Nov. 15, 2005
By Rick Brewer, Sports Information Director Emeritus
The Carolina-Duke football rivalry has been filled with great games, blowouts, thrillers and outstanding individual performances. On plenty of occasions winning seasons and bowl invitations have ridden on the outcome.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of one of the most hard-fought games in the history of the series. That's putting hard-fought quite literally.
Even as unpredictable as this rivalry is, Carolina's 44-21 win in 1980 was not a surprise. The Tar Heels were 9-1, while the Blue Devils were 2-8.
What was unexpected was the way the game was played. There were more hard feelings after the game than even Terrell Owens could cause in a locker room.
There was shoving and pushing all day and even some punches were thrown. There was constant talking and finger pointing. Three players were ejected. There have been altercations in this series before and since, but not often on the scale seen in Kenan Stadium that afternoon.
Even all that couldn't overshadow Amos Lawrence and Kelvin Bryant. The two Carolina tailbacks each went over the 1,000-yard rushing mark and both had two touchdowns.
Lawrence had not practiced all week because of a cold. He still ran for 143 yards, pushing his season total to 1,118. That gave him four 1,000-yard seasons. At that time Tony Dorsett was the only other Division 1 player to accomplish that feat.
Bryant needed 160 yards that day to reach 1,000. He finished with 199 and 1,039 for the year. After his last carry it was Lawrence who went back onto the field to bring him to the sidelines.
"The coaches told me before the game that I was going to get the ball a lot today," said Bryant. "Once Amos went over 1,000 they were going to try to let me do the same. I was a little worried at the half because I only had 35."
Lawrence had gone over 1,000 on the sixth play of the game when he broke off a 56-yard touchdown run. So in the second half Bryant got 19 carries for 164 yards to push him past 1,000.
"We knew that Duke would be keying on him," said center Rick Donnalley. "But, we made up our minds to give him every chance to get 1,000.We wanted to fire out and give him a hole. It doesn't take much of a hole for Kelvin."
The two tailbacks helped Carolina finish with a team total of 432 yards rushing. The ground game was so good that quarterback Rod Elkins only had to attempt eight passes.
Duke was unable to establish any kind of running game. Plus, the Blue Devils fell behind 23-0 in the game's first 16 minutes. That led to 45 pass attempts and much of the bad blood.
"I thought we played pretty well defensively," said Tar Heel Coach Dick Crum. "But, they threw the ball over 40 times and there wasn't a holding call in the game. When you get tackled and nothing is called, you're going to get frustrated. I can't fault our defense for that. I don't condone some of the things that happened, but I can understand why our guys were upset."
Carolina was able to put some pressure on Duke's Ben Bennett, but only Lawrence Taylor was able to record a sack.
"I was constantly being held by their offensive linemen and nothing was being called," said defensive tackle Donnell Thompson. "And there a lot of things going on after the whistle had blown. Things just kept building up."
Of course, there was a different opinion in the Blue Devil locker room.
"Those guys talk too much," said Bennett. "Everybody can take talking up to a point. When it becomes more than that you have to fight back."
Carolina linebacker Darrell Nicholson agreed with Bennett on part of that.
"Our guys were getting held," he said. "Duke was talking and so were we. Things just got out of hand and a couple of our guys decided they simply weren't going to take it."
Despite falling behind by 23 points, Duke was able to get back into the game in the second half.
Lawrence's 56-yard sprint and a nine-yard run by Bryant had given the Tar Heels a 14-0 lead with 7:47 remaining in the first quarter.
One possession later Steve Streater placed a punt on the Duke two-yard line. Taylor dropped Mike Grayson for a safety on third down and the lead was 16-0. After the free kick Carolina went 41 yards and Bryant scored from the two.
A touchdown pass by Bennett cut the lead to 23-7 at halftime.
"Our lead was probably too comfortable at the half," admitted Thompson. "If it had been closer I think we would have played better in the second half. But, you have to give Duke credit for never quitting."
Two fumbles in the first four minutes of the third quarter led to Blue Devil touchdowns. It was suddenly 23-21.
Forget any other kind of fighting. This was now a dogfight.
Duke got the ball back and moved to the Carolina 49. That set up the play of the day. On an afternoon filled with offense and name-calling, it was a defensive play by the smallest guy on the field that changed the game.
On third down Bennett threw over the middle only to have the ball bounce off his receiver's hands. Streater raced for the ball and tipped it in the air three times before getting it under control. He returned his third interception of the day to the Tar Heel 41. Ten plays later Elkins scored from the four and the lead was back to 30-21.
Fullback Billy Johnson and Lawrence added two-yard touchdown runs in the final period.
"Streater made the game's biggest play," said Steve Spurrier, the Duke offensive coordinator. "His ability to tip and control the interception cost us a chance to get the lead."
Blue Devil Coach Red Wilson said his team simply could not stop Lawrence and Bryant.
"I would like to have one great back like Amos or Kelvin, let alone two," said Wilson. "They've got five All-Americas. When you've got five of the top 88 players in the country, that makes a pretty good team."
On a day filled with arguments, everyone left the field agreeing on that.
