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Wk 7 · 2026

North Carolina Tar Heels at Duke Blue Devils — Sat, Oct 17

Sat, Oct 17 · Wallace Wade Stadium, Durham, NC · ESPN2

Weather at kickoff

48°F overcast
11% chance of precipitation · wind 10 mph
Forecast from Open-Meteo
at
3:30pET
DUKE -3 · total 47.5 DraftKings opened -4.5 · 1.5 toward UNC
Ratings differential DUKE by 4.8

What is at stake

Victory Bell. Basketball's most famous rivalry has a football trophy too — an old railroad bell on a wheeled cart that the winning students push off the field. They play for the Victory Bell. A ACC game — it counts in the standings that decide that league's championship game. Run the race.

What the ratings imply

The differential above is arithmetic on two published numbers: The CFB King’s 2026 final efficiency ratings, plus 2.4 points of home field. It is not a projection, a value, an edge or a lean, and nothing on this site compares it with the betting line to tell you one is better. Until 2026 games are played it is last season’s measurement of two teams that have changed.

Efficiency · 2026 ratings

North Carolina: +4.1#51
Efficiency margin
Duke: +6.5#42
North Carolina: 30.9
Offense (pts/100)
Duke: 34.4
North Carolina: 17.8
Defense (pts/100)
Duke: 18.9
North Carolina: 56.2
Pace (plays/g)
Duke: 70.6
North Carolina: 5.88
Yards / play
Duke: 6.47
North Carolina: 4.91
Yards / play allowed
Duke: 4.95
Opponent-adjusted ratings from The College King's 2026 final numbers. Bars share a scale within each row, so the two lengths are comparable; the brighter side is the better of the two, and a longer bar is the better number — including the rows where a lower figure is the good one. Pace is the exception: it is how fast a team plays, not how well, so neither side is lit and a longer bar there means only more plays.

Team stats · 2026 per game

North Carolina: 23.4
Points / game
Duke: 34.0
North Carolina: 19.0
Points allowed
Duke: 14.4
North Carolina: 331
Yards / game
Duke: 457
North Carolina: 356
Yards allowed
Duke: 286
North Carolina: 204
Pass yds allowed
Duke: 202
North Carolina: 152
Rush yds allowed
Duke: 84
North Carolina: 1.60
Turnovers / game
Duke: 0.40
From completed 2026 box scores; defensive yardage covers the regular season and conference championships.

North Carolina form

W 21-17at PITTL 26-37vs NDL 20-28at CLEMW 35-3vs ETSUW 15-10at TCU
2026 season

Duke form

L 25-28at GTW 62-7vs W&MW 35-7vs STANW 31-27at ILLW 17-3vs TULN
2026 season

North Carolina this season

Straight up3-2 · 60% (5 games)
Against the spread3-2 · 60% (5 games)
Over / under2-3 · 40% (5 games)

Duke this season

Straight up4-1 · 80% (5 games)
Against the spread4-1 · 80% (5 games)
Over / under3-2 · 60% (5 games)
Lines are captured from ESPN's board before kickoff and locked at kickoff, so an in-play price cannot overwrite the number a game is graded against.

Common opponents · 4

OpponentNorth CarolinaDuke
Clemson
ACC
at L 20-28 previewvs Wk 12 · scheduled preview
Miami
ACC
vs Wk 9 · scheduled previewat Wk 11 · scheduled preview
Virginia
ACC
at Wk 12 · scheduled previewat Wk 8 · scheduled preview
NC State
ACC
vs Wk 13 · scheduled previewat Wk 10 · scheduled preview
Open these two in the comparison tool for every shared and unshared opponent.

Series history · 2006–2026

Since 2006, North Carolina leads 13–7 · Duke has won the last 2
20 meetings in 2006–2026 · average margin 7.5 points toward North Carolina
Yr DateResultSiteWon
20252025-11-22Duke 32 — 25 North Carolinaat UNCDuke
20242024-09-28North Carolina 20 — 21 Dukeat DUKEDuke
20232023-11-11Duke 45 — 47 North Carolinaat UNCNorth Carolina
20222022-10-15North Carolina 38 — 35 Dukeat DUKENorth Carolina
20212021-10-02Duke 7 — 38 North Carolinaat UNCNorth Carolina
20202020-11-07North Carolina 56 — 24 Dukeat DUKENorth Carolina
20192019-10-26Duke 17 — 20 North Carolinaat UNCNorth Carolina
20182018-11-10North Carolina 35 — 42 Dukeat DUKEDuke
20172017-09-23Duke 27 — 17 North Carolinaat UNCDuke
20162016-11-10North Carolina 27 — 28 Dukeat DUKEDuke
20152015-11-07Duke 31 — 66 North Carolinaat UNCNorth Carolina
20142014-11-20North Carolina 45 — 20 Dukeat DUKENorth Carolina
20132013-11-30Duke 27 — 25 North Carolinaat UNCDuke
20122012-10-20North Carolina 30 — 33 Dukeat DUKEDuke
20112011-11-26Duke 21 — 37 North Carolinaat UNCNorth Carolina
20102010-11-27North Carolina 24 — 19 Dukeat DUKENorth Carolina
20092009-11-07Duke 6 — 19 North Carolinaat UNCNorth Carolina
20082008-11-29North Carolina 28 — 20 Dukeat DUKENorth Carolina
20072007-11-24Duke 14 — 20 North Carolinaat UNCNorth Carolina
20062006-11-25North Carolina 45 — 44 Dukeat DUKENorth Carolina

North Carolina leaders 2026 regular season

PassingBilly Edwards Jr. QB #961/106, 820 YDS, 6 TD, 3 INT
Miles O'Neill QB #83/6, 22 YDS
RushingBenjamin Hall RB #743 CAR, 251 YDS
Demon June RB #031 CAR, 128 YDS, 4 TD
Jaylen McGill RB #2717 CAR, 101 YDS, 1 TD
ReceivingJordan Shipp WR #120 REC, 273 YDS
Jelani Thurman TE #4516 REC, 233 YDS, 3 TD
C.J. Sadler WR #145 REC, 87 YDS
Trech Kekahuna WR #26 REC, 71 YDS
Defense
TacklesDerek McDonald LB #1536
Peyton Seelmann LB #1031
Leroy Jackson DL #9123
SacksXavier Lewis DL #906
Jaylen Harvey DL #112
Melkart Abou Jaoude DL #91
InterceptionsGreg Smith DB #12

Duke leaders 2026 regular season

PassingWalker Eget QB #258/93, 721 YDS, 6 TD, 1 INT
Dan Mahan QB #106/9, 126 YDS, 3 TD
RushingNate Sheppard RB #2091 CAR, 644 YDS, 6 TD
CJ Campbell Jr. RB #036 CAR, 139 YDS
Jayvian Tanelus RB #2216 CAR, 90 YDS, 2 TD
ReceivingJeremiah Hasley TE #8513 REC, 195 YDS
Jonah Burton WR #613 REC, 187 YDS, 1 TD
Jaivon Solomon WR #45 REC, 106 YDS, 1 TD
Jared Richardson WR #175 REC, 82 YDS, 1 TD
Defense
TacklesNick Morris Jr. LB #723
Andrew Pellicciotta S #3522
Dylan Flowers CB #019
SacksBradley Gompers LB #243
Kevin O'Connor DE #152
Bryce Davis DE #122
InterceptionsEvan Smith CB #41
These are regular-season totals for the season named on each card — the players who led that team that year, taken from ESPN's team leaders. That list is keyed to the season, not to today's roster, so a leader who has since transferred or run out of eligibility still appears against the year he earned it; the roster pages and the depth chart on each team page are where the current squad is. A team switches to this season's numbers once it has played a game. The roster pages count bowl games too, so a player's two lines can differ by a game.