UNC and Duke will write another chapter in the Battle for the Victory Bell Saturday in Durham. The Blue Devils are 4-1 overall and 1-1 in ACC play on the season, having suffered their first loss of the year at Georgia Tech last Saturday. Duke fell 28-25 after missing a short field goal in the final seconds.
Manny Diaz is in his third season leading the Blue Devils, having won nine games in each of his first two campaigns and capturing the ACC title in 2025. Diaz is a perfect 2-0 against UNC as Duke’s head coach — but he was 0-3 against the Tar Heels in three seasons as head coach at Miami from 2019-21. Like Bill Belichick, Diaz comes from a defensive background; he’s held defensive positions at schools such as Mississippi State, Texas (under Mack Brown) and Penn State, among others. Early in his career, Diaz even served on staff at NC State.
Duke head coach Manny Diaz watches play agains Georgia Tech during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
What’s the history?
Carolina and Duke have met more than 100 times on the football field, with UNC holding a 63-43-4 edge in the series. The Blue Devils have won the last two meetings, but Carolina had won the previous five before that. In fact, going back to 1990, UNC has only lost to Duke a total of eight times — with the schools playing every year.
Nate the Great
Duke’s offense starts and stops with star running back Nate Sheppard. And there have been more starts than stops. Sheppard currently ranks fourth in the FBS in rushing yards (743), first in rushing yards per game (148.6), first in all purpose yards per game (180.8) and is tied for seventh in rushing touchdowns (eight). Sheppard has reached the end zone at least once in each of Duke’s five games, and he’s topped 100 rushing yards in four of those five. His one miss? Last weekend at Georgia Tech — when he rushed for 99.
A skilled receiver, Sheppard set career highs with seven receptions for 91 yards against the Yellow Jackets. He has three receiving touchdowns on the season, giving him 11 total. Sheppard will test a UNC defense which has allowed each of its last three opponents to rush for at least 150 yards.
“Everybody’s had trouble with him,” head coach Bill Belichick said of Sheppard. “If you let Sheppard out, you’re gonna pay for it.”
Duke running back Nate Sheppard ranks first in FBS in both rushing yards per game and all purpose yards per game. (Image via Associated Press/Mike Stewart)
Tough sledding
UNC has only rushed for 97 total yards across its last two games, and could find itself bottled up again at Duke. The Blue Devils rank third in the ACC in rushing defense, allowing only 84 yards per game on the ground. In fact, the current top three teams in the league in rushing defense are all on Carolina’s schedule: No. 1 Miami, No. 2 Pitt and No. 3 Duke. The Tar Heels averaged less than one yard per carry last weekend against the Panthers.
“It all comes down to execution,” said offensive lineman Christo Kelly. “There’s a lot of plays in there where it’s one block away from really getting things going.”
Small margins
In 2020 and 2021, UNC beat Duke twice by a combined 63 points. But apart from those two blowouts, recent history between the two rivals is filled with close, tense games. The Blue Devils won three straight against the Tar Heels from 2016-18 by a combined 18 points, and Carolina took the Victory Bell back in 2019 with a three-point win. The last four games, split evenly between the two, have been decided by a combined 13 points. Duke’s last win by more than 10 points came all the way back in 1989, when the ACC champion Blue Devils smoked the Tar Heels 41-0 at Kenan Stadium, after which the Duke team took a now-famous picture by the scoreboard.
What are the odds?
At the time of publication, Duke is a 3.5-point favorite in the game.
Featured image via Associated Press/Mike Stewart
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2026 UNC Football Opponent Preview: Duke Chapelboro.com.
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