Holliday: Heels defense coming on strong ahead of rivalry game at Duke

By Bob Holliday, WRAL Sports contributor

Forget the big numbers allowed – 496 yards passing and 538 yards total offense. UNC’s defense showed resilience, especially in the red zone, and for the first time this season played a major role in the Tar Heels’ winning a football game.

Miami had built its offense on a strong ground attack, averaging 178 rushing yards per game. Gene Chizik’s crew held the Hurricanes to 42 yards. Moreover, the Tar Heels forced two turnovers and recorded a slew of important defensive plays to limit Miami’s scoring.

North Carolina marched 95 yards on its opening possession to take a 7-0 lead, and Miami trailed the rest of the game.

Here’s what the Tar Heel defense did to protect that lead:

• Miami drove to the UNC 30. Tony Grimes blitzed, leading to a sack of Tyler Van Dyke by Noah Taylor. The Canes then missed a 53-yard field goal.
• The Heels made a huge goal line stand on a first and goal at the two yard line. The Hurricanes fourth down pass was foiled thanks to pressure by Kaimon Rucker and coverage by Taylor.
• Miami pulled within 21-17 at the half and appeared ready to take the lead when Drake Maye threw an interception to start the third quarter. But again, the defense made plays.
• DeAndre Boykins blitzed and sacked Van Dyke on fourth and two at midfield. UNC took possession at the Miami 44 and kicked a field goal soon after.
• Miami again drove to midfield. On third and two, Desmond Evans dropped Henry Parrish for a four-yard, loss-forcing a punt.
• Jaylon Knighton picked up a first down on fourth and one at the UNC 26 and kept on running. Cedric Gray punched out the football and Gio Biggers recovered at the Tar Heel 17. Carolina later kicked a field goal to increase its lead to 27-17.
• A Tyler Van Dyke touchdown pass brought the Canes to within three. UNC’s offense went three and out. Miami got possession with a chance to win or tie the football game at its own 10 with 1:20 to go. The Hurricanes reached the 47 yard line with 46 seconds remaining. There the Tar Heels made three more big defensive plays.
• Pressure and tight coverage by Storm Duck led to an incomplete pass on first down.
• Van Dyke connected with Jaleel Skinner for six yards. Cedric Gray tackled Skinner in bounds, worked very hard to keep him from getting out of bounds. So the clock kept running, forcing Miami to rush.
• Rucker pressured Van Dyke. His hand appeared to make contact with the football, altering the flight of the pass. Boykins picked it off. A completion there and Miami has a chance to kick a game tying field goal. But the turnover with eight seconds left sealed UNC’s victory.

Meanwhile, Drake Maye and the UNC offense did not have their best day. Maye threw into coverage late in the first half and suffered an interception, just his second of the season. Then, two plays into the third quarter, Maye threw off his back foot and got picked off a second time.

Still, UNC’s offense also produced some real highlights.

• Maye hit the deep ball early, with a 74-yard touchdown strike to J.J. Jones and a 54 yard bomb to Antoine Green that set up a two-yard touchdown run by Omarion Hampton.
• Maye threw a touchdown pass to Josh Downs that had to be seen to be believed.
• The quarterback threw while being tackled. Downs caught the ball, broke a tackle and lunged across the goal line.
• Maye directed drives of 95 and 99 yards for touchdowns. But the most important drive came after Miami’s first turnover. The Tar Heels marched 81 yards on 18 plays, consuming more than eight minutes of clock time, before kicking the field goal that gave them a 10-point cushion.
• Caleb Hood rushed 13 times for 74 yards and caught 5 passes for 50 more yards, often breaking tackles and extending drives. Hood left the game after being shaken up late in that long eight minute drive and did not return. UNC’s offense sputtered without him.

Expect a close game at Duke

On Saturday, UNC faces a Duke team trying to fight through its own injury woes, and they are major. Duke played much of the game at Georgia Tech without its top two rushers, a leading receiver and a key offensive lineman.

Despite this, the Blue Devils rallied from 14 down in the final six minutes at Georgia Tech to force overtime. A controversial pass interference call in OT probably cost the Blue Devils a shot at victory.

However, Duke is a surprising 4-2 under new coach Mike Elko. This upcoming matchup at Wade Stadium figures to be the most competitive “Battle for the Victory Bell” since Mack Brown’s return to Chapel Hill.

Brown has not lost to Duke since the Steve Spurrier era, but to continue that winning streak the Tar Heels will need more consistency on offense and continue to get some timely stops on defense.