How UNC stopped Duke on the goal line to claim a share of first place in the Coastal
Sophomore Javonte Williams ran to his position coach and gave him a hug. Senior Jason Strowbridge grabbed his head and began to cry. And senior Dominique Ross just ran, without a place to go.
They were elated because seconds earlier, their teammate, linebacker Chazz Surratt, intercepted a pass by Duke’s Deon Jackson in the end zone to help seal North Carolina’s 20-17 win over Duke on Saturday night.
The Blue Devils were just two yards shy of the end zone with 18 seconds left in the game, and a chance to score the go-ahead touchdown. Their drive started on the UNC 2-yard line after Williams fumbled it near the goal line.
But the Tar Heels knew what Duke was running. Before Duke’s final play, UNC called a timeout.
UNC defensive coordinator Jay Bateman gathered the defensive players and told them that the jump pass was likely coming.
Duke coach David Cutcliffe said he ran the play in 2017 and it worked. But as Jackson threw the pass, he was hit by junior defensive back D.J. Ford, and the pass fell into Surratt’s hands.
“We were expecting it, thought he’d throw it a little higher, so I jumped, and it came right to me,” said Surratt, who finished with a team-high 12 tackles, a sack and his first career interception. “I’m just thankful to help my team win.”
Win over Duke huge for UNC
The victory was huge for the Tar Heels. Had they lost to Duke, their likeliness of winning the Coastal Division title would have dropped significantly. The Tar Heels also would have had to win three out of their final four games to become bowl eligible.
But instead, the Tar Heels are tied for first place again in the Coastal Division with Virginia, which lost to Louisville on Saturday. UNC (4-4, 3-2 ACC) will face Virginia (5-3, 3-2) next week, and the winner will grab sole possession of first place in the division.
The Tar Heels are also two wins from becoming bowl eligible with games against UVA, Pitt, Mercer and N.C. State left on their schedule.
“Just the amount of work we put in, and how close we’ve been in so many games, especially coming off of last week,” Strowbridge said, when asked what made him emotional. “Just seeing how everyone just continued to fight. I’m so proud of everyone.”
UNC would not have been bowl eligible with its 2017 and 2018 combined five wins.
There was little hope in sight for the UNC football team during the 2018 season — until coach Mack Brown arrived in November. He gave them hope that they could win, and now they’ve already surpassed their season total in wins from both seasons.
Brown said he first realized the Tar Heels were capable of winning the division after their game against Clemson. UNC lost 21-20, and had a chance to knock off the then-No. 1 team in the game’s final minutes.
“And you even asked me, ‘some people think Clemson didn’t play very well,’” Brown said referencing the loss to Clemson. “You know, it really doesn’t matter. It’s who played the best that day, because Clemson is a better team than we are. That’s easy.
“But when we played Clemson that well that day and had a chance to win, that sent a message to all of our players and our coaches that we’ve got a chance every week.”
Sam Howell under pressure
Entering Saturday’s game, the Tar Heels had lost their last nine games against in-state opponents, including two this season.
To beat Duke, it took a big defensive effort from the Tar Heels because its offense struggled. The Tar Heels turned the ball over three times on Saturday, and UNC quarterback Sam Howell was under pressure for most of the game. He also held the ball too long at times, and threw inaccurate passes.
Howell finished Saturday’s game 10-of-26 for 227 yards passing, two touchdowns passing and two interceptions. It was his worst statistical performance of the season.
Last week, after UNC’s 43-41 six overtime loss to Virginia Tech, Howell, who finished that game with five touchdowns and no interceptions, said he would trade all the accolades for a win.
When asked whether he felt them same after the win over Duke, Howell said, ‘yes.”
“And the end of the day we won,” Howell said. “It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win. Especially against a team like Duke.”
This story was originally published October 26, 2019 at 10:51 PM with the headline "How UNC stopped Duke on the goal line to claim a share of first place in the Coastal."
