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12 p.m.
Football
at Clemson
Notes: North Carolina 20, Duke 14 (OT)
11/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Duke vs. North Carolina Notes
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Pregame:
Game captains: Duke ? Chris Davis, Matt Rumsey, Jomar Wright, Patrick Bailey;
North Carolina ? Connor Barth, Hilee Taylor, Scott Lenahan, Kentwan Balmer
Duke's four captains for the season finale also have been selected as the permanent 2007 team captains
Duke won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. North Carolina will receive and defend the North endzone.
Weather at kickoff: 47 degrees, sunny, 31-percent humidity, wind from East at 5 MPH
Duke Game Starters: Offense ? QB Thaddeus Lewis, RB Justin Boyle, FB Clifford Harris, WR Eron Riley, WR Jomar Wright, TE Brandon King, LT Cameron Goldberg, LG Zach Maurides, C Matt Rumsey, RG Rob Schirmann, RT Fred Roland; Defense ? DE Wesley Oglesby, DT Vince Oghobaase, NG Ayanga Okpokowuruk, RUE Greg Akinbiyi, SLB Charles Robinson, MLB Michael Tauiliili, WLB Vincent Rey, CB Leon Wright, SS Catron Gainey, FS Chris Davis, CB Jabari Marshall.
North Carolina ? 20, Duke 14 (OT)
Starting Streaks
Long snapper Casey Hales made his team-leading 46th consecutive start. Matt Rumsey extended his starts streak to 35 straight games, earning the start at center. Junior wide receiver Eron Riley earned his 25th straight starting nod. Three players have started 24 straight games with Zach Maurides and Rob Schirmann each starting on the offensive line and Vince Oghobaase playing defensive tackle at the start. Thaddeus Lewis has now started in 23 consecutive games. Justin Boyle made his second start of the season and first since the season opener against Connecticut. He now has 12 starts in his career. Brandon King started in place of the injured tight end Nick Stefanow. King has four starts on the season.
Wright Hauls in Two Touchdown Catches
On third and goal from the 25-yard line in the first quarter, Jomar Wright caught a 25-yard touchdown catch from Thaddeus Lewis. At the start of the fourth quarter, Wright was wide open in the back of the endzone off a play action fake for a four-yard touchdown grab, his second of the game. The two touchdowns were a career high for Wright, giving him his first multi-touchdown game. The two touchdowns give Wright five for the season and nine in his career. The five touchdowns this season are one more than he had in his previous three years combined.
Wright Ends Productive Career
Wide receiver Jomar Wright posted eight receptions for 91 yards in his final game as a Blue Devil. Wright ended the season with a Duke-high 56 receptions for 599 yards. The 56 catches rank as the 11th-highest single-season total in school history. For his 40-game Duke career, Wright caught 122 passes for 1,638 yards and nine touchdowns. On Duke's all-time charts, Wright ranks tied for ninth in receptions, ninth in receiving yards and 12th in touchdown grabs.
Lewis Hits 20 Touchdowns for Season
Thaddeus Lewis became just the fifth quarterback in Duke history to throw 20 touchdowns in a season when he completed a 25-yard pass to Jomar Wright in the first quarter. He added one more touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to give him 21 on the season. His 21 touchdown passes are the second most in a single season in Duke history. Anthony Dilweg holds the school record with 24 touchdowns in 1988. Lewis now has 32 career touchdown passes.
Lewis On The Passing Charts
With 219 yards through the air against the Tar Heels, Thaddeus Lewis finished the 2007 season with 2,430 passing yards, marking the ninth-highest single-season total in Duke history. Through two seasons, Lewis has 4,564 passing yards to rank sixth on the school's career chart.
Lewis With Completions & Attempts
Thaddeus Lewis completed 19-of-27 pass attempts versus North Carolina to close the year with 199 completions in 360 attempts. Both the 199 completions and 360 attempts rank as the ninth-best single-season totals in school history. On Duke's career charts, Lewis ranks sixth in both completions (380) and attempts (700).
Big Plays in Passing Game
Duke tallied three passing plays of 20 or more yards in the game. Jomar Wright had a 25-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter and a 35-yard reception in the third quarter. The two big plays give him eight catches of 20 or more yards on the season. Ronnie Drummer caught a 21-yard pass in the first quarter for his third grab of 20 or more yards this year.
Egboh Records First Sacks
Redshirt freshman Patrick Egboh recorded his first career sack in the first quarter for a 13-yard loss. The loss came on third down and nine from the Duke 30-yard line, moving the Tar Heels out of field goal range and forcing a punt. He added on to his impressive game when he teamed up with Glenn Williams for a sack in the fourth quarter, giving him 1.5 sacks in the game.
Marshall and Gainey Post First Interceptions
Junior cornerback Jabari Marshall and Catron Gainey each recorded their first career interceptions in the first half. Marshall caught a deep pass attempt in the endzone for his first career interception. The interception came off a deflection by senior free safety Chris Davis. Duke now has 10 interceptions on the season. Gainey's interception also came on third down in Duke territory as the pass sailed over the head of the wide receiver.
Rey Causes Third Fumble
Sophomore Vincent Rey matched Chris Davis for the team lead with his third caused fumble of the season in the third quarter. He also forced a fumble against Clemson and Notre Dame giving him three forced fumbles in the final four weeks of the season.
Third Down Conversions
Duke converted 11-of-20 (.550) third down conversion attempts in the game. It was the most successful conversions for the Blue Devils' offense this season. The previous best was at Miami when they converted 8-of-15 (.533). The highest conversion percentage was in Duke's win at Northwestern when they were 7-of-13 (.538). In the last five games, Duke was just 14-of-74 (.189) on third down conversion attempts. For the season the Blue Devils were 46-of-161 (.286) coming into the game.
Duke In Overtime
With Saturday's loss to North Carolina, Duke is now 2-5 all-time in overtime games. The Blue Devils have extra session victories over Virginia (1999) and Rice (2003) and losses to Clemson (1997), Vanderbilt (1998), Northwestern (1999), N.C. State (1999) and North Carolina (2007).
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