In our Tar Heel Blog writers’ Slack room, a couple of my colleagues who will remain unnamed expressed some optimism and positivity after seeing UNC jump out to a 10-0 lead on Duke early in Saturday’s game. In response, I said this:
Lo and behold, Duke got a break with a deep pass downfield being called complete, scored a touchdown a few plays later, and UNC, up 20-7, seemingly lost any will to compete when faced with actual adversity. Both lines of scrimmage presented only the slightest of resistance the rest of the way, as Duke marched their way to a 21-20 win that felt inevitable way sooner than it should have.