DURHAM — It wasn't pretty and it certainly wasn't easy. But it was a win — one North Carolina desperately needed.
A third consecutive loss would have cemented the Tar Heels' end-of-season collapse and ruined any possibility of UNC appearing in a top-tier bowl game come late December.
Saturday at Duke" the Tar Heels made sure none of those things became reality and resembled the squad that won seven games en route to a 28-20 win against the rival Blue Devils at Wallace Wade Stadium.
""Very big"" running back Shaun Draughn said of the win. We weren't playing for just a bowl — we were playing for integrity. We were playing for ourselves.""
Draughn" in particular directly contributed to North Carolina's resurgence on offense. On the Tar Heels' first drive the sophomore ripped off carries of 736 7 and 30 yards before capping it all off with a 4-yard burst for a touchdown.
With Draughn off to a hot start there was less pressure on quarterback T.J. Yates to lead the attack. In turn Yates played loose and looked drastically more comfortable on the field than he did last week against N.C. State.
In completing 15 of 19 passes for 190 yards and three scores Yates showed that Davis made the correct choice in returning to the sophomore as his starter.
It became clearest that Yates was back to form when he perfectly lofted a ball just above Hakeem Nicks' right shoulder for a touchdown in the second quarter.
The only thing better than the throw was the catch. Nicks trapped the ball against his helmet — setting the UNC record for single season receiving yards in the process.
The second-quarter score put UNC (8-4 4-4 ACC) up 21-14" but the Tar Heels couldn't pull away from a resilient group of Blue Devils.
""They've scored a lot of points this season. They've won some games. They've made a lot of improvement" coach Butch Davis said.
Certainly I think had we been able to at any point score either a field goal or two field goal opportunities that we didn't capitalize on" we're talking about a 14-point deficit and the end of the game's somewhat insignificant.""
Three times the Tar Heels had the ball in Duke territory in the fourth quarter" and each time they came away with zero points. Because of UNC's inability to punch it in late in the game Duke still had a chance to tie the score on its final drive.
After a punt Duke quarterback Thaddeus Lewis took over at his own 19-yard line. In eight plays he drove the Blue Devils inside the UNC red zone and stood 16 yards away from tying the game. But with just 35 seconds remaining the Tar Heels redeemed themselves for their past late-game woes.
The defense forced two quick incompletions. Then on fourth down safety Trimane Goddard channeled his past late-game heroics and intercepted Lewis to seal the win" taking the ball 18 yards to boot.
""I told him" I said ‘I think if I had had a gun I might have shot you for running at the end of the game"'"" Davis quipped after the win.
""But he is such a smart"" heady player. He has made so many critical and important plays for us this season.""
Goddard's interception sparked a wild celebration on the sideline. As soon as the final buzzer sounded"" senior Cooter Arnold began ringing the prized Victory Bell while two other Tar Heels triumphantly pulled him toward the visitors' locker room.
Quite a different atmosphere than the one that engulfed the Tar Heels after their past two losses.
""It's just a great win for our program"" Goddard said. Still got one more game and unfinished business — and we look forward to that.""
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Bell tolls for UNC
Junior wideout Hakeem Nicks set the UNC single season record in receiving yards during Saturday?s game and finally hit his own personal goal of a 1"000+ season. Nicks finishes with 1005 yards and nine touchdowns ? including this one Saturday caught against his helmet.
