run, but a pass interference in the end zone set Duke up on the 2-yard line. Thomas would not be denied this time around, as he danced around a few blocks untouched for his second score.
The Blue Devils needed a whole lot of things to change in the second half. The defense did its job in forcing a quick punt. In what appeared to be a spectacular special teams play, Duke blocked the punt, but bobbled it while trying to recover the loose ball. When the Tar Heels finally fell on it, they were rewarded with a fresh set of downs.
That play sucked the life out of an already emotionally depleted home crowd, and the numerous fans who made the trip from Chapel Hill erupted in response. A fourth-down holding call against North Carolina stalled its drive in the red zone, but not before the Tar Heels tacked on three more.
Back on offense, it was Thomas who finally got the gears turning for Duke’s offensive machine. The New Mexico State transfer snapped off a few angry runs before finally putting the Blue Devils on the scoreboard.
On second-and-long, Thomas caught a pass behind the line of scrimmage and immediately burst towards the sidelines. He streaked past the first-down marker and tip-toed his way down the sideline to find the end zone and breathe life back into Wallace Wade Stadium.
That move was a stark contrast from the first half, where the Blue Devils were met with more resistance from the Tar Heel defense. Furthermore, Duke’s defense had to contend with the fact that North Carolina was dominating the time-of-possession battle. None of the Blue Devils’ first four drives took longer than two minutes, and junior running back Omarion Hampton seemed to grow stronger and stronger with each successive series.
The fatigue showed midway through the second quarter, as two consecutive offsides penalties bailed the Tar Heels out on third down. Criswell found senior tight end Bryson Nesbit in the end zone for his second passing touchdown of the game, extending the North Carolina lead to 17-0.
In their final possession of the first half, the Blue Devils opted to go for it on fourth-and-6 just inside North Carolina territory. A pass interference call bailed out Duke on a broken play, but the home team could not capitalize. Junior kicker Todd Pelino’s 47-yard try hit off the crossbar, sending the Blue Devils into the locker room trailing by 17.
Before the Blue Devils even had a first down, the Tar Heels had 10 points. A touchdown pass to J.J. Jones and a 40-yard field goal gave the visitors an early lead.
Murphy struggled to find a rhythm in the pocket, as the Texas transfer missed on his first four pass attempts. The young signal caller made just his sixth career start Saturday, and his first in front of a sellout crowd at Duke. However, despite this first-half performance, Murphy made some key throws in the second half to lead the Blue Devils to victory.
"It doesn't matter what happens, we're gonna keep on trusting him," Pancol said of Murphy. "Everybody in the locker room trusts him. Coaches trust him. I trust him. He trusts himself, that's the most important part."
Next up, the Blue Devils will hit the road, traveling to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech for their first ACC road game of the season.
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Dom Fenoglio is a Trinity junior and a sports managing editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.