Duke-North Carolina Preview Capsule
Duke (6-2, 3-1 ACC) at No. 21 North Carolina (7-1, 4-0), noon, ESPN2.
Line: UNC by 7½.
Series Record: UNC leads, but the schools differ on the final record. UNC counts a 60-37-4 edge, Duke says UNC's record is 59-38-4.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
North Carolina has won seven straight to climb into the Top 25 and sit alone atop the ACC's Coastal Division. Duke is coming off an officiating-botched loss to Miami, but still controls its destiny in the division race.
KEY MATCHUP
UNC RB Elijah Hood vs. Duke S Jeremy Cash. When UNC's offense is rolling, Hood is moving the chains with a tackler-punishing style. He's run for 744 yards and eight touchdowns while averaging 6.2 yards per carry on the year. And Duke's defense will need a big day from Cash, who leads the ACC with 15½ tackles for loss, to keep Hood in check.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Duke: QB Thomas Sirk. Sirk is leading Duke in both rushing and passing yards, seeking to become the first Blue Devils player to do so since 1976.
UNC: WR Ryan Switzer. Switzer has a team-high 428 yards receiving with three touchdowns, and he can also make game-changing plays in the punt-return game.
FACTS & FIGURES
This is the latest UNC has been ranked in a season since 2009. ... UNC's seven-game run is the program's longest since winning 10 straight in 1996-97. ... UNC is 4-0 in the ACC for the first time since '97, which was Mack Brown's final year before leaving to coach Texas. ... Duke is 23-5 in its last 28 regular-season games and 14-4 in its last ACC regular-season matchups. ... The Blue Devils have won six straight and 12 of 13 road games since the start of the 2013 season. ... UNC surrendered program records of 6,472 yards (497.8 per game) and 507 points (39 per game) last year, but first-year defensive coordinator Gene Chizik has turned things around for a unit that ranks third nationally in pass defense and 16th nationally in scoring defense (17 per game). ... The winner gets the "Victory Bell" and typically spray-paints it the winning shade of blue immediately after the game if it changes hands.
