Duke Blue Devils looking to retain Victory Bell for fourth straight season

The Duke Football team will be looking to beat the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday afternoon and retain the Victory Bell for the fourth straight seasons.

Throw the record books out the window when Duke and North Carolina meet, but if you’re a Blue Devil fan, you might want to hang onto the record books a little longer considering Duke has defeated North Carolina for the past three seasons.

Both teams are coming off of crushing losses as the Blue Devils were embarrassed in every single phase of the game against the Virginia Cavaliers a week ago, losing 48-14 and the Tar Heels dropped a six-overtime heartbreaker to Virginia Tech, 43-41.

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At 4-3 on the season, this is a crucial game for Duke to win if the Blue Devils have hope of becoming bowl eligible considered the brutal stretch run of the season the team has.

The same can be said for North Carolina as the Tar Heels are 3-4 on the season and need this game in the worst way to be bowl eligible in the first season of head coach Mack Brown‘s return.

Both teams thrive when the running game is established, which opens things up for the quarterbacks to be successful.

Quentin Harris and Deon Jackson are a powerful combination for the Blue Devils, as the quarterback and running back are both capable of breaking a long run at any moment.

North Carolina will rely on the arm of freshman Sam Howell and the legs of running backs Javonte Williams and Michael Carter.

Duke and North Carolina played its opponents who are contenting National Championship for a tough, with the Blue Devils only trailing Alabama by one possession at halftime and the Tar Heels coming within a two-point conversion of beating Clemson.

With the exception of a few instances, Duke’s defense has been up for most challenges that have been thrown its way this season and the Blue Devils will need another big performance on the road this Saturday.

In what should be a hostile environment, Duke must win the battle at the line of scrimmage, control the tempo and time of possession, and take care of the football, none of which they did last week against Virginia.

Kickoff is schedule for 4:00pm EST from Kenan Memorial Stadium between the Duke Blue Devils and the North Carolina Tar Heels and the game can be seen on the ACC Network Extra or your local Regional Sports Network.

PREDICTION: Duke 38, North Carolina 33