Mack Brown on Duke: Those Games Hold More Weight

UNC preparing for Blue Devil pass rush

As North Carolina coach Mack Brown prepares for Saturday’s rivalry game against Duke, a big concern will be the Blue Devils’ pass rush.

Virginia sacked UNC quarterback Sam Howell five times last week. Duke is third in the ACC with 26 sacks, two spots higher than the Cavaliers. So pass protection will be a key factor on Saturday.

Brown has his eye on Duke edge rushers Chris Rumph II and Victor Dimukeje. The pair are tied for the ACC lead in sacks with 7.5 each.

“They’re well-coached,” Brown said of Rumph and Dimukeje. “They move them around a lot. They have a lot of movement with their defensive front. Those two guys are really special pass rushers. They’re hard to block. The numbers show that. Their numbers are so much better than ours at that position. They’re very good players.”

Duke coach David Cutcliffe called the Carolina-Duke game a “grocery store game,” since fans of the two schools run into each other during everyday life, like shopping for food.

“With us, it’s (NC) State, Wake (Forest) and Duke,” Brown said. “We have a lot of players from the state of North Carolina. They have to live here when they get through—they get to live here, I should say. Rivalries are about your fans and boosters and families. A lot of those families are split, when you start looking at these three or four schools. David’s right. You see them at church. You see them at grocery stores. You see them at work. It’s bragging rights for fans and families. These games don’t go away. You lose some games and people might remember it, but usually when people ask players from one of these schools, they’ll say, ‘What was your record against Duke? What was your record against State when you played? What was your record against Wake? Those hold a little bit more weight than some of the others.”