This is the Depth Dossier: the Duke Blue Devils, Week 7.

Duke lost the rivalry game the same way it lost to Georgia Tech, outplaying North Carolina for long stretches and still coming away with a loss, this time 24 to 20.

The Blue Devils outgained the Tar Heels by 47 yards and still found a way to hand this one away in the final two minutes. A blocked punt gave North Carolina a 17 to 7 halftime lead, but Duke's defense shut the Tar Heels down on three straight second-half possessions. Tight end Nate Sheppard's touchdown catch put Duke up 20 to 17. Then running back Jaylen McGill broke a 24-yard touchdown run with 1 minute 53 seconds left to flip it back. Quarterback Walker Eget threw for 249 yards, but his interception at the North Carolina 15 with 14 seconds on the clock ended any chance at a response.

Here's how many times this game actually slipped away from Duke. Three trips inside the North Carolina 5-yard line produced just six total points. Kicker Gavin Strange hit field goals of 22 and 21 yards after drives of 19 plays and nine plays, and on fourth and one at the 2, running back CJ Campbell Junior got stopped by linebacker Greg Smith the Third. A 19-play drive that nets three points tells you everything about this game.

The officiating added some strange wrinkles, too. Three automatic reviews on spot calls went against Duke, each one wiping out a first down. And on the game's final defensive snap, defensive back Kenton Dopson the Third actually intercepted Eget with just over a minute left, but a pass interference call on him wiped it out. He got a second chance less than a minute later and made it count.

Duke actually won the turnover battle, two to one, and did it in dramatic fashion. Linebacker Andrew Pellicciotta scooped up a fumble forced by Kyon Loud and ran it back for a touchdown, and defensive back Patrick Smith-Young forced and recovered another fumble at Duke's own 9. Those takeaways should have been enough to win a one-score game. Instead, special teams gave one right back when Calvin Thomas blocked a Duke punt in the first quarter, and North Carolina scored three plays later.

A couple more numbers worth knowing. Duke went eight for eighteen on third down against a North Carolina defense that doesn't give up much. And linebacker Preston Watson had eight tackles, two and a half tackles for loss and a sack, keeping Duke's defense competitive the whole game.

Now, no injuries were reported this week, so the movement here is all about roles players are earning on the field.

Sheppard keeps building his case as Duke's offensive hub. Twenty carries for 77 yards, eleven catches for 98 yards, and the go-ahead touchdown. There's no sign his workload is getting managed down. Campbell remains the complementary back, with 61 yards on nine carries including a 33-yard run, a reminder he's more than just a short-yardage guy even after getting stuffed at the goal line.

On defense, Pellicciotta is a name to watch. A fumble return touchdown, a fumble recovery, and a punt return that set up points make him worth tracking for an expanded role beyond his regular defensive snaps. Watson's pass rush, paired with a sack from Kevin O'Connor, gives Duke a disruptive front worth watching going forward, with the same question still hanging over it: can that pressure show up more on third down?

At kicker, Strange went two for two, which is exactly the kind of quiet, clean outing that keeps a job rather than changes one.

The bigger issue going forward is finishing drives. Three trips inside the 5-yard line for six points isn't a personnel problem, it's an execution problem, and it's the thing most likely to decide Duke's next close game.

This was the depth dossier. For everything college football, be it depth charts, data or dossiers, head over to C F B Depth dot com. We will be back next week. This was an AI-generated podcast from content developed by real human beings passionate about college football.