Duke needed a win Saturday over rival North Carolina to win the ACC Coastal Division title, and the Blue Devils used a late field goal and interception to hold off the Tar Heels in a 27-25 win.
Duke (10-2), which won 10 games for the first time in school history, meets second-ranked Florida State (12-0) in the ACC championship game next Saturday in Charlotte. Duke hasn't won the league title since 1989, Steve Spurrier's last season as the Blue Devils' coach.
Duke's Ross Martin kicked a 27-yard field goal with 2:22 left for the 27-25 lead, then CB DeVon Edwards picked off a pass at Duke's 29-yard line with 13 seconds left to seal it. Edwards also had a 99-yard kickoff return late in the second quarter to give Duke a 17-15 halftime lead. It was his second kickoff-return TD of the season.
Duke senior Anthony Boone threw for 274 yards -- the second-highest total of his career -- and two TDs as the Blue Devils won their eighth in a row.
Duke finished 6-7 last season and made its first bowl appearance since 1994. The school never had made back-to-back bowl appearances before this season.
This is the sixth season for Duke coach David Cutcliffe. Duke won four games total in the four seasons before Cutcliffe's arrival; the Blue Devils have won 31 under Cutcliffe.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
