Duke Football Red Zone Report: Why Drives Stalled Against UNC

The Duke Blue Devils nearly pulled off a pretty incredible comeback against North Carolina this past Saturday.

North Carolina gave Duke an early kick in the teeth, getting out to a 17-0 lead in Durham early in the second quarter. Then, the Blue Devils took control, scoring 20 unanswered points until the final couple of minutes.

Duke ultimately couldn't get it done, and a big reason Duke was even in a position late to let UNC get back in it was a lack of offensive execution. The defense got stops, but the Blue Devils couldn't cash in on the other side of the ball.

Why Duke Football Stalled in the Red Zone

The Blue Devils only scored one offensive touchdown all day, a receiving touchdown by star sophomore running back Nate Sheppard. Sheppard posted 77 rushing yards on 20 carries and was Duke's leading receiver with 11 receptions for 98 yards and a touchdown. Besides Sheppard, Jared Richardson was the Blue Devils' leading receiver with three receptions for 55 yards.

Similar to Week 1, the Blue Devils couldn't find any offensive rhythm outside of Nate Sheppard. In the second half, they had chances in the red zone to score touchdowns and build a lead on the Tar Heels. However, several of them resulted in field goals. Rookie kicker Gavin Strange did his job, going 2-for-2 on extra points and 2-for-2 on field goals, but Duke missed out on a few big opportunities.

Had Manny Diaz's club cashed in, UNC might never have had a chance to take the lead in the final two minutes. After the loss to the Tar Heels, Diaz touched on the team's struggles inside the red zone.

"If you can't run the ball, there's not a lot of space to throw it, right," Diaz said. "And, you know, they're well-drilled on trying to flood the areas, and we had some guys we did think that were open...The red zone is about tough runs and tough catches because there's not a lot of space, and, again I just don't think we were executing at our highest level down there and settling for those field goals again was obviously very hurtful."

Duke Faces Vulnerable Virginia Squad Next

Duke (4-2, 1-2 ACC) now hits the road to get back in the win column against a Virginia club (4-3, 2-2 ACC) coming off a 23-13 loss on the road to SMU. On the bright side for Duke, the ACC still feels pretty wide open, and it still has a legitimate chance to win most of its remaining games. However, two league losses in three tries is costly.

The Blue Devils must get back on track this weekend, and it's handed an opportunity to pick off the Hoos in Charlottesville.