College Football | Duke University plays North Carolina this weekend in the ACC in Durham, North Carolina

DURHAM, North Carolina – North Carolina (3-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) at Duke (4-0, 0-0), Saturday, 4 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

Series balance: The schools are different. UNC says it leads 66-40-4, and Duke says UNC leads 65-41-4.

What is at stake?

Duke has a chance to start a season 5-0 for the first time since winning the first seven games of the 1994 season. UNC is reeling after giving up 70 points in a stunning home loss to James Madison following an 0-3 start. Both teams want to start the league with a win.

Key match

Duke’s defensive front versus UNC’s offensive line. The Blue Devils were aggressive up front under new coach Manny Diaz, who took over after a stint as Penn State’s defensive coordinator. They rank fourth nationally with an average of 3.75 sacks per game and first in the Bowl Subdivision with an average of 11.5 tackles per game. The Tar Heels put up big offensive numbers in the JMU loss, but had major problems blocking oncoming rushers against a Sun Belt Conference team.

Players to keep an eye on

UNC: RB Omarion Hampton. He averages 138.8 yards on the ground, ranking fifth in the country and is 11th with six touchdowns. He is the engine that drives UNC’s offense.

Duke: WR Jordan Moore. With three touchdowns and two 100-yard outings in four games, he is the top target for Maalik Murphy.

Facts & figures

The winner of this rivalry game receives the Victory Bell, a tradition that began in 1948. … Duke has won a total of six straight games since last season. … UNC has won five straight meetings in the series and 13 straight meetings under coach Mack Brown, including eight years (1990-97) during his first stint with the Tar Heels. The Blue Devils had beaten Brown’s Tar Heels in 1988 and 1989. … Duke has gone 5-0 or better only five times in its history. …. The 70 UNC points allowed to James Madison were the most the Tar Heels allowed in any game, leading to Brown later apologizing for emotional locker room comments to the team in which he had expressed the idea of ​​whether it was the best decision for him to stay as coach.