CHAPEL HILL, N.C.— Riding Omarion Hampton on the ground, Devontez Walker through the air and another poised performance by quarterback Drake Maye, North Carolina edged Duke, 47-45, in a double-overtime thriller on Saturday night at Kenan Stadium.
More than once in the early going, Carolina seemed ready to pull away, only to see Duke’s Jordan Walters run for two fourth-quarter touchdowns as the Blue Devils flipped a 26-14 deficit into a 29-26 lead with 5:21 remaining in regulation.
Maye was the difference in the final moments of the fourth period and in overtime. He completed 28 of 43 attempts for 342 yards through the air overall, throwing for a score and running for two more.
Hampton rushed 31 times for 169 yards and a score, averaging 5.5 yards per carry while also catching eight balls for 47 more. Walker caught seven Maye passes for a career-high 162 yards, averaging a whopping 23.1 yards per completion.
“It was a great game with tremendous fight by both teams,” Tar Heel head coach Mack Brown said in a live ACC Network television interview after the game. “Nobody gave up, nobody really lost. You want your kids to fight, you want your kids to compete, you want your kids to feel good about themselves, and these kids did all of that tonight.”
The Tar Heels retained the Victory Bell in the 110th installment of the rivalry, winning their fifth in a row over Duke. UNC improved to 8-2 overall and 4-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference with two road games remaining this season. The Blue Devils dropped to 6-4, 3-3. Carolina fans stormed the field to celebrate afterward, bathed in the Carolina Blue lightng from the stadium’s new LED light system.
‘”This was a fairytale ending,” Maye said. “I would have been heartbroken if tonight went the other way. It doesn’t get any better than storming the field after a win against your rival on senior night. Playing quarterback at the University of North Carolina is a dream come true. This is why I came here. I am from North Carolina, I wanted to play in these big time games and do my best to help us win.”
Chances looked dim for Carolina when Duke quarterback Grayson Loftis hit Jordan Moore behind the Tar Heel defense for a 30-yard touchdown and a 36-33 Blue Devils lead with 41 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
Maye guided the Tar Heels 50 yards in 41 seconds for a game-tying, Noah Burnette field goal as regulation expired, then ran for the game-winning TD in the second overtime. Burnette tied a school record by connecting on all six of his field goal tries on the night.
“I’m really proud of Noah Burnette,” Brown said in his postgame press conference. “Tonight, he stepped up. He had two pressure kicks late in the game that kept us alive and gave us a chance to win.”
After Hampton had scored on a two-yard rush to give Carolina a 26-14 lead in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter, the Blue Devils replied with a critical scoring drive, culminated by a 13-yard TD run by Waters to cut the Carolina lead to 26-21 with 9:41 to go.
Duke recovered an onside kick immediately thereafter, taking possession of the ball near midfield and driving for another touchdown by Walters, this one from 23 yards away, to take a 29-26 lead with 5:21 remaining.
Maye responded with a coolly efficient drive, leading the Tar Heels on a 10-play, 75-yard drive to retake the lead, 33-29, when he hit Bryson Nesbit for a 15-yard score with 1:55 to play.
Walters came up big again on Duke’s next drive, running for 15 yards and a first down to the Carolina 33 with 1:21 left to set up Loftis’ scoring pass to Moore in the final minute.
How It Happened
First Half
• Carolina took the opening kickoff and immediately grabbed a 7-0 lead. Maye made the key play when he connected with Walker for a 43-yard completion to the Duke nine yard-line. Two plays later, Maye ran it in from a yard out for a touchdown.
• After the Tar Heels held Duke’s offense to a three-and-out, Maye led Carolina down the field in a hurry-up offensive attack, keeping the Devils off-balance to collect a 23-yard Noah Burnette field goal and a 10-0 lead.
• At the 5:53 mark of the first quarter, Carolina had advantages of 147-4 in total yards, 90-0 through the air and 57-4 on the ground.
• After UNC had taken a 13-0 lead, Duke scored its first points with 5:18 remaining in the second quarter when Loftis hit Moore with a 10-yard TD toss to make it 13-7.
• The Blue Devils intercepted Maye on the ensuing possession, taking over at the UNC 14-yard line. Loftis ran for a TD from three yards away shortly thereafter, and Duke had its first lead at 14-13.
• On the next Tar Heel drive, Maye connected with Walker for a 48-yard pass down the right sideline to the Duke 11. Burnette hit a 25-yard field goal to make it 16-14 UNC and cap a 66-yard drive in 1:39 just before halftime.
Second Half
• The Tar Heel defense blanked Duke coming out of halftime, holding the Blue Devils to 16 total yards while forcing a pair of punts in the third quarter.
• Meanwhile, Carolina was able to steadily grind out 10 points in the third. Burnette hit a field goal that made it 19-14 after a 16-play drive in 6:41.
• Hampton scored on a two-yard dive that made the score 26-14 Tar Heels in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter.
• After its scoreless third quarter, Duke got back on the scoreboard on a 13-yard run by Waters to the corner of the end zone for the first of his back-to-back rushing TDs.
• Loftis found a wide-open Moore behind the Tar Heel defense for a 30-yard touchdown with 41 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, handing the Blue Devils a 36-33 lead in the final minute.
• Maye marched UNC down the field quickly so Burnette could hit a 42-yard field goal just inside the right upright as time expired to tie the score at 36-all and force overtime.
Overtime
• Carolina’s defense was strong on the first extra possession, holding Duke to a 49-yard field goal.
• When UNC got its first turn with the ball, Maye hit Hampton for a 13-yard pass for first-and-goal at the Duke eight yard-line. After two rushing attempts and an incompletion, the Tar Heels had to settle for another Burnette field goal to force a second extra stanza.
• Maye scored on a five-yard designed run to the right side for a touchdown, and after he connected with John Copenhaver on the two-point conversion, the score was 47-39 Carolina.
• Loftis connected with Moore on a slant pattern for a touchdown but Duke missed on its two-point try, ending the game.
Inside the Box Score
• Burnette tied a UNC record with six field goals.
• The Tar Heels have scored 30 or more points in 14 of their last 18 games and 40+ seven times this season.
• Carolina is 47-1 all-time under Mack Brown when scoring 40 points or more and 71-8 when scoring 30+.
• Carolina is 6-1 with 500 or more yards of total offense this season. It had 537 total yards against Duke.
• UNC is 7-2 this season and has won 16 of its last 18 when amassing 400+ yards of total offense.
• Maye has thrown for at least one touchdown pass in 21 of 24 career starts.
• Cedric Gray, who entered the game second in the ACC in tackles, made 11 against Duke, including five solo stops.
• Hampton has rushed for 100+ yards in five consecutive games and has six 100-yard games this season. He has run for at least one touchdown in eight games and has 13 TDs on the ground this season.
• The game was the second time UNC and Duke have played into overtime in series history. In 2007, UNC beat the Blue Devils, 20- 14, in single OT in Chapel Hill.
• The 92 points are the third-most combined points scored in series history.
Up Next
Next Saturday (Nov. 18), Carolina will visit Clemson, followed by the regular season finale on Nov. 25 at NC State.
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