Duke rallies from 20 points down, beats rival North Carolina 21-20

DURHAM, N.C. -- , Manny Diaz and Star Thomas won’t ever forget their first venture into the Duke-North Carolina rivalry. Peyton Jones ran 20 yards for a touchdown as Duke took its first lead with 5:42 remaining, Thomas scored two touchdowns and the Blue Devils rallied from a 20-point deficit to defeat North Carolina 21-20 in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams on Saturday. "I’m in awe of our guys,” said Diaz, Duke's first-year coach. “We talked about at halftime that we have a chance to do something legendary and that would take all of our belief.” Thomas rushed for 166 yards and Maalik Murphy threw for a touchdown and 209 yards. The Blue Devils (5-0) snapped a six-game losing streak in the series, beating their neighbors for the first time since 2018. Tre Freeman’s interception with 25 seconds left clinched the outcome.