North Carolina Tar Heels beat Duke Blue Devils in ACC Coastal rivalry game, 38-35

C.L. Brown, Steve Wiseman, Luke DeCock

Coverage from the game

Live updates from the game

Rivals North Carolina and Duke clash in the Battle for the Victory Bell Saturday night at Wallace Wade Stadium.

UNC has won the last three meetings in the series and the teams have split the last 10 games against one another.

The Tar Heels (5-1, 2-0 ACC) enter the game alone in first place in the ACC’s Coastal Division. Duke (4-2, 1-1 ACC) looks for its first win over UNC since 2018.

The N&O’s Steve Wiseman, C.L. Brown and Luke DeCock are on site at Wallace Wade Stadium covering the game. Check back here for updates throughout the night.

Green TD catch: UNC 38, Duke 35, 4Q

Antoine Green caught an eight yard touchdown pass with 16 seconds left in the game.

Waters TD run: Duke 35, UNC 21, 4Q

Jordan Waters scored on a 38-yard touchdown run putting Duke back in front 35-31 with 10:12 to play in the game.

Hagans TD catch: UNC 31, Duke 28, 4Q

Riley Leonard fired a 20-yard touchdown pass to Sahmir Hagans with 14:12 to play in the game, leaving UNC with a 31-28 lead.

On the play prior to the touchdown, Leonard completed a 30-yard pass to tight end Nicky Dalmolin, who made a leaping catch over a UNC defender at the UNC 20.

Green TD run: UNC 31, Duke 21, 3Q

Carolina followed the same combination of plays for its second touchdown in the third quarter. Josh Downs caught a 31-yard pass to set up a 20-yard scoring run by Elijah Green.

Green TD run: UNC 24, Duke 21, 3Q

Elijah Green scored his first career touchdown on a 1-yard run after being set up by a 38-yard reception by Josh Downs. The key play on the drive came when Drake Maye was dropped for a 10-yard sack, but Duke’s Dewayne Carter was called for unnecessary roughness.

Hood TD catch: UNC 17, Duke 21, 2Q

Carolina marched 75 yards in 1:25 minutes to score with just 13 seconds left in the first half. The key play on the drive was a 35-yard strike from Maye to Antoine Green. It would later set up a 4-yard score by Caleb Hood.

Moore TD run: Duke 21, UNC 10, 2Q

Duke converted the game’s first turnover into a touchdown to extend its lead late in the first half.

After the Blue Devils recovered a fumble with 4:33 left, they used nothing but running plays to move 36 yards for a score. Jaquez Moore’s 2-yard touchdown run put Duke up 21-10 with 1:38 to play until halftime.

Duke’s drive began when UNC quarterback Drake Maye fumbled while attempting a pass. UNC running back Caleb Hood hit the ball inadvertently to jar it loose. Duke linebacker Shaka Heyward recovered at the UNC 36.

Leonard TD run: Duke 14, UNC 10, 2Q

One play after losing 14 yards while being sacked, Duke quarterback Riley Leonard scored on a 74-yard touchdown run giving the Blue Devils a 14-10 lead with 5:16 to play until halftime.

Leonard dropped back to pass, then ran up the middle, weaving his way through the heart of the Tar Heels defense. He then cut loose and found open field all the way to the end zone.

Morales TD catch: UNC 10, Duke 7, 1Q

Carolina makes it two-for-two in scoring possessions. The 11-play, 75-yard drive was capped off by a 10-yard touchdown reception by tight end Kamari Morales. UNC only passed for 29 total yards during the drive, churning out the remaining 46 yards on the ground.

Waters TD: Duke 7, UNC 3, 1Q

Duke’s first possession was a 75-yard, eight-play drive that resulted in a Jordan Waters 2-yard touchdown run. The Blue Devils never faced a third-down on their efficient march to take the lead with 8:30 left in the first quarter. Terry Moore had a 15-yard run on the drive while Riley Leonard’s 15-yard run moved Duke to the UNC 2.

Burnette FG: UNC 3, Duke 0, 1Q

Quarterback Drake Maye connected with receiver Antoine Green for a 53-yard pass on the first snap of the game. But a Maye fumble -- that he recovered -- stunted the drive leading to a 45-yard field goal from Noah Burnette.

Pregame update

After seeing its offensive depth chart thinned dramatically during last Saturday’s 23-20 overtime loss at Georgia Tech, Duke enters the game with UNC somewhat healthier.

While Duke lost starting left guard Maurice McIntyre (lower body injury) for the season and running back Jaylen Coleman (lower body injury) will miss his second consecutive game, wide receiver Jalon Calhoun and running backs Jordan Waters are warming up with the Blue Devils in pregame warmups and expected to play.

Coleman, a game-day decision on his availability, was deemed unable to play against UNC. He leads Duke in rushing yards (307), while averaging 5.29 yards per carry. He’s scored four touchdowns. Waters has also scored four touchdowns.

Last Saturday, Calhoun was injured in the first quarter and Waters in the fourth quarter against the Yellow Jackets.

Calhoun is second on the Blue Devils in receptions (23) with a team-best 356 receiving yards.

With McIntyre out for the season following his surgery on Friday, Duke will start Chance Lytle at left guard. Jack Burns will start at center with Jacob Monk at right guard.

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Pregame reading

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