UNC reclaims the Victory Bell with Chazz Surratt’s late-game interception

UNC Football’s homecoming against Duke continued the streak of the Heart Attack Heels that we’ve become accustomed to this season. It looked like Carolina had the game wrapped up, driving on the Blue Devils and closing in on a score in the final minutes that would have put the game away. Javonte Williams fumbled and then everything went upside down.

Before we dive into the final drive, the rest of the game was weird to begin with. The first quarter was a sleepy 7-3 back-and-forth. Sam Howell completed to just 10 of his 26 passes, but he picked up 227 yards with them. Dazz Newsome led the way among receivers with 103 of those yards and a touchdown. The staff of the offense, however, was Williams. He carried the ball 22 times for 111 yards. Yes, his fumble toward the end could have cost his team the game, but he was a big reason they were even in a position to win.

Following Williams’ fumble, Duke made it all the way down the field thanks to some 4th down conversions and a slew of Carolina penalties. There were two huge pass interference penalties and a facemask penalty that put Duke on the two-yard line with a first down.

As he has done so many times this season, Chazz Surratt found himself in the right place at the right time. When it looked like the Blue Devils might find an easy score as time ticked off the click, Surratt came up with perhaps the biggest interception of the season so far. Carolina wins.

Virginia lost to Louisville earlier today, so the win puts Carolina back in a strong position in the Coastal Division. They’ll need to take care of business when the Cavaliers come to Chapel Hill next weekend, but it’s good that they still have some say in what happens to them down the line.

What a game, man. Paint that bell the right color of blue.