Stumble It!
There was a time when the Duke-UNC football game was a hot topic of discussion in the Triangle, especially on the eve of the game. Those days are long gone, thanks to the Blue Devil's inability to keep up their end of the bargain in rivalry. Despite the schools being just eight miles apart, you can surely get an easy ticket if you happen upon Kenan Stadium around 3:00 tomorrow afternoon.
When Ted Roof took over the Blue Devils as the interim coach, he bested UNC 30-22 which prompted some Duke fans and the AD to wonder if he might just be the man for the job. I mean, he snapped a 13 game losing streak to the Heels. You could certainly have made a point that he was the right man at the time, but in hindsight it certainly looks as if emotion played a big role in the late season turnaround which saw the mid season firing of Carl Franks.
Duke decided to give Roof a contract, despite his never having been a head coach ala Franks. He then lost three straight games to UNC and his record since that time is simply too depressing to print.
Roof finds himself in the dubious position of having the worst all time record at Duke with a loss to the Tar Heels who come into this weekends game a 15.5 favorite. In the weekly press conference, it was hard to find someone who thought Roof should be given another year. In fact, there was more talk of who Duke's next coach might be and if we'd be having the same conversation four years later.
There is reason to believe that Duke will finally support football. Rumors of meetings addressing the situation are actually a fact. I have personally seen the outline and or proposals. Still, talk is just that and fans want wins or a visible commitment.
On the other side, UNC has been anything but world beaters of late. Butch Davis has found just three wins this season, but his teams have been much more competitive. In my pre season preview I stated that the Heels would likely write off Davis's first year and redshirt a solid freshman class and would win four games playing for the future. Well, that's exactly what has and or will likely happen.
Still, you can see a system in place and the football fortunes in Chapel Hill seem destined to get better. UNC made a commitment just this week to returning to winning ways in football by extending their coaches contract. That clearly shows they want to compete. In fact, their narrow loss to NC State was the type of entertaining game Triangle fans haven't seen in a while.
Whether Duke decides to join in the resurgence and have some fun remains to be seen. To do so, they will need to hire someone with head coaching experience and follow up on long overdue promise to renovate Wallace Wade Stadium as a starting point. I mean, it wasn't that long ago when the series with UNC was deadlocked and now it stands at 36-53-4 and it's not like UNC has been bowling year in and year out since that time.
Yep! Once upon a time the locals would be woofing it up, but there is more interest in the coaching situation than the players on the field. UNC fans are resting easy after locking up Butch Davis while Duke fans are thinking here we go again. Who knows? Perhaps, Duke will make a good move and this match up can once again be called a rivalry.
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DUKE Off vs.
NCAR DefThe Game - Duke will look to close out a disappointing season on a high note. I don't feel as if playing one for the coach will be enough to out-slug the Tar Heels. UNC should be able to exploit the Duke secondary and they are surely licking their chops to get hold of a defense that gives up a whopping 440 yards per game. While Duke has found ways to play UNC tough, they always seem to shoot themselves in the foot. UNC has been playing teams close down the stretch, while Duke has been steadily going backwards after seemingly improving earlier in the year.
The Pick here is UNC 38 Duke 20