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Respect for the Rivalry: Tar Heels, Blue Devils have struggled in recent weeks
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Quarterback T.J. Yates is expected to start for North Carolina against Duke today.
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Published: November 29, 2008
Another twist will be added today to the rivalry between Duke and North Carolina, which will play for the 95th time at Wallace Wade Stadium.
David Cutcliffe will take his turn in coaching his first game in the rivalry for Duke with the 3:30 p.m. kickoff. Cutcliffe had his mind on the game on Aug. 30 when Duke students wanted to tear down the goal posts after his first win.
He suggested to the students that they wait for a more meaningful game to bring down the uprights.
"We respect all programs," Cutcliffe said. "We're not going to fear programs. There's nothing wrong with saying that. That's a fact. We respect North Carolina and the job they've done."
North Carolina's Butch Davis coached his first game in the rivalry last season and led his team to a 20-14 overtime win in Chapel Hill.
UNC is 7-4 overall and 3-4 in the ACC. It will try to recover from consecutive losses by beating Duke for the 18th time in the last 19 games.
Duke is 4-7 and 1-6. It will be trying to survive the finish of a brutal November in which it has lost all four games and suffered injuries to key players.
UNC will be without linebacker Mark Paschal, its leading tackler, after his career ended last week with a spinal injury.
"This is about us; it isn't about Duke," Davis said. "This is about us bouncing back, us playing well and playing up to our own expectations."
T.J. Yates is expected to start for the second consecutive game for UNC at quarterback. He struggled last week in regaining the starting job and produced little in a 41-10 loss to N.C. State.
Davis is confident that the throwing mechanic problems Yates had after eight weeks out of the starting job were corrected in practice. Cutcliffe said that Yates and backup Cameron Sexton play in the same fashion and Duke's defense will have no major adjustments.
Garrett Reynolds, UNC's right tackle, said that Yates' job will be made easier if the running game can get going for the first time in three games through the efforts of both the linemen and the backs.
"Anytime you can run the ball it opens up the entire playbook," Reynolds said. "You can pretty much run anything.
"It gives you a lot more chances to run different plays. I guess the defense sometimes has to play a little more cautious. They can't be blitzing if we're gashing them on the run."
Duke's starter is less certain. Quarterback Thaddeus Lewis is considered questionable by team trainers because of an injury to his left foot.
Zack Asack would start if Lewis is still slowed. The difference is pronounced for Duke depending on which quarterback is in the game.
Lewis is one of the top passers in the ACC, averaging 189.3 yards with 14 touchdown passes. Asack completed two passes for 20 yards last week in a loss at Virginia Tech and was intercepted four times. He attempted nine passes.
Duke becomes more of a running team with Lewis out. The running game is missing Clifford Harris, who is sidelined by a broken arm, and was led last week by Asack's 87 yards. Davis said that UNC prepared in practice for Lewis to play.
Duke's seniors have never beaten UNC. Greg Akinbiyi, a defensive end, wants to return The Victory Bell, given yearly to the game's winning team, to Duke in his last college game.
"Every loss hurts me personally," Akinbiyi said. "I don't like to lose even when I'm playing video games. I wasn't too big on the rivalry coming from Miami but now I understand what the magnitude of the game is and the seriousness of it to the Duke campus."
Chick-fil-A Bowl scouts are expected to attend and are looking at UNC as a possible team to match against an SEC opponent.
Cutcliffe wants a win for Duke's seniors, who he said have endured excessive troubles in their careers but will leave the program in better shape than when they joined it.
"We've lost four in a row," Cutcliffe said. "The last game sticks with you. It sticks in your guts. Nothing's critical but it sure would be easier if we could pop one this week."
■ Bill Cole can be reached at bcole@wsjournal.com.
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