After another impressive fourth quarter comeback, Duke once again came up short. This time it was at the hands of Chapel Hill College and their talented QB Drake Maye. While losing to your rival is never good, there were some performances worthy of helmet stickers this week for sure.
BRIAN’S PICK: DUKE FANS
My helmet sticker this week goes to you, the Duke Football fan base. I am not going to lie, when I heard this game was going to be a sellout, I was nervous. I truly thought that when we would get to game time, Wallace Wade would be 60% UNC fans, and 40% Duke fans. Boy was I wrong, and I am happy to eat crow on this one. You came out, and supported this team in the best way possible, BY SHOWING UP! If I had to take a guess, there were close to 25,000 Duke fans in attendance. (Wallace Wade holds 40,000) This was the best turnout for a game the program has seen since 2018 and it showed. While the final result was not what anyone wanted, the team fed off the crowd energy during the game.
With that being said, DO NOT stop supporting this team for the rest of the season. Duke will be away for the next 3 weeks, between away games and the BYE week, and will be back in Wallace Wade Stadium on November 12th to take on Virginia Tech. Make it your mission to be back in your seats on that date. Duke is only 2 wins away from going to a bowl game, and having home field advantage is going to be crucial for the last 2 home games of the season.
JAMIE’S PICK: RILEY LEONARD
While sitting here on a Sunday afternoon trying to process that heartbreaking loss to UNC, it was easy for me to decide on a helmet sticker this week…even in a loss. My helmet sticker once again goes to QB1 Riley Leonard. Why do I keep picking him? Well, for one he was absolutely fantastic again last night. He continues to grow and show exactly why the coaching staff tabbed him as our starting quarterback. Against the Heels Saturday night, he continued his stellar play. Leonard was 20-31 for 245 yards, which came out to almost 8 yards per passing attempt. He also had one passing touchdown. He almost had a second one, but unfortunately that was called back due to a “chop block.” Honestly, that throw was probably one of his best of the entire night. Just a beautiful throw. It’s a real shame that got called back. He spread the ball around. Eight different receivers had at least one catch. He did have the one interception, but honestly, that’s just Riley trying to make a play with less than 10 seconds to go in the game. I really hate that goes down in the stat book.
Where Leonard really hurt UNC was running the ball. He had 14 carries for 130 yards. Including that huge 74 yard touchdown run. Not sure if the guys were joking with him this time about looking like a giraffe while he was running, but from my view in Section 17, it was an absolute thing of beauty. We’ve said it over and over this year. It doesn’t seem like he gets enough credit for how athletic he is. He made some huge throws down the stretch to help get the lead back for Duke after being down 31-21. Unfortunately, Duke didn’t get the result they wanted, but QB1 Riley Leonard absolutely left it all on the field. And for that, he gets my helmet sticker this week.
JOSH’S PICK: JORDAN WATERS
Heading into this matchup, Duke expected to be back to full strength in the RB room. However, Jaylen Coleman did not dress again this week as he continues to work his way back from an injury. And while the RB room is deep, losing Coleman means that Jordan Waters would be the lone back with legitimate veteran experience to suit up for the UNC game.
And Jordan Waters came to play. He carried the ball 15 times for 91 yards. That is 6.1 yards per carry. He scored two touchdowns, including a 38 yarder in the 4th quarter to put the Blue Devils up 35-31. Waters has shown the ability to pass protect for QB Riley Leonard as well, helping the Duke offensive line hold UNC to just one sack in the game. In a game that came down to the wire, Waters did his best to help lead this Duke team to a win. Unfortunately, he no longer plays on the defensive side of the football.
SCOTT’S PICK: SHAKA HEYWARD
Another Sunday afternoon rolls around, and it is another struggle on whom to choose for my helmet sticker after the UNC game. After an instant classic with the rival from eight miles down the road, I have decided to go with Senior Co-Captain Shaka Heyward. Heyward finished the UNC game with 13 total tackles with 7 being solo. He has 51 total tackles on the season with 30 solo tackles, and 7 pass deflections. This ranks him second on the team in tackles. During the UNC game, #42 in the black Duke uniform was everywhere on the field and around either the ball carrier or receiver. It is great to have a player with the work ethic, motor, and heart like Shaka Heyward. Although the results were not what we had hoped for, it is guys like him who come to play and give it their all each and every game.
Photo creds: GoDuke.com