North Carolina routs Duke to take full control of ACC Coastal division
In Year 4 under Larry Fedora, everything broke right for the North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, following a 66-31 dismantling of archrival Duke on Saturday afternoon — a rare big-game result for a program that has struggled taking the next step in recent decades — it is going to take a complete late-season implosion to keep Fedora's group from capturing the school's first-ever Coastal Division title.
The unranked Tar Heels were forced to take care of their end of the equation following a season-opening loss to South Carolina, of course, but the division window opened accordingly.
North Carolina's emergence was well-timed.
Georgia Tech entered the season as the Coastal favorites but have slogged through the worst season of Paul Johnson's tenure — doubling down on a difficult conference slate with poor play, likely endangering an 18-year bowl streak along the way. Miami sputtered to the point that it fired its head coach, Al Golden, after seven games. Duke relied on excellent defensive performances to rush out to a fast start, but following a four-overtime win over Virginia Tech the Blue Devils were handed a controversial, last-second loss to Miami. North Carolina left little doubt in making it two straight losses for David Cutcliffe's program.
Virginia Tech lost its starting quarterback in Week 1 and never threatened. Virginia was a non-threat to the division from Day 1. The only surprise variable in the mix was Pittsburgh, which despite the loss of reigning ACC Player of the Year James Conner has been a tough out in ACC play. UNC handed the Panthers their first conference loss last week.
All roads now lead to Chapel Hill.
The Tar Heels (7-1, 5-0 ACC) are the only undefeated Coastal team and have already beaten the last-remaining one-loss team (Pittsburgh), which gives Fedora's team a two-game head start with three games left in the regular season.
It's difficult to pinpoint one exact reason for North Carolina's improvement. For every reference to first-year defensive coordinator Gene Chizik renovating a problematic defense, a nod to starting quarterback Marquise Williams' improvement is required. The Tar Heels finally feature a full set of receiving options. Sophomore running back Elijah Hood, one of the highest-rated recruits in Fedora's tenure, has taken control of the program's ground game. It could simply be a product of this coaching staff getting its own players in place.
It is not a complete team, but it is a more complete team. And that's been enough.
Duke felt the full force of this new and improved North Carolina program on Saturday afternoon.
The Tar Heels landed haymaker after haymaker in the first half and simply refused to quit swinging. The scoreboard just so happened to stop at 66 once Fedora took his foot off the gas — still, it is the most points a Duke defense has ever allowed in the rivalry. Williams became the first quarterback in a decade to enter the locker room at halftime with 400 or more yards passing (Kyle Orton, 2004), and left the game before the third quarter ended with 524 total yards and five touchdowns. Hood tacked on three more touchdowns. The defense gave up some garbage-time points as Duke tried to play catch up, but Chizik's unit tallied three takeaways and only gave up 10 first-half points.
(Safe to say, the College Football Playoff rankings will be forced to acknowledge North Carolina this time around. The Tar Heels have the committee no choice.)
Miami, Virginia Tech and NC State round out the Tar Heels' schedule. Those are losable games — given the program's track record, there is still not a walkover game in that mix. North Carolina is in the Coastal driver's seat, though, and the other challengers aren't even riding shotgun. They are currently in the trunk.
If North Carolina can sustain anywhere near the level of execution it displayed against Duke, its sights could be set even higher. That team is capable of competing for an ACC championship.
