By BRYAN STRICKLAND

bstrickland@heraldsun.com; 419-6671

DURHAM -- Every time Duke wraps up its football season against heated rival North Carolina, the Blue Devils play like there's no tomorrow.

That's because there almost never is a tomorrow. Entering 2009, the Blue Devils had closed the regular season against the Tar Heels in 42 of the past 44 years -- with just two postseason games for Duke in that span.

But when the Blue Devils make the short trip to Kenan Stadium today (3:30 p.m., ESPNU), they do so with complete focus on UNC but also armed with the knowledge that there's more to come.

The UNC game isn't the final one on their schedule for the first time since 2001, and a victory would move the Blue Devils tantalizingly close to adding a bowl game to their schedule.

"It's interesting that this is the first time that it's not the final game, and I think it adds a little more fuel to the fire, especially with so much on the line for both teams," said Duke coach David Cutcliffe, calling this the biggest of the 21 games of his tenure. "You learn pretty quickly that these rivalry games become your biggest game anyway, and now you've got one with a little something on the line.

"When the stakes are greater, it just makes it more fun to be a part of it. You realize that both teams are fighting for the same carrot that's out there."

The carrot in this case -- beyond bragging rights and the Victory Bell -- is the possibility of postseason play.

That's not really anything new for the Tar Heels, who have played in eight bowls since 1994. But it's uncharted territory for the Blue Devils, who most recently played in a bowl after the 1994 season.

Today's winner in a battle of 5-3 teams must add another victory in its final three games to qualify for a bowl. The loser must win two of three against a schedule in which they'll likely be the underdog in most of those games.

"Well, it's got to add a little bit to it," said UNC coach Butch Davis, now fully aware in his third season of how important this matchup is even without such implications. "East Carolina, N.C. State, Wake Forest, Duke -- they're always going to be good games just because of the close proximity and the inter-relationships.

"A lot of the people that you see, the husband went to one [school] and the wife went to other, and because of all that stuff it puts so much more into a rivalry than traditionally what you're used to."

This will be just the third time since 1965 that has Duke ended its regular season against someone other than the Tar Heels. The NCAA postponed games the weekend after the Sept. 11, 2001, tragedies, and the Blue Devils played Clemson in Tokyo to end the 1991 season.

It's slightly more common for the Tar Heels -- they've closed the regular season against a different opponent seven times since 1965. Yet the circumstances under which the teams will meet today are close to unprecedented.

The most recent time both teams had so much to play for was in 1970, when Duke could have claimed the ACC title with a victory and UNC faced bowl implications. The Tar Heels won 59-34 and got a bid to the Peach Bowl, while Duke stayed home for the holidays.

"I told the guys, 'Don't get excited because it's Carolina; get excited because it's the next game,' " Duke running back Re'quan Boyette said. "We have a lot riding on this game and in the games to come."

But with or without postseason implications, this game always means a little more. Boyette is one of nine Duke seniors facing their final shot to beat the Tar Heels, whose only loss in the series since 1990 came in Chapel Hill in 2003.

"Just to be able to say you beat Carolina in your last game when you're kicking it with your buddies five years from now would be good," Duke senior quarterback Thad Lewis said. "We're looking at it as another game, but at the same time, it's a game of emotion. It's a bragging rights game.

"If you don't get geared up for this one, something is wrong."

Staff writer Briana Gorman contributed to this report.