Fake FG call, Castle’s 3 rushing scores help Duke hold off rival UNC 32-25 and become bowl eligible

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) – Anderson Castle punched in the go-ahead 1-yard touchdown with 2:18 left set up by an audacious fake field-goal call and Duke followed with a late stop to hold off rival North Carolina 32-25 on Saturday.

The win made the Blue Devils (6-5, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) bowl eligible again, along with ensuring they could keep the Victory Bell that goes to the rivalry winner for another year.

“It’s two years in a row that when it came down to winning time at the end of the game in this fixture, that the Duke guys were the ones making the plays in clutch time,” Blue Devils coach Manny Diaz said.

Castle ran for three 1-yard touchdowns for Duke, then joined with kicker Todd Pelino to finally put the Blue Devils on top.

With Duke trailing 25-24, Duke lined up a 45-yard field goal for the lead – only to see holder Kade Reynoldson take the snap and flip it to Pelino to the left side.

Pelino took off to the open field for 26 yards, getting all the way to the UNC 1-yard line in a stunning play that set up Castle’s score. Duke followed with Darian Mensah hitting Nate Sheppard on the left side for the 2-point conversion that pushed the margin to seven.

Gio Lopez threw and ran for a touchdown for UNC (4-7, 2-5), while Davion Gause also ran one in. But the loss means UNC won’t be able to reach the six-win threshold for bowl eligibility in Bill Belichick’s first season.

UNC had a final possession, but didn’t move the ball before Lopez’s fourth-down throw for Kobe Paysour fell incomplete with 1:18 left.

“Just made too many mistakes, too many bad plays, obviously too many penalties,” Belichick said. “So that’s about the story. Really not a lot to add to that.”

Duke: The Blue Devils were riding high after a thrilling win at Clemson, their first in Death Valley since 1980, only to lose at UConn and then badly at home to No. 19 Virginia. They led this one 24-10 only to squander that lead, then come through in thrilling fashion anyway.

UNC: The Tar Heels had shown gains in wins against Syracuse and Stanford before trailing the entire way in a loss at Wake Forest. Now Belichick, who won six Super Bowls as an NFL head coach, is 0-2 against instate ACC rivals.

Duke converted 5 of 6 fourth downs. … This marked only the third time Duke has taken consecutive wins against UNC since 1990. … Sheppard ran 22 times for 90 yards to lead the Blue Devils’ 177-yard ground attack. … Jordan Shipp had eight catches for 83 yards and a 20-yard TD for UNC. … The Tar Heels had 12 penalties for 103 yards, including three unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties in the fourth quarter – the latter matching Duke’s game-long total of three penalties for 27 yards

Duke: The Blue Devils host Wake Forest in an instate rivalry game next Saturday.

UNC: The Tar Heels visit rival N.C. State next Saturday.