'Rhino' plays big in Tar Heels win over Duke

CHAPEL HILL – When North Carolina’s starting running back Shaun Draughn went down with a shoulder injury early in Saturday’s game against visiting Duke, there was some concern that bruising backup Ryan Houston would wear down with the increased workload.

Instead, Houston overwhelmed the Blue Devils, posting a career day while wilting the Duke defense and leading the Tar Heels to a 19-6 Atlantic Coast Conference victory at Kenan Stadium.

“I was hoping to get the ball every play,” Houston said. “Every time I get the ball, I try to make something happen and I put it all in every run.”

Thus far in the junior’s college career, he’s made his name as a short-yardage back. At 245 pounds, he had pounded out 16 career touchdowns, none longer 7 yards.

But when Draughn went out on the first drive with an injured shoulder, the rushing load fell almost entirely on the former Matthews Butler High School standout.

Nicknamed “Rhino” by his teammates for his physical running style, Houston responded by bashing has way to a career-high 164 yards on 37 carries. Throw in his three catches for 15 yards, and Houston alone had 54 more yards of total offense than Duke.

“The way we ran the ball was outstanding,” Tar Heels quarterback T.J. Yates said. “We rode the ‘Rhino Train’ all night long.”

Houston’s total was the highest total for a North Carolina player since Chad Scott rushed for 175 yards against Miami in 2004.

While Houston was the prime option for the Tar Heels on offense, when they faced a third-and-goal from the 3 – traditionally the situation where Houston is assured of getting the ball – North Carolina (6-3 overall, 2-3 ACC) opted to give the ball to Jheranie Boyd on an end-around. Thanks in part to a crushing block by Houston, Boyd easily scampered into the end zone, providing the game’s only touchdown and giving the Tar Heels a 16-6 lead with 6:57 left.

“I didn’t get a touchdown, but that was a pretty cool block that I had,” Houston said. “If you keep pounding them and once you reverse it, you can catch them off guard.”

Boyd’s touchdown gave the Tar Heels a hard-earned cushion on a Blue Devils team that stayed within striking distance despite a sterling defensive effort by North Carolina.

Duke (5-4, 3-2), which averaged 325.1 passing yards per game while cementing its status as one of the ACC’s pleasant surprises, was held to 113 by the Tar Heels thanks in large part to a relentless pass rush that kept Blue Devils quarterback Thaddeus Lewis out of sync.

Duke’s 12 rushing yard was the lowest total allowed by the Tar Heels this season. The previous low was 30 by The Citadel.

In all, the 125 total yards by the Blue Devils were the lowest by a Tar Heels’ opponent since Clemson was held to 91 in 1996.

“The bottom line is that we got whipped,” Duke coach David Cutcliffe said.

The Tar Heels defense came through when the offense faltered. Three plays after Duke’s Leon Wright picked off a Yates pass in the third quarter, the Tar Heels’ Charles Brown stepped in front of a Lewis bullet intended for Conner Vernon and returned it to the Blue Devils’ 20.

“He kind of put out the fire on that one,” Tar Heels coach Butch Davis said.

Despite the Tar Heels’ defensive brilliance, the Blue Devils hung around.

Both teams notched two field goals each in the first half and North Carolina didn’t pull ahead until Casey Barth knocked in a 41-yard field goal – the third of four from the sophomore against Duke - on the final play of the third quarter.

But the Blue Devils had their looks. Two second-half drives started in Tar Heels territory. None yielded points.

— EXTRA POINTS…: North Carolina’s 19 points are the lowest total by a winning team in the series since North Carolina beat Duke 17-15 in 1984. It was the lowest combined score since the 1977 meeting. … Former Cummings High School standout Dwight Jones had two catches, including a career-long 16-yarder in the first half, for North Carolina. … Duke redshirt freshman Jordan Byas notched the team’s second blocked punt of the season, batting down a Grant Shallock kick in the first half.