Stumble It!
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Duke football team closed out the 2007 season with a 20-14 overtime loss to rival North Carolina on Saturday afternoon as 52,000 fans looked on at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C.
The Blue Devils finish the year at 1-11 overall and 0-8 in ACC play. The Tar Heels improve to 4-8 overall and 3-5 in the league.
North Carolina took the opening kickoff and drove 55 yards on six plays to claim a 7-0 lead when T.J. Yates threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Tate.
The Blue Devils countered with a scoring drive of their own as quarterbacks Thaddeus Lewis and Zack Asack combined to engineer a 12 play, 67-yard march that clipped 6:13 off the clock. Lewis hooked up with Jomar Wright for a 25-yard scoring toss to cap the drive with 6:33 remaining in the first period.
The Tar Heels had a scoring opportunity late in the opening quarter, but Patrick Egboh sacked Yates on third down and nine from the Duke 30 yard line to push North Carolina out of field goal range. The sack marked the first of Egboh’s career.
In the second quarter, North Carolina had two scoring chances thwarted by turnovers. Jabari Marshall registered the first interception of his career with a pickoff in the end zone and, on the Tar Heels’ next possession, Catron Gainey followed with his first interception deep in Duke territory.
On their first possession of the second half, Duke drove inside the Tar Heel 20 yard line, but missed a 36-yard field goal attempt.
Wright’s second touchdown reception of the day pushed Duke ahead by a 14-7 count. Lewis found Wright open in the end zone from four yards out to cap a 15 play, 88-yard drive that took 7:16 off the clock. The scoring march was keyed by two third down catches by Austin Kelly.
North Carolina knotted the score at 14-14 when Greg Little rushed around the left end for a seven-yard touchdown with 7:09 remaining in the game. The nine play, 72-yard drive took 4:06 off the clock.
Duke got the ball back with 1:25 remaining and marched 58 yards to set up the potential game-winning field goal with one second left on the clock. However, freshman Nick Maggio missed on a 40-yard attempt, forcing overtime.
In the extra session, the Blue Devils netted just two yards before Joe Surgan missed a 42-yard field goal attempt. North Carolina then scored on its first play when Little found the end zone on a 25-yard carry, giving the Tar Heels a 20-14 win.
Lewis completed 18-of-27 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns on the day while Wright hauled in eight throws for 91 yards. Clifford Harris rushed for a team-best 44 yards on six carries.
Little paced the Tar Heel offense with 154 yards on the ground. Yates completed 11-of-24 pass attempts for 75 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
With the win, North Carolina picks up two points in the Carlyle Cup competition and leads the current standings, 8-2. The Carlyle Cup is a 23-sport competition between the two schools