By R.L. Bynum
DURHAM — Fumbles and dropped passes on both sides of the ball cost Carolina a big lead in its second straight trip to Wallace Wade Stadium, but this time the Tar Heels found a way to rally.
In 2024, a 20-point UNC lead turned into a one-point Duke win. But Saturday, after the Blue Devils erased a 17-point Tar Heels lead and took a late three-point lead, the Heels found the magic to pull off a 24–20 victory and their second fourth-quarter comeback in two weeks.
Running back Jalen McGill and cornerback Kenton Dopson III got reprieves from earlier mistakes with huge plays.
McGill (12 carries, 75 yards) stormed around the left side for a 24-yard touchdown run with 1:53 left for UNC (4–2, 2–1 ACC), just over 2½ minutes after Duke (4–2, 2–2) took a three-point lead, making up for a damaging fumble.
Quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. had told him to move on as soon as it happened.
“I told J Mack when he fumbled that first time, I said, ‘Hey, flush it. We’re going to come right back to you. We need you,” said Edwards, who calmly engineered the game-winning 78-yard drive.
Coach Bill Belichick stuck with McGill and credited the blocking on the touchdown.
“Honestly, the touchdown run was so well blocked, and he made a nice run on it,” Belichick said.
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That only happened because of Edwards’ poise, including a huge 14-yard connection with tight end Jelani Thurman on a fourth-and-four to keep UNC’s final drive alive.
Belichick never considered kicking the ball away again after the way the punting game had gone.
“It hadn’t gone well for us, and so unless it was like fourth-and-30 or something, I didn’t want to kick the ball back,” Belichick said.
Edwards said the Tar Heels had run the same play earlier in the night.
“They covered it well once. They didn’t cover it well the other time, and Jelani popped right open, and he made a good catch for me, and we were able to move the sticks,” he said.
Belichick said Edwards’ footwork in the pocket against a good pass-rushing team made the difference on the drive.
“I thought he did a really good job of pocket presence,” Belichick said. “Duke’s a good pass-rushing team. He stepped up in the pocket.”
The UNC defense that bent but didn’t break at Pitt did it again for most of the second half, forcing Duke to settle for field goals. But the tired and injured Carolina defense, which spent most of the second half on the field, gave up a go-ahead touchdown reception to Nate Sheppard with 4:39 left.
Dopson, who earlier committed a damaging pass-interference penalty, ended Duke’s last threat with an interception.
Belichick said he hoped the play would lift the true freshman.
“Hopefully that’ll be a big confidence moment for him,” Belichick said. “I thought he, overall, has done a good job for a freshman.”
Edwards said Dopson’s handling of a difficult stretch impressed him.
“I want to say that’s a true freshman out there playing corner. That’s in the ACC. That’s a hard gig, and he stood his ground,” Edwards said.
Time-of-possession domination shifted from UNC for most of the first half to Duke in the second half.
Duke quarterback Walker Eget (24 of 38, 249 yards, 1 touchdown), who has only one interception all season, could have had four. UNC gift-wrapped Blue Devils opportunities with damaging fumbles that turned a game UNC was handling into a thriller.
Belichick, who took his turn with the bell, said the fumbles weren’t due to a lack of attention in practice.
“We work on ball security every day,” he said. “Sometimes two or three times in the same day.”
Other than his fumble that led to Duke’s first touchdown, Jordan Shipp (7 catches, 75 yards, 1 touchdown) had an outstanding game and was Edwards’ favorite receiver during one of the quarterback’s best games (16 of 25, 191 yards, one touchdown, 137.4 passer rating).
Duke running back Nate Sheppard, battling an ankle injury, was limited from his usual output, although he ran for a season-low 77 yards and caught 11 passes for 98 yards.
Belichick said the Tar Heels were trying to contain him.
“He’s tough. He’s a really good back,” Belichick said. “We’re just trying to keep him as contained as possible, which is a lot easier said than done.”
Duke opponents had reached the red zone 10 times in the first five games before UNC did it three times in the first half.
The Tar Heels drove 74 yards on the opening drive but failed to convert on their first third-down play, settling for a 28-yard Rece Verhoff field goal.
UNC’s defense forced a three-and-out. The snap on the punt play was high, Calvin Thomas blocked the kick, and Carolina took over at the Duke 11. Three plays later, Shipp jumped to catch a high Edwards pass and barely got a foot in bounds in the back of the end zone.
Shipp said the Tar Heels had practiced the throw many times and knew where the ball had to go.
“We know if you’re on the back baseline, that ball is coming high, and Billy really trusted me, and he put it up there where only I could get it,” Shipp said.
On a fourth-and-two at the start of the second quarter, Demon June ran through the left side, broke a tackle and scored a four-yard touchdown. That made it 17–0 after a season-long 7-minute, 40-second drive for the biggest lead of the season.
Duke finally hit on some big plays, but a UNC goal-line stand ended the drive at the UNC 2. Greg Smith made two consecutive open-field tackles on third-and-six and fourth-and-1 to snuff the drive.
Belichick said Smith was a game-time decision and had to play a bigger role after cornerback Peyton Waters got injured.
“When Peyton went out a little bit earlier in the game, Greg really stepped up and made a lot of critical plays,” Belichick said.
Duke scored, though, when Shipp made a catch and fumbled at the 10, and Andrew Pellicciotta returned it six yards for a score.
Shipp said he told his teammates the mistake was his.
“Our defense was playing lights out, and I gave them seven free points,” Shipp said. “I feel like as a leader, not even just as a leader, just as a man, you got to own up to your mistakes.”
The bend-but-not-break UNC defense that made plays at Pittsburgh did it again, forcing Duke to settle for Gavin Strange field goals twice in the second half.
Terrific defensive plays in the end zone forced a 22-yard Strange kick on a 19-play drive to start the second half. It was the longest drive in terms of plays by a UNC opponent this season.
Smith tipped a pass in the end zone on second down and Coleman Bryson broke up a pass on third down. In the fourth quarter, Strange kicked a 21-yard field goal after a drive stalled at the UNC 6.
Linebacker Derek McDonald said the defense takes pride in making opponents earn every yard near the goal line.
“When you get in the red area, everything tightens up a little bit,” McDonald said. “Honestly, it’s not the plays; it’s the players.”
McGill’s fumble ended a promising UNC drive at the Duke 9 for the Tar Heels’ first red-zone turnover of the season.
Freshman Irish punter Adam McCann-Gibbs, subbing for the regular punter Aeron Burrell after his back tightened up, dropped the snap to give Duke the ball at the UNC 34 with 7½ minutes left. Five plays later, Eget connected with Sheppard on a seven-yard touchdown pass to give Duke its first lead, 20–17, with 4:39 remaining.
UNC responded with the drive that netted McGill’s game-winner, but needed Dopson’s interception to finish the win.
Edwards said he stayed calm because the Tar Heels still had time and all of their timeouts.
“I didn’t start thinking about the situation until maybe we got past midfield and we got into field goal range,” he said.
Shipp said the finish made up for the mistakes that nearly cost the Tar Heels the game.
“That fumble would have haunted me, but it’s good just to be able to put it all behind us with a win,” Shipp said. “Winning takes care of everything.”
The comeback also had a personal edge for Shipp, who was on the team two years ago when Duke rallied for a 21–20 victory.
“It got loud. The momentum went to them, and we’re just able to come out with a win [this time],” he said of that game.
Belichick said the way the Tar Heels have finished close games comes from work that started long before this season.
“I think it’s been a year-long process,” Belichick said. “It started back in January, and then through spring ball and summer workouts and training camp. When you put a lot into it, it’s a lot harder to give up.”
McDonald said the defense had been preaching that same message since the Clemson loss. “We have to be our best in the fourth quarter. We have to come out and finish games,” he said.
The reward came afterward, when the Tar Heels carried the Victory Bell off the field. “It feels really good, not only for the guys in the locker room but for the whole program, for the fan base to bring the bell back to Chapel Hill,” Edwards said.
Notes
— UNC returns home at 7:30 Saturday (ACC Network) to face Syracuse (2–3, 0–3), which hosted Louisville Saturday night.
— Missing the game for Carolina were defensive backs Kaleb Cost, Tre Miller and Jakob Weatherspoon, and wide receivers Mason Humphrey and Keeyun Chapman.
— In the first quarter, Carolina running back Benjamin Hall (left thigh injury) and safety Peyton Waters left the game.
— LSU transfer running back Kaleb Jackson got his first carry of the season for UNC.
— It took Duke nearly 18 minutes to get a first down.
— UNC was averaging only four penalties per game, but was called for three holding penalties.
— With Carolina’s first win at Duke since 2022, the Tar Heels have consecutive ACC road wins for the first time since 2024 and have matched last season’s win total.
— UNC extended its lead in the all-time series to 66–43–4.
UNC 24, Duke 20
| Team | ACC | All |
|---|---|---|
| No. 3 Miami | 3–0 | 5–0 |
| No. 24 SMU | 3–1 | 5–1 |
| No. 21 Wake Forest | 3–1 | 5–1 |
| Clemson | 2–1 | 4–2 |
| North Carolina | 2–1 | 4–2 |
| California | 2–1 | 3–3 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–2 | 5–2 |
| Virginia Tech | 2–2 | 5–2 |
| Virginia | 2–2 | 4–3 |
| Louisville | 2–2 | 3–3 |
| Duke | 1–2 | 4–2 |
| Georgia Tech | 1–1 | 2–3 |
| Virginia Tech | 1–2 | 4–2 |
| Boston College | 1–2 | 3–3 |
| N.C. State | 1–2 | 3–3 |
| Florida State | 1–2 | 3–3 |
| Stanford | 1–3 | 2–4 |
| Syracuse | 0–3 | 2–3 |
Saturday’s games
North Carolina 24, Duke 20
No. 24 SMU 23, Virginia 13
Clemson 37, Charleston Southern 0
Boston College 27, Pittsburgh 21
Virginia Tech 34, Georgia Tech 24
Florida State at No. 3 Miami, 7 p.m., ESPN
Louisville at Syracuse, 7:30, ACCN
No. 21 Wake Forest at California, 10:30, ESPN2
Elon at Stanford, 7:30, ACCNE
Friday’s games
Duke at Virginia, 7 p.m., ESPN
N.C. State at Stanford, 10:30, ESPN
Next Saturday’s games
Pittsburgh at No. 3 Miami, noon, ABC or ESPN
California at No. 24 SMU, noon, The CW
Virginia Tech at Clemson, 7 or 7:30, ESPN or ESPN2
Syracuse at North Carolina, 7:30, ACCN
| Month/ date | Score/ time | Opponent (current ranking) | Record/TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| August | |||
| 29 | W, 15–10 | vs.TCU in Dublin | 1–0 |
| September | |||
| 12 | W, 35–3 | vs. ETSU | 2–0 |
| 19 | L, 28–20 | at Clemson | 2–1, 0–1 ACC |
| October | |||
| 3 | L, 37–26 | vs. No. 3 Notre Dame | 2–2 |
| 10 | W, 21–18 | at No. 25 Pittsburgh | 3–2, 1–1 |
| 17 | W, 24–20 | at Duke | 4–2, 2–1 |
| 24 | 7:30 | vs. Syracuse | ACCN |
| 31 | TBA | vs. No. 4 Miami | TBA |
| November | |||
| 7 | Noon | at UConn | CBSSN |
| 14 | TBA | vs. Louisville | TBA |
| 21 | TBA | at Virginia | TBA |
| 28 | TBA | vs. N.C. State | TBA |
| December | |||
| 5 | noon, ABC | ACC championship game in Charlotte | ESPN |
Photos by Smith Hardy
