Jaylen McGill rescues North Carolina as Tar Heels take Victory Bell from Duke

North Carolina had spent most of Saturday watching a 17-point lead disappear. Jaylen McGill needed one late drive to give it back, and Kenton Dopson III supplied the final stop.

McGill scored on a 24-yard run with 1:53 remaining, and Dopson intercepted Walker Eget with 14 seconds left as the Tar Heels beat Duke 24-20 in Durham. North Carolina reclaimed the Victory Bell after two consecutive losses in the rivalry and earned its first win at Duke since 2022.

The Tar Heels improved to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the ACC. Duke, which had scored 20 unanswered points to take the lead, dropped to 4-2 and 1-2.

McGill answers Duke's late touchdown

Duke finally moved ahead with 4:39 remaining when Eget hit Nate Sheppard for a 7-yard touchdown. A mishandled North Carolina punt snap had given the Blue Devils the ball at the Tar Heels' 34-yard line, making the visitors' long scoring drought especially costly.

North Carolina responded with an eight-play, 78-yard drive. McGill gained 44 yards on three carries during the possession, including the touchdown that changed the lead again. He finished with 75 yards on 12 carries, recovering from a third-quarter fumble that had stopped an earlier scoring chance inside Duke's 10.

The ACC's official game highlights show the rivalry's late swings:

Duke still had time. The Blue Devils advanced to North Carolina's 30 before an intentional-grounding penalty pushed them backward. Eget completed another pass, but Dopson intercepted his next throw at the North Carolina 15. Billy Edwards Jr. took a knee to close it out.

An early advantage nearly gets away

North Carolina had built its 17-0 lead with help from several units. Rece Verhoff opened the scoring with a 28-yard field goal. Calvin Thomas then blocked a punt, Jaziel Hart recovered it at Duke's 11, and Edwards found Jordan Shipp for a 5-yard touchdown.

Demon June added a 4-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-2 early in the second quarter. At that point, Field Level Media's game report put North Carolina's yardage advantage at 158-12.

Duke's defense supplied its first touchdown. Andrew Pellicciotta returned a Shipp fumble nine yards for a score, and the Blue Devils later added field goals of 22 and 21 yards. Their first possession after halftime consumed 19 plays and more than eight minutes, but produced only three points.

Edwards finished 15 of 25 for 191 yards and a touchdown, with Shipp catching seven passes for 75 yards. Sheppard carried Duke's offense with 77 rushing yards and 11 catches for 98 yards and a touchdown. Eget passed for 249 yards; the late interception was his only pick.

North Carolina's official recap reported that starting defensive backs Tre Miller and Kaleb Cost were unavailable because of injuries. Their absence made Dopson's finish particularly valuable to a secondary protecting a four-point lead.

North Carolina returns home to face Syracuse next Saturday after surviving a game it first controlled, then had to rescue.