Mack Brown says UNC’s 38-7 win over Duke its “best defense of the year.” Find out why

When Duke running back Mataeo Durant ripped off a 37-yard run on its first offensive play of the game, nothing about it seemed like North Carolina’s defense was headed to potentially a season-defining outing.

Now, Durant did get his 100-yard game for the fourth time in five games this season. But the Tar Heels’ defense didn’t allow much else in UNC’s 38-7 win over the Blue Devils to keep the Victory Bell in Chapel Hill for a third consecutive season.

“We played our best defense of the year and maybe since we’ve been here,” UNC football coach Mack Brown said. “I was really really proud of those guys — the two turnovers, (five) sacks, it made them change their offensive game plan for the second half.”

Carolina (3-2, 2-2 ACC) played well for a half last week in its 45-22 loss at Georgia Tech before mistakes and miscommunication doomed it in the second half. But against rival Duke, UNC played a complete game defensively.

The Blue Devils’ offense entered the game averaging 544 total yards per game, which ranked third in the ACC by just 4 yards per game. Their 2,178 total yards gained through four games to start a season was the most in program history since 1970. The Heels held them to just 314 total yards Saturday.

Duke was second in the ACC with a 57 percent conversion rate on third downs. The Heels limited them to just 2-for-15

Duke had allowed just five sacks all season, which was tied for second in the conference. The Heels produced five Saturday.

Brown said the way the defense played changed the way he coached the game. There were a couple of situations he chose to punt instead of going for it because of the confidence he had that they would get a stop.

“It changes your team in a lot of ways, number one, you don’t have to go for every fourth down on offense to try to outscore people,” Brown said. “You can actually play with a defense that could keep people and keep the score down.”

Carolina changed the tone of the game defensively early in the second quarter when Kevin Hester Jr. pressured Duke quarterback Gunnar Holmberg and forced a fumble before he could throw the ball.

Free safety Trey Morrison scooped up the loose ball and returned it 63 yards for a touchdown. It was UNC’s first fumble return for a score since 2018 against Georgia Tech. Strong safety Cam’Ron Kelly then recorded his first career interception in the third quarter on a Holmberg pass he tipped to himself and caught.

“When you can play great defense, like we did today, the game’s never in doubt,” Brown said. “We gave up three runs and a long pass and that’s about all I remember. Everything else, we were all over them.”

Senior linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel said one of the reasons why the defense played sharper was because they finally got the front seven all together during the week. Most weeks, the preparation outside of practice is fragmented. Several players here and there will get together to watch video of their next opponent in addition to what they do with their coaches.

Gemmel said while preparing for Duke the front seven all aligned their schedules in order to meet together on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

“We decided this week not to meet until all the classes were over with so we could get everybody in there together at the same time,” Gemmel said. “That definitely helped everybody see things differently.”

Gemmel agreed that it was the Heels’ best performance because he said the communication was one of the best games he has been a part of in his career at UNC.

“When the rushers and the guys in the boundary are calling out some stuff that you can’t see in the field, I mean I think that’s really, really, good communication,” Gemmel said. “Often times the D-line aren’t the guys to really be too vocal or your (pass) rushers aren’t really the type of guys on defense to be too vocal. They were out there calling out their their pass protections that when they saw high-set or when they saw low-set.”

The challenge for the Heels, who play a lot of freshmen and sophomores in their front seven on defense, is to stay consistent with Florida State visiting Kenan Stadium next week.

“They’re playing with confidence and you don’t have to worry so much about who’s out there,” Brown said. “Even the young ones came in at the end of the game and they got to stop. So I’m excited about where we’re going on defense.”

This story was originally published October 2, 2021 at 5:56 PM with the headline "Mack Brown says UNC’s 38-7 win over Duke its “best defense of the year.” Find out why."

C.L. Brown

The News & Observer

C.L. Brown covers the University of North Carolina for The News & Observer. Brown brings more than two decades of reporting experience including stints as the beat writer on Indiana University and the University of Louisville. After a long stay at the Louisville Courier-Journal, where he earned an APSE award, he’s had stops at ESPN.com, The Athletic and even tried his hand at running his own website, clbrownhoops.com.