UNC Lists Starters Out for Victory Bell Trip to Duke

DURHAM, N.C. — North Carolina will take the field for Saturday’s Victory Bell game at Wallace Wade Stadium without a handful of regulars, and Duke is waiting on word about leading rusher Nate Sheppard.

Tar Heel coaches removed starting defensive back Kaleb Cost and wideout Mason Humphrey from Saturday’s availability sheet. Cost had spent most of the week looking doubtful before Friday’s update made the absence official. Tre Miller, another defensive back hurt in last weekend’s win at Pittsburgh, remains unavailable after being ruled out earlier.

Four more Carolina starters sit on the questionable list: Greg Smith in the secondary, Isaiah Johnson on the defensive line, Jordan Hall on the offensive line and tight end Jordan Washington. Two players who had been probable — pass rusher Jaylen Harvey and safety Peyton Waters — were scratched from the report after practice, a sign both are expected to dress.

Across the rivalry, Duke tagged Sheppard as questionable. The sophomore leads the country in rushing yards per game and left the Georgia Tech loss briefly with a left-ankle problem before returning taped. He still turned a short catch into a long gain on the Blue Devils’ final drive that night.

Carolina said a final availability sheet will post two hours before kickoff under ACC rules that treat probable as roughly a three-in-four chance of playing and questionable as about even odds.

The Tar Heels are 3-2 entering the series. Duke is 4-1. Kickoff is set for mid-afternoon in Durham with the Victory Bell on the line. Local radio and television schedules list the usual ACC Network window for the rivalry, and both fan bases are treating the afternoon as a measuring stick for the rest of conference play.

Filed under: Raleigh NC Sports News