It’s been four years since Brian Anderson sat in Kenan Stadium as a high school recruit, watching North Carolina’s 66-31 shellacking of Duke and realizing, for the first time, he wanted to be a Tar Heel.
UNC’s starting center reflected on that game Tuesday, smiling as he recalled the first-play flea-flicker touchdown from Marquise Williams to Ryan Switzer, the raucous crowd and the postgame celebration with the Victory Bell in tow. But Anderson ended his thought with a more honest admission.
“That was just a crazy atmosphere and something that was awesome for me to experience,” he said. “I’m hoping to experience that myself and hopefully give the seniors that opportunity, too.”
The Tar Heels’ Saturday afternoon tilt with the Blue Devils (4-3, 2-2 ACC) is already heavy on dramatics, what with the 106th iteration of a historic rivalry, head coach Mack Brown one win away from recording the most in school history and both teams scrapping for position in the ACC’s once-again wacky Coastal Division.
But Duke’s three-game winning streak against UNC, its first since 1987-89, has added an extra layer. Not since the Eisenhower administration of the mid-1950s has a North Carolina senior class graduated winless against its biggest rival.
Yet the Tar Heels (3-4, 2-2 ACC) enter homecoming weekend with that very possibility becoming reality.
UNC has been preaching a 24-hour rule this season: soak in the joy of a victory or the frustration of a loss for a day, and then it’s back to work. Senior linebacker Allen Cater said he’s applied that same logic to his career in full — focus on this season, rather than the previous three — but agreed the history isn't lost on him.
“Duke is what, 25, 30 minutes up the road?” he said. “We see these people every day. This game Saturday is going to have a huge impact for the rest of the season and, for me, the rest of my career.”
UNC fans react to the team's 27-17 loss to Duke on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017 in Kenan Stadium.
