(Matt Marton / AP Photo)
Just a week ago, we were looking set to have our first ever Victory Bell matchup with both an undefeated Duke Blue Devils and UNC Tar Heels squad.
However, while Duke took care of business Saturday with a 45-17 win over Middle Tennessee, the Tar Heels were torn apart by James Madison, losing 70-50.
UNC is heading to Wallace Wade on the heels of perhaps the worst loss in program history.
The 70 points the defense surrendered was tied for the most ever allowed by the Heels in a game and the most ever allowed at Kenan Stadium, so you know that they’ll be looking to get the season back on track.
In addition, after that loss, rumors quickly spread that UNC coach Mack Brown was contemplating stepping away from the game, but he put those fires out in his Monday press conference.
“As I was walking off the field, I thought, ‘I’m responsible for all this. It’s on me.’ So I thought I should ask the players about leadership and if they feel good about me moving forward,” Brown said. “That’s something I shouldn’t do. I shouldn’t put that pressure on those young people at that point. I’m supposed to be a leader.
“I love my job, I love these kids, I love this place and that’s why I hate losing so much. We’re moving forward and looking forward to playing Duke this weekend. Always fun to play a rival game, ready to get back to work and I’ll keep my mouth shut after losses from now on.”
The Blue Devils on the other hand, are coming in undefeated, their first time facing UNC without a loss since 2017.
Under new head coach Manny Diaz, Duke has taken a massive step on the defensive side of the ball, with the Blue Devils leading the country in tackles for loss and being second in the country in sacks.
“With our inexperience upfront, playing our third quarterback in four games, we’ve got our hands full this weekend,” Brown said.
However, despite the early edge, Duke hasn’t historically had the most luck with this matchup in particular.
UNC holds the all-time edge in the Victory Bell rivalry with a 49-25-1 record and on top of that, the Heels have also won each of the last five meetings.
Duke came very close last year to a victory in Chapel Hill, but ultimately fell 47-45 in 2OT.
“Three of the five games that we’ve played since I’ve been here have come down to the last play of the game,” Brown said. “So these have been tremendous games.”
On top of the narrative that is always Duke versus UNC, there’s also a bit more in the history between Brown and Diaz.
Diaz was, at one point, Brown’s defensive coordinator back when he was the head coach at Texas and the latter fired the former the day after a 40-21 loss to BYU in 2013.
However, both have stated that there is no bad blood between the two.
“Manny and I are good,” Brown said. “I have great respect for him and I think he understands that as a head coach, sometimes things aren’t working well, and you have to make changes. He probably understands that now a lot better than he did then.”
“We’ve spoken, chatted, we were at a clinic together earlier this year,” Diaz said. “We’ve known each other obviously for a long time, but as we always talk about on game day, I’m sure he’s trying to do the best he can for his guys and we’re trying to do the best we can for our guys and the games the game.”
Diaz isn’t too concerned about the narratives and storylines surrounding the rivalry anyway.
“What happens in games like this is that there’s a lot of storytelling,” Diaz said. “What happened last week? What happened last year? What happened the last few years? What happened with this, What happened with that? People try to bring all of these things into play that, in my mind, have nothing to do with who runs to the football harder on defense on Saturday. On who tackles better and who sets better edges. Who protects their quarterback better, who falls forward on contact. These games draw a lot of storylines around them, but when it’s all said and done, the game will still be the game, and it will be won or lost for the same reasons.”
Brown echoed much the same.
“It’s Duke. These kids have been here, they know that. They understand the Victory Bell and the importance of this game to our fan base and they understand that they are good. Our guys will be ready to play.”
Duke and UNC will kick off at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28 and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
