UNC Tops Duke, 20-14, in Overtime

Roof extended his index finger and, with a short thrust of his right arm, sent his team forward.

What followed would be no epic struggle, except perhaps for those on the Duke sideline who knew Roof’s days at Duke could be numbered in single digits. And in the end, it would end wildly for Carolina, cruelly for Duke, as the Tar Heels won in overtime, 20-14.

North Carolina had the better athletes, with Greg Little slashing for yards in a growing display of his stunning potential and Brandon Tate drawing “ooohs” from the crowd with his quick shakes to elude defenders.

But Carolina played like it had little to gain and Duke played like this game mattered more. The Devils switched quarterbacks – using Thaddeus Lewis to pass and Zack Asack to run – and played to win.

Carolina made it look easy in the beginning. The Tar Heels received the opening kick and went right down the field, scoring on 9-yard throw from T.J. Yates to Brandon Tate with 12:46 left in the first quarter.

Duke struck back, though, with Lewis hitting Jomar Wright for 25 yards with 6:33 to play in the first quarter.

Both teams struggled from there as the sun sank from view and the November chill had fans huddled in long lines for coffee and hot chocolate.

But Duke broke out in the second half. Taking over at their own 12 with 6:22 in the third, the Devils combined sharp passing by Lewis with decent runs to go 88 yards in 15 plays.

Duke converted three third downs on the drive and got the touchdown when Lewis faked into the line and hit Wright for a 4-yard score 14:06 to play.

Carolina, though, responded later with a strong drive of its own, feeding the ball to Little and pushing down the field. Little, a freshman from Durham who committed to Notre Dame before switching to Carolina, got the touchdown on a brilliant play when he dove to the goal on a 7-yard score. That tied the game at 14-14 with 7:09 to play.

Duke’s Nick Maggio came in for the game-winning field goal with one second left

But field goals have been a disaster for Duke all season. Coming into the game, Duke was a mere 3 of 8 on field goals, with Maggio, a true freshman, two of three. He had missed from 36 yards earlier in the third quarter, so this chance was no given.

And Carolina had blocked an extra point last year in Durham with 2:49 left to beat the Devils, 45-44.

Duke called timeout with one second left, and the ball at the 22-yard line. Roof went into the huddle and demonstrated how to block on the kick – just a reminder to his players to do those essential little things right. Duke looked confident, even expectant, as one Devil on the sideline had the bucket of ice ready for Roof.

Overtime, for the first time in Duke-Carolina history.

Carolina was revived.

And Duke was in shock.

Carolina won the toss and wisely gave the ball to Duke. Going to the same south end zone, the Devils faced fourth down at the 23.

Roof called in junior kicker Joe Surgan.

“He [Maggio] had missed two and I wanted to give Joe an opportunity,” Roof said. “I thought Nick’s confidence might have been shaken, a true freshman having a chance to win the game.”

But Surgan, too, missed wide left.

Carolina came on, and Little dashed 25 yards on the first play through a deflated Duke defense.

Roof took off his headset and walked onto the field, his Highway Patrol guard on his right elbow. He shook hands with Carolina’s Davis, turned left and moved through elated UNC players.

He waved his team off the field and, head slightly turned down, disappeared into the visitors locker room, perhaps for the final time at Duke.