Completely unacceptable, was the opening statement from coach Penguin. I called a poor game on offense. We failed to utilize our depth at RB, or take what the defense was giving us. That is a recipe for failure when on the road vs an aggressive and inspired opponent with their home crowd behind them.
Coach did not have much to say about the defense, but the numbers speak for themselves, the defensive line contributed 5 tfls and 1 sack on night, and generally failed to get pressure when it counted most, as the Duke offense converted 70% of their 3rd down opportunities.
These 3rd down conversions were critical to the outcome of the game, as most stats were pretty even in this one, but a couple of early big plays for the home team slanted the field, and the Blue Devils success on 3rd down stymied the Rebels ability to get back into the game.
For the second time this season, Duke gets a home game against a top 25 SEC opponent. This time they've got 16th ranked Ole Miss coming to town. A night game at home, a hot Duke team still fresh off an upset over Oklahoma and the opportunity to get another ranked win under their belt. Could they do it again?
The Rebels open the game with the ball and move down the field fairly easily before taking a sack on 3rd down, leading to a missed FG attempt. Duke takes advantage and finds an explosive play from RB Quran Boyd on a 69 yard reception to set up 1st and Goal. RB Jaquez Moore finds the endzone to give Duke a 7-0 lead. The following drive Dart finds a mismatch in coverage and ties the game with a 49 yard passing TD. As the first quarter was coming to a close, QB Maalik Murphy lets it fly and finds star receiver Jordan Moore down the field for a 76 yard TD to take a 14-7 lead into the second quarter.
The next two quarters are all defense as Duke turns Jaxson Dart over twice leading to touchdowns and extending the lead to 28-7 going into the 4th. Ole Miss finds the endzone again in the 4th to cut the lead Blue Devils lead to 14. The stats in this game were almost identical but the points off turnovers were the difference. Coach Shiesty told us he and his defense were committed to not letting star players Jaxson Dart and Tre Harris beat them all game and his defense rose to the occasion.
Coach Shiesty says it's obviously a privilege to have the opportunity to compete and get better against a great team and coach like this and we're just happy we had a gameplan, stuck to it and came away with the W.
The Blue Devils move to 3-1 with two impressive wins over ranked teams and head to Chapel Hill to take on rival North Carolina in week 5.
GG, Penguin! Lookin forward to running it back with you again.
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