From staff reports

It was a day of multiple celebrations for North Carolina. Not so much for Duke and N.C. Central.

The 2008-09 UNC men's basketball team received its NCAA national championship rings during halftime of Saturday's football game against The Citadel, and T.J. Yates threw two touchdown passes -- one to former Hillside High star Greg Little -- as North Carolina opened its season with an easy victory.

The Tar Heels' defense went a long way toward proving itself, holding The Citadel scoreless into the fourth quarter and getting two interceptions from safety Deunta Williams.

Duke quarterback Thaddeus Lewis completed 34 of 55 passes for 350 yards and two touchdowns in front of a crowd of 33,311 -- Duke's largest at home since 2001, but the Blue Devils were done in by their mistakes, including a pair of missed field goals, and fell 24-16 to Richmond, the defending Football Championship Subdivision champion. Duke lost its opener for the sixth time in the last seven years.

And despite a strong showing at Hampton, the N.C. Central Eagles fell 31-24 to drop their third straight season opener since joining the Division I FCS.

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