Duke drops hype video ahead of rivalry matchup with North Carolina

The bitter rivalry between Duke and North Carolina is one of the most heated rivalries in all of college athletics. On Saturday, the two rivals will tangle on the gridiron once again, renewing one of the most heated rivalries in the ACC.

On Friday night ahead off their matchup with UNC, Duke dropped a hype video to get their fans ready for the matchup.

Check out the video here.

Rise to the occasion 😈 pic.twitter.com/e9cIkhqC2y

— Duke Football (@DukeFOOTBALL) November 10, 2023

The Duke Blue Devils football team has battled through a number of critical injuries lately, including their star quarterback Riley Leonard. But on last Thursday evening against Wake Forest, the Blue Devils found a way to keep hanging around and pull out a 24-21 victory in the final seconds, thanks to a game-winning 26-yard kick from Todd Pelino. On the field in Wallace Wade Stadium following the win, ESPN’s Harry Lyles, Jr. spoke with Duke head coach Mike Elko.

What did the hard-fought win say about his team?

“Yeah, I mean that we have a tremendous amount of character. That we have a tremendous amount of grit. And we just battled. And we battled. We knew it was gonna be that kind of game. I think we were out about eight starters. And it doesn’t matter. Right? At the end of the day, we’ve got to find a way to get a result and our kids just kept fighting. They kept fighting and found enough ways to make plays. How about Todd Pelino going out there and burying that one?!” Elko said.

Duke found a way to pull out the win, despite being down to their third string quarterback, Grayson Loftis. While he definitely made a number of nice throws that were dropped throughout the evening, he also sailed a number of balls, too. He completed 7 of 19 passes for 86 yards, while tossing one touchdown and one interception.

Their offense was completely different without Riley Leonard, and that’s not a surprise. Leonard is one of the most dynamic dual threats in all of college football. He’ll unfortunately have to miss an ‘extended period of time’ due to a left toe injury, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel. It also didn’t help having star left tackle, Graham Barton, miss Thursday night’s game with an injury, either.

The Blue Devils were aided by a solid ground game against Wake Forest. Both Jaquez Moore and Jordan Waters combined for over 150 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Duke also had some good fortune on their side. Wake quarterback Mitch Griffis had the ball slip out of his hand with 4:19 remaining, and it went right into the arms of Blue Devils linebacker Ryan Smith. That critical turnover gave Duke the football and allowed them to march down the field and kick the game-winning field goal in the final seconds.

Duke will face off against UNC on Saturday, November 11th. Kick time is slated for 11:00 PM EST.