UNC football comes from behind to beat Duke in final seconds of rivalry game, 38-35

North Carolina receiver Josh Downs walked up to redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Maye before the offense took the field trailing Duke 35-31 with 2:09 left.

Maye had never been in a position this season where he needed to lead a final drive for a game-winning score. He has now.

Maye connected with receiver Antoine Green for an eight-yard touchdown pass with 16 seconds left to complete the Tar Heels’ improbable 38-35 comeback victory Saturday night at Wallace Wade Stadium and keep the Victory Bell for a fourth straight meeting. The win moved Carolina (6-1, 3-0 ACC) to 4-0 on the road this season, with each victory coming in a one score game.

If all the Tar Heels need is one score, they’re pretty confident in Maye to get it. Downs approaching Maye before their final drive was simply voicing what their entire sideline was thinking.

“I went up to him before to drive and I told him, ‘You’re the greatest and you know that,’” Downs said. “So he got it done and I knew he was gonna get it done. I really didn’t have any doubts about him. So the whole team feels that way and everybody knows that we got a good chance to win going into battle with Drake.”

If he does, Maye does not outwardly carry himself like it, but he does know how to run the Tar Heels’ one-minute offense almost flawlessly. He did it to end the first half with Carolina trailing 21-10 and facing Duke getting possession to start the second half.

Maye needed just 1 minute, 25 seconds for a 75-yard touchdown drive to end the first half. He guided the Heels 74 yards in 1:53 for his first game-winner.

“I’m still kind of in shock a little bit,” Maye said.

Shock had to be what the Blue Devils felt after watching Maye close out both halves with touchdown drives in less than two minutes. Especially the game-winning drive, because just prior to that Duke scored what looked like the game-winning touchdown — only to have it nullified by an illegal shift penalty. On its ensuing play, it was called for an illegal chop block.

It led to the Blue Devils having to settle for a 43-yard field goal attempt that Charlie Ham missed.

“One of the best things we do with this team is one-minute offense and when there were two minutes and (nine) seconds left on the clock with one timeout, that’s forever for us,” UNC coach Mack Brown said. “So I felt like we would win the game.”

How much time is too much time? Carolina had just 28 seconds left in the first half against Virginia Tech when it marched 40 yards in three plays and got a 44-yard field goal from Noah Burnette.

The stakes were higher against Duke since it was the end of the game and they needed a touchdown. But the Heels and Maye showed, they don’t get rattled in those situations. They practice it so much that Green said it’s, “second nature.” Downs added, “you can’t leave us any time.”

“The big thing is just keeping in mind, you’re not getting it all at once,” Maye said. “We hit some check downs that were huge ... also I do what I can when they’re dropping eight and bringing three-man rushing to do what I can on the ground.”

Maye finished 28-of-38 passing for 380 yards and three touchdowns. He added 70 yards rushing.

Carolina began the game-winning drive with a 24-yard completion to J.J. Jones. Caleb Hood’s 10-yard catch on the next play got a 15-yard boost from a facemask penalty on Duke’s Shake Heyward.

The Heels faced a fourth-and-5 from the Duke 20, but Downs came up with an 11-yard reception that would set up Green’s score. Green said Maye kept the same demeanor in the huddle for the final drive as he had all game.

“He’s very poised and he’s not going to switch anything up just because of the situation,” said Green, who had four catches for 112 yards. “He attacks everything the same. So I think going into that last drive was just second nature for him.”

With 1:38 left in the first half, Maye helped UNC turn the game around by directing a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. This time Green set up the score when he hauled in a 35-yard pass from Maye.

Carolina scored on a four-yard touchdown pass from Maye to Caleb Hood with 13 seconds left in the half.

It was far from a perfect outing for Carolina’s offense. It was a bit disjointed throughout the game. It twice got the rare delay-of-game penalties coming out of a dead ball change of possession.

Maye fumbled three times and lost two in the process. One came in the second quarter, when Hood’s elbow knocked the ball loose as Maye began his throwing motion. That led to a Duke touchdown, which put the Heels down 21-10.

His second turnover came in the fourth quarter with the Heels driving for a go-ahead score. Carolina had reached the Duke 38 yard line when R.J. Oben tipped the ball out of Maye’s hand, again as he started his throwing motion.

The ball bounced into the hands of Duke defensive tackle DeWayne Stewart, which was relevant because the play was initially ruled an incomplete pass. Officials overturned the call and gave possession to Duke.

“Coach (Phil) Longo says, ‘Don’t blink, just don’t blink and move on to the next play,’” Maye said. “We battled some some tough circumstances tonight and I’m just proud of the guys and ultimate team win.”