North Carolina blitzes Duke, seizes control of ACC Coastal
The ACC Coastal Division is North Carolina's to lose.
The Tar Heels, 8-1, blitzed Duke in the first half on Saturday on the way to a 66-31 win. Marquise Williams torched the Duke secondary for 494 yards and bookended the first half with touchdown passes.
North Carolina scored on its first offensive play of the game when Williams found Ryan Switzer for an 89-yard touchdown on a flea flicker. The score gave the Tar Heels a 7-0 lead. Then, with one second to go in the first half, Williams hit Bug Howard for a 49-yard touchdown.
Somehow, Duke hadn't put its safeties back to prevent North Carolina from completing a big pass play. Howard was one-on-one in pass coverage and the great throw from Williams meant UNC went into the halftime break leading 38-10.
Williams had 404 passing yards and three touchdowns in the first half. He also had a rushing touchdown in the 38-point barrage.
Duke, fresh off its awkward loss to Miami after ACC officials messed up multiple times on the Hurricanes' game-winning kickoff return, hadn't allowed more than 272 passing yards to a team all season. The Blue Devils allowed Williams and backup Mitch Trubisky to throw for 537.
North Carolina was not ranked in Tuesday's College Football Playoff rankings despite being 7-1. The reason was a weak schedule; North Carolina's best win this season had been Pitt, a team that dropped out of the top 25 after losing to UNC. And the Tar Heels' loss, a 17-13 decision to South Carolina in Week 1, isn't considered to be a very good one, either.
The Tar Heels now have a two-game lead (thanks to the Pitt win) over everyone else in the ACC Coastal and will be ranked in the CFP poll this Tuesday. It's great news for the ACC, and especially the winner of Saturday afternoon's game between Clemson and Florida State.
If North Carolina wins out – possible with games remaining against Miami, Virginia Tech and North Carolina State – the Tar Heels could be an 11-1 opponent for the winner of the Atlantic Division.
And barring a catastrophe, the winner of the Atlantic should also be 11-1, if not 12-0. A North Carolina team on an 11-game win streak would be a huge opportunity for the Atlantic champion to show why the ACC is deserving of a spot in the College Football Playoff. But if Carolina stumbles over the next three games, it's one fewer chance for a boost for either FSU or Clemson. And it could be costly if top teams from the other Power 5 conferences, especially the Big 12 continue to win.
But we won't end this on that note. North Carolina didn't look Saturday like it was in danger of stumbling anytime soon. With one more win, it'll be UNC's winningest season since 1997, an 11-1 campaign. And as we said just a couple paragraphs ago, it's a record that's certainly in play in 2015.
For more Duke news, visit DevilsIllustrated.com.
For more North Carolina news, visit TarHeelIllustrated.com.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
