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Plenty at stake today for old rivals
Duke will play at UNC with both teams trying to secure bowl eligibility
AP Photo
Virginia's Nate Collins pressures Duke's Thaddeus Lewis.
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Published: November 7, 2009
The fires of the football rivalry between North Carolina and Duke have been dying for 20 years, but they could start to blaze again today.
The series, one-sided since the late 1980s, is on the verge of becoming competitive because of Duke's resurgence under Coach David Cutcliffe. Today's game at Kenan Stadium is the first in 15 years in which the outcome is important for both teams as they try to secure winning records and bowl eligibility.
Moving the game from a regular-season finale to earlier in the season has helped, at least this season, to create suspense, quarterback T.J. Yates of UNC said.
"Every time we've played them in the past couple of years, it's been a good game," Yates said. "We always know that we're going to get their best effort, absolutely.
"On top of that, them being a much better team than they have been in years past is going to make this that much more intense and that much more of a hard game. Both of our seasons are kind of on the line. It's going to be high-energy. We're both going to be fighting and clawing the whole time."
UNC (5-3, 1-3 ACC) has won 18 of the last 19 in the series.
Duke (5-3, 3-1) has momentum after winning its past three games. Quarterback Thaddeus Lewis of Duke said that it doesn't bother him that the game isn't regarded as special enough to close the season or that it will be UNC's homecoming game.
"It is Carolina," Lewis said. "There's going to be intensity on both sides. It's going to be the same no matter if the game was the first of the season or the last game. I haven't beaten them since I've been here. It would mean a lot just to get the (Victory) Bell back and to have bragging rights to go out with, with a win against Carolina."
Cutcliffe suspects that a playmaker might be the difference -- that has often been the case in other rivalry games he has coached in -- and Duke has no better playmaker than Lewis, its senior quarterback.
During Duke's winning streak, Lewis has passed for 1,173 yards (391 ypg), has completed 94 of 133 (70.6 percent) and has eight touchdown passes and only two interceptions.
Duke's running game is struggling, averaging just 1.4 yards a carry during the winning streak (147 yards on 102 carries). Opponents know that Duke will pass, but they still can't stop Lewis, who has used 14 different receivers and has seven with at least 11 catches each and six averaging at least 11 yards.
UNC's defense will counter with some of the best athletic ability and quickness that Duke has seen. The pass rush, led by end Robert Quinn, can be overwhelming, and the linebackers, led by Bruce Carter, are fast.
Cutcliffe said that UNC's defensive front is a major concern, and tight end Brett Huffman said that he and the interior linemen will have to do their best blocking to protect Lewis.
UNC has had trouble in the last two seasons containing good quarterbacks. UNC kept Tyrod Taylor and Virginia Tech under control last week in a 20-17 upset, but safety Deunta Williams said that the secondary could have covered better. The game before, Florida State's Christian Ponder sliced up the UNC defense for 395 yards passing, three touchdowns and 16 straight completions.
"We can really do some big things and take the ball out of the air if he gives us a chance," Williams said. "You can be aggressive if you're doing the fundamental things right. We were aggressive against Florida State and our fundamentals weren't right. We know that we're a good defense and we're a great defense at times. We've got to get back to playing great football."
ACC today
• Noon: Virginia vs. Miami; WMYV Ch. 15
• 1 p.m.: Maryland vs. N.C. State; WIFM 100.9; WSJS 600
• 3:30: Wake Forest vs. Georgia Tech; WXLV Ch. 7 (ABC); WBRF 98.1; WZTK 101.1
• 3:30: Duke vs. North Carolina; ESPNU Ch. 143; WIST 98.3; WTHZ 94.1
• 7:45: Florida State vs. Clemson; ESPN Ch. 33
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