UNC Edges Duke for Treasured ACC Win

After all, everything has been a little backwards for North Carolina this season.

That kicker, UNC's Dan Orner, outsprinted an exuberant mob of Tar Heels all the way to Duke's giant, inflated helmet behind Wallace Wade Stadium's south end zone after his last-second, 47-yard field goal knuckleballed a few feet over the north crossbar to give North Carolina a 23-21 win Saturday. It was UNC's 13th consecutive victory against Duke.

"When it went up and went in, I ran on the field and I started chasing him," said UNC running back Jacque Lewis. "Like me and everybody else, we couldn't catch him, he was running so fast."

For much of the day, it was Lewis who couldn't be caught. The sophomore became the first Tar Heel to rush for 100 yards in a game this year, accruing 103 yards on 17 carries.

"It feels great. I can't really explain," Lewis said. "That's what we've been looking for all year, a hundred-yard game, and we finally got it at no better time than today.

"We knew we had to get the running game going today in order to open up the passing game, which has already been working."

The return of quarterback Darian Durant from a thumb injury that was previously thought to be season-ending resulted in UNC's best passing attack since he left the Virginia game Oct. 19. Durant completed 21 of 35 passes for 262 yards and one touchdown.

"(Durant's return) meant a lot," said UNC guard Jeb Terry. "Darian, he's a big part of our offense and just his leadership ability and his charisma and the way he holds himself on the field -- it was a boost."

Never was Durant's value to the Tar Heels (3-9, 1-7 in the ACC) more apparent than on the final drive of the game.

After Sentarrio Landrum's 33-yard touchdown reception from Adam Smith gave the Blue Devils (2-10, 0-8) a 21-20 lead, Durant had 46 seconds to move the Tar Heels from their own 25-yard line into Orner's field goal range.

"He comes to the huddle and looks at you like this," said UNC wide receiver Sam Aiken, demonstrating an intense look, "and you have to do what you have to do to get open."

Aiken ran an out pattern to get open on the first play of the drive, and Durant hit him for a 17-yard gain before Aiken ran out of bounds.

Then, with 39 seconds on the clock, Durant scrambled 12 yards to Duke's 46 before finding the sidelines.

After two incompletions, the Tar Heels faced a third and 10 with 16 seconds remaining. Durant found tight end Bobby Blizzard in the flats for a six-yard gain to the Duke 40, not yet in Orner's range.

"We knew what we had to do, and (Durant) said, 'If you catch the ball, just run it out of bounds,'" Blizzard said. "At that point in the game, I wasn't even thinking about the first down. I saw the ball coming, so I hurried to get out of bounds, and then when I looked, there was nobody close to me, like 10 yards."

On fourth and four, with eight ticks on the clock, Durant found Aiken on a slant for a 10-yard gain to pick up the first down and give Orner a shot. Aiken called timeout with four seconds left.

"They were in a soft coverage, they were trying to blitz me," Durant said. "Knowing that they had been blitzing all game, I looked to take advantage of the one-on-one coverage out there, and that's what we did."

That set up Orner's game winner and validated Durant's efforts to get back on the field before the end of the season.

"I think it's a miraculous recovery, a miraculous type of mentality that he has to say, 'I want to go out and play. Let me help the football team, give me a chance,'" said UNC coach John Bunting. "I'm really, really proud of him, proud of the way he's responded all year long."

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.