After going up 17 at the halftime break and 20 in the third quarter, UNC failed to put any more points on the board and the defense which held Duke to zero points in the first half, gave up 20+ unanswered points in the last quarter and a half.
Throughout the game, the defensive backs for North Carolina were on different pages every drive. One drive, they have Jordan Moore and Eli Pancol locked down and the next, they are letting Murphy do anything he wants.
For example, in the fourth quarter of the drive by Duke that led to the Star Thomas two-yard touchdown run, the backs had multiple miscues. They gave up a 43-yard pass to Moore from Murphy followed by Kaleb Cost pass interference in the end zone on a 3rd and 5 that gave the Blue Devils first and goal leading to a score that put the game within one score.
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On the ensuing drive by Duke after a punt by North Carolina, Murphy had four straight incompletions on great plays by Cost, Alijah Huzzie, and Marcus Allen that had the Duke receivers locked down.
On top of that, the front seven allowed Thomas and Peyton Jones to run all over them totaling 200 yards on the ground between the two of them with two scores.
If this team is going to be successful this season, the defense is going to have to find some sort of consistency. If they come out and shut teams down through the air and upfront, this could be an undefeated team. However, for the second straight week, the defense has cost UNC a win.
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