8 P.M. SATURDAY NOV. 29 DURHAM - After back-to-back weeks of subpar performances the North Carolina Tar Heels ended their end-of-season swoon Saturday with a 28-20 win at Duke.
Sophomore quarterback T.J. Yates looked like his old self against the Blue Devils (4-8 1-7 in the ACC) completing 15-of-19 passes for 190 and three touchdowns. Included amongst the 15 completions was a 25-yard rainbow to wideout Hakeem Nicks for a second-quarter score that put UNC up 21-14.
Not to be outdone running back Shaun Draughn rushed 29 times for 110 yards and one touchdown - he also caught four balls for 28 yards and another score. The two-TD performance was the first multi-score game in Draughn's career.
But at times as good as the Tar Heels (8-4 4-4) looked they were not able to pull away from a resilient Duke squad. Thaddeus Lewis threw for 278 yards and a score and linebacker Vincent Rey returned a fumble 36 yards for a touchdown.
The game was in doubt up to the final seconds as Duke drove the ball inside the UNC red zone down 28-20. After a couple of failed attempts to get into the end zone" the game came down to a 4-and-6 from the UNC 16 with 0:27 remaining. UNC senior safety Trimane Goddard intercepted Lewis' final pass to ice the win - and hold on to the Victory Bell - for the Tar Heels.
""I think that this football team showed a tremendous amount of heart and courage" coach Butch Davis said. All three phases did a good job tonight. I'm very" very proud of these kids for the way that they perservered and fought back tonight.""
Notes:
-Hakeem Nicks became the first 1"000-yard receiver in school history Saturday. The touchdown catch - Nick's ninth on the year - also tied him with Marcus Wall for most touchdown receptions in a season by a UNC wideout. Nicks has 60 catches for 1005 yards this year.
-After going just 4-for-22 on third down over the past two games the Tar Heels were 11-for-16 Saturday against Duke.
-Saturday's victory gave UNC an 8-4 record and eight victories in the regular season for the first time since 1997.
