Duke got its first conference win of 2016 on Thursday night, and it did so with an upset victory over No. 17 North Carolina. The Blue Devils went in as 10-point underdogs to the Tar Heels, and riding a two-game losing streak to UNC. That all changed Thursday night.
Duke upsets No. 17 UNC to threaten Tar Heels’ ACC Coastal hopes
The Blue Devils earned their first ACC win of the season Thursday night.
Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
With less than two minutes to go, Duke held a slim 28-27 lead. The Tar Heels got the ball back with a chance to drive downfield for a game-winning score. But an interception thrown by UNC quarterback Mitch Trubisky gave the Blue Devils the ball back on UNC’s 44-yard line with 1:02 left.
The Tar Heels were able to run the clock out to seal the upset victory and give the Blue Devils the Victory Bell back for the first time since 2013.
Thursday night’s game was a shootout throughout — it looked as though things could get ugly early on, as the Tar Heels took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. But the Blue Devils rallied and had a 21-point second quarter to tie things up at 21 at halftime.
It continued to go back and forth in the second half. Duke managed to score a touchdown to take a 28-24 lead, but a UNC field goal cut the margin to a point late in the third quarter.
The Blue Devils got to potentially play the role of spoiler for UNC’s ACC Coastal title hopes with the victory. With UNC’s loss, Virginia Tech can clinch the division on Saturday with a win over Georgia Tech. The Tar Heels’ 34-3 loss to the Hokies earlier in the season gives Tech the edge in the standings.
It has been a tough season for David Cutcliffe’s Blue Devil team — the 3-6 mark was his first losing regular season since 2011, when his team went 3-9 in his fourth year as Duke head coach. But beating your archrival, and possibly ruining their ACC Coastal hopes in the process, is indubitably a positive moment during a down year in Durham.
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