A 6-5, 305-pound native of Houston, Texas, Oghobaase is Duke’s first defensive lineman to receive All-America honors in the modern era. In addition, he becomes the 59th player in Blue Devil football history to earn All-America accolades.

While helping Duke to its highest win total since 1994, Oghobaase started eight games this year and recorded 37 tackles, 7.5 tackle for loss and 2.5 quarterback sacks despite missing four contests due to injury. A two-time honorable mention All-ACC pick in 2008 and 2009, Oghobaase played in and started 44 games and finished his Duke career with 165 tackles, 36.5 tackles for loss and 14.0 sacks. On Duke’s career charts, he ranks fifth in sacks and sixth in tackles for loss.

Oghobaase was one of seven ACC players honored by Sporting News including Clemson’s C.J. Spiller (KR/1st team), Georgia Tech’s Derrick Morgan (DE/2nd team), Clemson’s Thomas Austin (OL/3rd team), DeAndre McDaniel (S/3rd team), Virginia Tech’s Ryan Williams (RB/3rd team) and Florida State’s Greg Reid (PR/3rd team).

A 6-2, 195-pound native of Miami, Fla., Vernon established school single-season records for pass receptions (55), receiving yards (746) and 100-yard receiving game (3) by a freshman in 2009. In addition, his 13.5 yards per catch average ranks as the sixth-highest by a Duke rookie and his three touchdown receptions matched the school’s fourth-best single-season output for freshmen. Vernon’s 1,041 all-purpose yards rank as the fourth-best single-season performance by a Duke freshman.

Moore, a 6-3, 275-pound offensive guard from Coral Gables, Fla., started all 12 games at right guard in 2009, helping the Blue Devils lead the ACC and rank ninth in the nation in passing offense (305.0 ypg). Moore helped the Duke offensive line rank third in the conference in sacks allowed per passing attempt (17.89) behind only Florida State (20.65) and Clemson (19.79).

Scott, a 5-10, 185-pound running back from Durham, N.C., earned a spot on the all-freshman unit as a specialist after returning 18 kickoffs for 452 yards, good for a 25.1 yards per return average that ranks fourth in the ACC and sits third on the school’s single-season chart for rookies. In the season finale against Wake Forest, he returned seven kickoffs for 211 yards – the third-highest single-game total in Duke history – en route to setting a new school single-game record for all-purpose yards (259) by a freshman.

Vernon is the 10th Duke rookie to earn Freshman All-America honors from Sporting News since 2000, joining Ryan Fowler (LB/3rd team/2000), Jim Scharrer (LB/4th team/2001), Ben Patrick (TE/3rd team/2003), Chris Davis (KR/3rd team/2004), Michael Tauiliili (LB/1st team/2005), Zack Asack (QB/HM/2005), Vince Oghobaase (DT/HM/2006), Thaddeus Lewis (QB/HM/2006), Kevin Jones (P/HM/2007) and Kyle Hill (OG/2nd team/2008).

2009 SPORTING NEWS ALL-AMERICA TEAMS

FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
QB Colt McCoy, Sr., Texas
RB Mark Ingram, Soph., Alabama
RB Toby Gerhart, Sr., Stanford
WR Golden Tate, Jr., Notre Dame
WR Jordan Shipley, Sr., Texas
TE Aaron Hernandez, Jr., Florida
OL Mike Johnson, Sr., Alabama
OL Charles Brown, Sr., USC
OL Bryan Bulaga, Sr., Iowa
OL Maurkice Pouncey, Jr., Florida
OL Russell Okung, Sr., Oklahoma State
K Kai Forbath, Jr., UCLA
KR C.J. Spiller, Sr., Clemson

FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
DE Jerry Hughes, Sr., TCU
DE Von Miller, Jr., Texas A&M
DT Gerald McCoy, Jr., Oklahoma
DT Ndamukong Suh, Sr., Nebraska
LB Brandon Spikes, Sr., Florida
LB Sergio Kindle, Sr., Texas
LB Rolando McClain, Jr., Alabama
CB Perrish Cox, Sr., Oklahoma State
CB Joe Haden, Jr., Florida
S Kurt Coleman, Sr., Ohio State
S Eric Berry, Jr., Tennessee
P Drew Butler, Soph., Georgia
PR Antonio Brown, Jr., Central Michigan

SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
QB Tim Tebow, Sr., Florida
RB Dion Lewis, Fr., Pittsburgh
RB Jacquizz Rodgers, Soph., Oregon State
WR Danario Alexander, Sr., Missouri
WR Mardy Gilyard, Sr., Cincinnati
TE Dorin Dickerson, Sr., Pittsburgh
OL Adam Ulatoski, Sr. Texas
OL Trent Williams, Sr., Oklahoma
OL Mike Iupati, Sr., Idaho
OL Jon Asamoah, Sr., Illinois
OL Chris Marinelli, Sr., Stanford
K Grant Ressel, Soph., Missouri
KR Chris Owusu, Soph., Stanford

SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
DE Brandon Graham, Sr., Michigan
DE Derrick Morgan, Jr., Georgia Tech
DT Terrence Cody, Sr., Alabama
DT Brian Price, Jr., UCLA
LB Navorro Bowman, Jr., Penn State
LB Daryl Washington, Sr., TCU
LB Sean Weatherspoon, Sr., Missouri
CB Javier Arenas, Sr., Alabama
CB Patrick Peterson, Soph., LSU
S Taylor Mays, Sr., USC
S Earl Thomas, Soph., Texas
P Matt Dodge, Sr., East Carolina
PR LaVon Brazill, Jr., Ohio

THIRD TEAM OFFENSE
QB Jimmy Clausen, Jr., Notre Dame
RB Ryan Williams, Fr., Virginia Tech
RB LaMichael James, Fr., Oregon
WR Freddie Barnes, Sr., Bowling Green
WR Dezmon Briscoe, Jr., Kansas
TE Dennis Pitta, Sr., BYU
OL Eric Olsen, Sr., Notre Dame
OL Zane Beadles, Sr., Utah
OL Anthony Davis, Jr., Rutgers
OL John Jerry, Sr., Ole Miss
OL Thomas Austin, Sr., Clemson
K Leigh Tiffin, Sr., Alabama
KR Brandon Banks, Sr., Kansas State

THIRD TEAM DEFENSE
DE Brandon Sharpe, Sr., Texas Tech
DE Greg Romeus, Jr., Pitt
DT Vince Oghobaase, Sr., Duke
DT Jared Odrick, Sr., Penn State
LB Andre Revels, Sr., Cincinnati
LB Greg Jones, Jr., Michigan State
LB Eric Norwood, Sr., South Carolina
CB Syd’Quan Thompson, Sr., California
CB Rafael Priest, Sr., TCU
S DeAndre McDaniel, Jr., Clemson
S Rahim Moore, Soph., UCLA
P Tress Way, Fr., Oklahoma
PR Greg Reid, Fr., Florida State

2009 SPORTING NEWS FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICA

OFFENSE
QB Andrew Luck, Stanford
RB Dion Lewis, Pitt
RB Ryan Williams, Virginia Tech
WR Eric Page, Toledo
WR Conner Vernon, Duke
TE Orson Charles, Georgia
OL Tanner Hawkinson, Kansas
OL Barrett Jones, Alabama
OL Peter Konz, Wisconsin
OL David DeCastro, Stanford
OL Aaron Douglas, Tennessee
K Matt Hogan, Houston
KR Warren Norman, Vanderbilt

DEFENSE
DE Aldon Smith, Missouri
DT Jerel Worthy, Michigan State
DT Larry Black, Indiana
DE Nick Perry, USC
LB Luke Kuechly, Boston College
LB Chris Borland, Wisconsin
LB Brian Wagner, Akron
CB Corey Broomfield, Mississippi State
CB Josh Robinson, UCF
S Rashard Hall, Clemson
S Gerald Moore, Ohio
P Tress Way, Oklahoma
PR Greg Reid, Florida State

National Freshman of the year: Dion Lewis, Pitt

DURHAM, N.C. - Just because Saturday’s home finale against Wake Forest is the final time that Thaddeus Lewis and eight other seniors will suit up in Duke blue, doesn’t mean you won’t see them around Duke’s campus.

“Once a Blue Devil, always a Blue Devil,” Lewis said.

“This is our last game for the seniors,” Lewis said. “Last game lasts a lifetime. If you are going to remember anything, you are going to remember that last game that you played in. We are definitely going to go out there and try to get a win.”

Duke is coming off a tough 34-16 defeat at the hands of Miami on Saturday.

“I think having a rival game to come back to is huge,” head coach David Cutcliffe said. “We had our head in the sand a little bit after (the loss to Miami), and our seniors handled that. Our practice, I thought it started a little bit quiet. But man, when we started hitting and competing, it finished on a really strong note.”

A victory would give the Blue Devils six wins and their first season of .500 or better football since 1994.

Getting their sixth win against Wake Forest, a team which has beaten the Blue Devils nine straight times, with seemingly every matchup being more heartbreaking for Duke than the last, would be a special way for the nine seniors to leave their mark on a program that they have helped change over their four years.

“We are just two similar teams,” Leon Wright said. “Both coming from smaller private schools, similar athletes… It is very even and that is how it plays out.”

Wake Forest enters Saturday’s matchup, with kickoff scheduled for noon, averaging 262.5 pass yards per game and 132.3 rush yards per game, totaling 394.7 yards of offense compared to Duke’s 297.5 pass yards per game and 63.1 rush yards per game totaling, 360.6 yards of offense.

The Demon Deacon offense is fueled by senior quarterback Riley Skinner with 252.3 pass yards per game and is tied for second in the league with 21 touchdown passes.

“He [Skinner] is extremely accurate,” Cutcliffe said. “He’s got nice arm strength, and he buys time extremely well, which is what he does as well as anything. He makes you pay when he buys time. A lot of guys buy time and then panic, but he buys time and makes plays. He’s done that his whole career. I watched him when he was young and I was at Tennessee, and I was impressed with him.”

Lewis will take the snaps for the last time as a Blue Devil, finishing his career against the same opponent he had his first career start against back in 2006.

“That day I was just out there playing, scanning the field and trying to find open guys,” Lewis said.

Skinner was also making his first career start for Wake Forest with the Demon Deacons pulling out a 14-13 win.

Wake Forest would win the next year, 41-36, and again in 2008, 33-30, in overtime.

“Anytime Riley is on the field and we have played against each other it has been a great game,” Lewis said. “Obviously he has been on the winning side of things. Two guys that have started their career playing against each other and now they are going to end their careers playing against each other, it is funny how it panned out.”

Lewis has come a long way as a person and a player since that first start four years ago.

“Sometimes I watch film and ask myself what was I thinking or what was I doing? You are just a young pup out there playing in a football game,” Lewis said. “When you look how far you have come with fundamentals and knowledge of a football game and making smart decisions on the football field you actually see the maturity level and the growth from a freshman until now.”

Lewis will leave Duke holding or sharing 48 total Duke records. He has 25 career records, 17 single season marks and six single game records.

“In the midst of breaking those records, we got better as a football team,” Lewis said. “That is something that you want to be remembered for. Getting a win Saturday would be a stamp on that.”

A win would leave a positive remembrance point for the players returning next year as well as leave the group of seniors with a feeling that they have left Duke on a positive note.

Win or lose, these seniors will be remembered at Duke forever.

“This group has endured some difficult times,” Cutcliffe said. “Thank goodness they’ve been able to celebrate some good times. Their contribution to Duke football will be more significant over a period of time, because it’s not just what you do on Saturday. It’s not even what you do on the practice field alone, and they’ve done well there. But they’ve gotten high marks in their conditioning work, their summer passing work that they set up and organized themselves and in their commitment to excellence, academically and socially.”

Jacoby Harris has won and lost games with his arm, with 4 interceptions last week to raise his total to 16 on the year. Look for the Blue Devil’s tough secondary to cause problems for the talented but still developing Sophomore. Leon Wright could ad more picks to his current 5 if Jacory isn’t careful. Defensively, the ‘Canes have been pretty stingly all year, and last week held UNC to just one touchdown and 329 yards.

Last week against Coastal Division champ Georgia Tech, we managed only 10 points and 281 yards of offense. Thaddeus was once again a solid peformer, but fell short of high hopes with just 1 td to 1 int for 212 yards. On the season, our QB and multiple award contending leader is completing over 62% of his passes for 16 scores with only 6 int’s. Against Miami, we will have to rely on the passing game, as we have all year. The problem is, this one sided attack allows defenses to start to key on it. And the speed in Miami’s secondary is scary to contend with.

Look for LB Vincent Rey to continue his run stopping campaign and bolster his 82 tackles on the season. We must do a better against Miami’s run game that we did agains the GT Triple Threat to keep this one close.

DURHAM, N.C. — Duke senior Thaddeus Lewis has been named one of five finalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, an honor presented annually to the top senior quarterback in the nation by the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation, Inc., and Transamerica, a leading provider of innovative business and personal financial services.

Lewis is joined on the list of finalists by Dan LeFevour (Central Michigan), Colt McCoy (Texas), Zac Robinson (Oklahoma State) and Tim Tebow (Florida).

A 6-1, 185-pound native of Opa-Locka, Fla., Lewis has played in 45 career games at Duke with 44 starting assignments. He holds school career records for total offensive yards (9,300), pass completions (829), pass attempts (1,425), touchdown passes (63), touchdown responsibility (71), touchdown-to-interception ratio (1.66-to-1) and total offensive plays (1,772). Just one of three players in ACC history to throw for 2,000 or more yards in four seasons, Lewis ranks second in league history in career pass attempts, third in completions, fifth in passing touchdowns, sixth in passing yards and ninth in total offense.
Lewis has guided the Blue Devils to five wins in 2009 by competing 226-of-364 pass attempts for 2,640 yards and 16 touchdowns while rushing for an additional three scores. In Duke’s 49-28 win at N.C. State on October 10, he completed a school single-game record 40 passes in 50 attempts for a career-high 459 yards and five touchdowns and was named the National Player of the Week by the Walter Camp Foundation for his efforts.

The 2009 winner will be presented with the Golden Arm Award on Friday, December 11 at the Tremont Grand Meeting & Banquet Facility in Downtown Baltimore. Joining the evening’s festivities will be a number of former Baltimore Colts teammates of Johnny Unitas, along with NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr.

Last year’s winner of the Golden Arm Award was Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell. Other past winners include Matt Ryan (Boston College), who is now with the Atlanta Falcons; Brady Quinn (Notre Dame, 2006), now with the Cleveland Browns; the Arizona Cardinals’ Matt Leinart (USC, 2005), Eli Manning (Ole Miss, 2003) of the New York Giants; the Cincinnati Bengals’ Carson Palmer (USC, 2002); and the Indianapolis Colts’ Peyton Manning (Tennessee, 1997).

“When you consider how many great college QBs have won the Golden Arm Award and have gone on to play in the NFL, it is clear that this award has become a significant barometer for future success in the professional ranks,” says John C. Unitas, Jr., President of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation.

The namesake of the Golden Arm Award has a storied history which has earned him the recognition of being the greatest quarterback to ever play in the National Football League. An 18-year veteran of the NFL, Unitas played his collegiate career at the University of Louisville (1951-1954), passing for 3007 yards and 27 touchdowns.

Unitas began his pro career with the Baltimore Colts in 1958 and played there 17 years until joining the San Diego Chargers for his final season. His career passing figures include completing 2,830 of 5,186 passes for 40,239 yards and 290 touchdowns. Among his many records is one that may stand forever, throwing a touchdown pass in 47 consecutive games.

Unitas was selected as the top quarterback of all-time by the Pro Football Hall of Fame 36-member selection committee. In commemorating the NFL’s 25th, 50th and 75th anniversaries, he was honored as the GREATEST QUARTERBACK OF ALL TIME. Unitas was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1979.

Proceeds from the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Awards help to support the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation. The Foundation provides financial assistance to underprivileged and deserving young scholar-athletes throughout Maryland and Kentucky.

Sponsors of the Golden Arm Award include Baltimore’s Tremonts, Black & Decker, Century Engineering, Comcast Cable, Dunbar Armored, First Mariner Bank, MedStar Union Memorial Sports Medicine, MyAdBox, R2i.ntegrated, Southwest Airlines, Sports Legends Museum, and Weiss PR Associates, Inc.

Seniors Thaddeus Lewis, Ayanga Okpokowuruk and Vincent Rey will be joined by redshirt freshman Brian Moore as captains.

Lewis was recently named one of five finalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, an award given annually to the nation’s top senior quarterback. Lewis has passes for 2,640 yards and 16 touchdowns in his senior season. He is completing a career-high 62.1 percent of his passes and has a quarterback rating of 134.22. He will be a captain for the seventh time in 11 games on Saturday.

Okpokowuruk will make his fourth appearance as captain while Rey will be one for the fifth time. Okpokowuruk leads the team with five sacks and ranks tied for sixth in the ACC. He has seven tackles for loss and two caused fumbles on the year. Rey is Duke’s top tackler, ranking fourth in the ACC with 8.2 tackles per game. He has 82 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one interception and one fumble return for a touchdown this season.

Moore joins Jordon Byas as the only freshmen to serve as captains this year. Moore has started all 10 games at right guard, playing 723 total snaps. He is one of only five Blue Devils who have played over 700 snaps for the year.

Saturday’s game will be televised on ESPNU with kickoff scheduled for 12 noon.

“Mike is truly deserving of this honor,” said Duke head coach David Cutcliffe. “This recognition is very special for Mike and his family, and also says volumes about our entire defensive staff and our student-athletes. Mike is one of the finest football coaches I’ve been around over the course of my career. I couldn’t be happier for Mike to receive this award.”

Through 10 games this season, Duke ranks sixth in the ACC and 41st nationally in total defense by allowing 342.8 yards per game. For the first time in 15 seasons, the Blue Devils held three consecutive ACC opponents (Maryland, Virginia & North Carolina) to fewer than 20 points. In 2008, the Blue Devil defense allowed 23.4 points per game — the program’s lowest total in 20 seasons — and held three opponents to less than 10 points for the first time since 1976.

“Coach MacIntyre demands perfection,” said Duke junior linebacker Adam Banks. “He is always ready with a way to help you get there. If he sees something you are having trouble with, he will figure out a different plan to make that play. His passion for football is incredible.”

“Coach MacIntyre is a real energetic and passionate guy,” said Duke redshirt senior defensive end Ayanga Okpokowuruk. “He pushes us on every snap to get better. Off the field in meetings, he really stresses being prepared, to be on time and take notes. I know a lot of guys have gone on into the business world and taken a lot of those concepts with them to become successful.”

MacIntyre joined Cutcliffe at Duke prior to the 2008 season after five years in the NFL, serving four seasons with the Dallas Cowboys (2003-06) and one campaign with the New York Jets (2007). Prior to entering the professional ranks, he served on Cutcliffe’s staff at Ole Miss from 1999-02, helping the Rebels to a four-year ledger of 29-19 with three bowl appearances.

A 1989 graduate of Georgia Tech, MacIntyre got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant at Georgia (1990-91) and then spent the 1992 season as the defensive coordinator at Davidson College. He also served stints at Tennessee-Martin (1993-96) and Temple (1997-98) before joining Cutcliffe in Oxford.

The other divisional winners of this year’s AFCA awards include Mark Speir of Appalachian State (FCS), David Needs of Carson-Newman College (NCAA Division II), Jeff Thomas of the University of Redlands (NCAA Division III) and Josh Gehring of Morningside College (NAIA).

“Once again, five outstanding assistant coaches have been selected for their dedication, not only to their teams, but to their communities,” said Executive Director Grant Teaff. “Often times, the head coach receives much of the credit for his team’s success, but any head coach is only as good as his assistants. Much of an assistant coach’s work is done behind the scenes. It is our pleasure to bring it to the forefront.”

The criteria for the award is not limited to on-field coaching ability or the success of the team and players that these assistant coaches work with. Service to the community through charitable work and other volunteer activities, participation in AFCA activities and events, participation in other professional organizations and impact on student-athletes are all taken into account in the selection process.

Winners of the Assistant Coach of the Year Award will receive a plaque to commemorate the award and an educational stipend to attend the 2011 AFCA Convention or another professional development clinic/convention of their choice. They will be honored at the AFCA Kickoff Luncheon, Monday, January 11 at the 2010 AFCA Convention in Orlando, Fla.

The AFCA was founded in 1922 and currently has more than 10,000 members around the world, ranging from the high school level to the professional ranks. According to its constitution, the AFCA was formed, in part, to “maintain the highest possible standards in football and the coaching profession” and to “provide a forum for the discussion and study of all matters pertaining to football and coaching.”

Durham, n.c. – Junior walk-on placekicker Will Snyderwine has been named one of 20 semifinalists for the 2009 Lou Groza Award, given annually to the nation’s top placekicker.

Snyderwine is one of the top kickers nationally, ranking tied for seventh in field goal percentage (.917). He has made 11-of-12 field goal attempts this season, including his last 11 attempts since missing his first career attempt at Army. His percentage is the second highest in the ACC while his 1.38 field goals per game rank sixth in the conference.

Nine of Snyderwine’s 11 made field goals have come in two games. He was a perfect 5-of-5 in a win at Virginia and was 4-of-4 against Virginia Tech. His five made field goals are the second most in a single game in Duke history while his four made attempts are tied for fourth most at Duke. He is a perfect 7-of-7 on attempts longer than 30 yards with four made tries over 40 yards. His career long of 47 yards came against Virginia Tech.

The award is named in honor of one of the all-time great kickers in football history, Lou Groza. Groza played 21 seasons for the Cleveland Browns setting numerous franchise records, including most games played, most points scored, and an amazing 107 consecutive games in which he scored a point. The 1,608 career points he scored is still a Browns’ franchise record, and he ranks third all-time in league. Groza was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1974.

Semi-finalists will be voted on by all Division 1 Head Coaches and SID’s, along with national, regional and local football writers and others who will select the three (3) finalists. These finalists will be honored at the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Awards Banquet on December 8 in West Palm Beach, FL. The winner will be announced live on the nationally televised Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show on the evening of December 10, 2009.

Semifinalist

http://www.lougrozaaward.com/semifinalists

Head coach David Cutcliffe has announced the four players who will serve as captains for the Georgia Tech game with three of the four to represent the team for the first time this season.

Adam Banks, Jordon Byas and Catron Gainey were all named captains for the first time, joining senior Re’quan Boyette as captains for Saturday’s game against the No. 7 team in the country.

Banks and Byas have been two of Duke’s top special team performers this season while also seeing time on defense. Banks is tied for third on the team with eight tackles on special teams, including three as a member of the punt coverage unit. He has also started two games on the year at the strongside linebacker position. Byas leads the Blue Devils with nine tackles as a member of the kickoff coverage unit to go along with a blocked punt at North Carolina. He is the first freshman to serve as a captain this season for Duke.

Gainey ranks second on the team and 10th in the ACC with 7.0 tackles per game. He has 63 tackles with 35 solo stops to go along with three pass breakups

Boyette also served as a captain in the season opener against Richmond. He has rushed for 111 yards this season while catching 11 passes for 89 yards and one touchdown.

Saturday’s game will be televised on espn2 with kickoff scheduled for 12 noon.

But what about Duke? There’s certainly a high level of respect for the Yellow Jackets from Duke head coach David Cutcliffe.

“They are a great football team and they absolutely destroyed us a year ago in Atlanta,” Blue Devils coach David Cutcliffe told the school’s official Web site. “Our defense played pretty well against them most of the ball game. They pose tons of problems. They run their offense extremely well. They have weapons to do that.”

Duke - senior quarterback and overall leader for Duke this year - Thad Lewis will bounce back after Saturday’s disappointing 19-6 loss at North Carolina. Against UNC, Thadeus was less than steller, delivering just over 100 yards passing.

More reason to look at Duke here…Lewis, is second in the ACC with 2,428 passing yards, (and the Yellow Jackets are 10th in the ACC in pass defense), but just came off of his worst game of the season and he is 0-3 in his career versus Georgia Tech. This is a game he should be inspired in.

Duke is 30-45-1 all-time versus the Yellow Jackets and there is no bigger game in this matchup history for both teams.

Charles Brown also came up with a key interception late in the third quarter as part of a dominating defensive performance for the Tar Heels (6-3, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who shut down Thad Lewis and the prolific passing attack that had carried the Blue Devils (5-4, 3-2) to three straight victories.

Duke finished with 125 total yards and had to fight for every one of them. The Tar Heels didn’t have much offensive success, but they wore down the Blue Devils behind Houston after starting tailback Shaun Draughn went out with an early shoulder injury.

Houston finished with a career-high 37 carries, including 10 on the clock-draining drive that ended with Boyd’s touchdown with 6:57 left.

He also had the lead block on Matt Daniels that allowed Boyd to get to the right pylon on a 3-yard end-around that made it a two-possession game.

Not a bad performance for a guy who typically served as the short-yardage and goal-line back and had never had more than 18 carries or 74 yards rushing in a game. Then again, the Tar Heels didn’t have much choice after Draughn injured his left shoulder on a 9-yard gain on the Tar Heels’ first offensive play and didn’t return.

North Carolina didn’t manage much offense outside of Houston.

T.J. Yates threw for just 119 yards and the Tar Heels had to rely on a career-high four field goals from Casey Barth.

But they’re now one win from bowl eligibility–though their last home game is next week against No. 16 Miami, followed by trips to Boston College and rival North Carolina State to close the regular season.

It was the first meeting in 15 years in which both North Carolina and Duke had winning records, while it was one of the rare times in the rivalry that they weren’t meeting to close the regular season. But it ended much like the rest have, with North Carolina winning for the 19th time in 20 meetings.

The game remained tight until the final period despite the fact Lewis was under constant pressure and didn’t have time to wait for his receivers to get open.

He completed 16 of 33 passes for 113 yards, snapping his streak of four straight 300-yard games. His biggest mistake came when he tried to force the ball to Conner Vernon late in the third quarter only to see Brown jump in front of the pass and return it 54 yards. That set up Barth’s 41-yard kick for a 9-6 lead on the final play of the third quarter.