Saturday was truly a tale of two halves, as the Blue Devils played a strong first two quarters against Pittsburgh but faltered in the final 30 minutes to fall to 6-4 on the season and .500 in ACC play.
In the first half, Duke tallied a net yardage of 283, compared to the Panthers’ net of 201, turned the ball over zero times and scored 10 points. In the second half, the Blue Devils totaled 78 yards, compared to Pittsburgh’s net of 247, turned the ball over three times and, had it not been for a miraculous 51-yard field goal by senior Ross Martin that bounced off the crossbar and through the uprights, would have scored zero points.
“The time of possession just flipped on [us] and the score just flipped on [us],” head coach David Cutcliffe said.
Prior to the game, redshirt junior quarterback Thomas Sirk’s status was uncertain. Sirk had sustained an upper body injury against North Carolina, and was listed as questionable for the game. Despite being in full dress on the sideline, Sirk did not play, and redshirt sophomore Parker Boehme was given the start.
“It was a last second decision with Thomas’ injury,” Boehme said. "He came out and warmed up, and it was kind of a last minute thing.”
On Duke’s very first play, Boehme completed a swing pass to senior Shaquille Powell for a 22-yard gain. The quick start made it seem as if Duke would be more than able to compete with Pittsburgh, even following the loss of Sirk and the demoralizing 35-point loss to North Carolina the week before.
Although Boehme’s first series ended in a punt, it inspired the Blue Devil crowd, dejected from two straight difficult losses and the news that their starting quarterback would not be taking the field.
Despite a 92-yard drive and eventual touchdown by Pittsburgh on the following possession, Boehme rallied the team for a 79-yard drive of his own, which ended in a one-yard rushing touchdown for the backup quarterback. On the drive, Boehme also completed his longest pass of the season, a 52-yard toss to redshirt junior wide receiver Anthony Nash.
The Blue Devils were able to force a quick three-and-out on the Panthers’ next possession, and Boehme exploded out of the backfield on a 77-yard carry—the longest rush of the season for Duke—and the Jacksonville City, Fla., native looked like more than just a stopgap.
“[I thought to myself], 'Run as fast as you can,'” Boehme said. "Unfortunately, I didn’t get in the end zone and we didn’t get any points off of that drive.”
On fourth down at the one-yard line, Duke attempted a fake field goal, but redshirt freshman Nicodem Pierre’s would-be-touchdown pass fell incomplete.
“That [play] was something we had in the hopper,” Cutcliffe said. “I thought it was a great chance to score, but we just kind of underthrew it, and their kid made a great play—that’s kind of just football.”
Boehme led Duke deep into Pittsburgh territory once more before the end of the half, in a drive that ended with a 27-yard Martin field goal, and the Panthers responded with a field goal of their own to knot the game at 10 apiece going into halftime.
Although the score was tied, Duke was the much better team in the first half. But sticking true to the theme, if the first half was “the best of times” for Duke, then the second half was certainly “the worst of times.”
“There’s no reason to sugarcoat it,” Cutcliffe said. “In the second half, we didn’t represent any part of who we want to be.… We got out-blocked, out-tackled, out-hit. Their playmakers made critical plays at critical times—we didn’t.”
Duke’s defense ceded 21 points to the Panthers, and the offense was stagnant. In fact, one aspect of the offense, the running game, was worse than stagnant. Stagnancy implies a lack of movement in either direction, but the Blue Devils’ rush accumulated -2 yards in the second half.
The first three possessions of the second half were a Pittsburgh touchdown, a Duke three-and-out and another Pittsburgh touchdown. In just 10 minutes, the Blue Devils went down two touchdowns, and were out-gained in yards 155-1. Duke was able to grab a field goal on the next possession on Martin’s 51-yard attempt to cut the score to 24-13, but that kick would be the last points of the game for the Blue Devils.
The Panthers responded with yet another touchdown behind the arm of redshirt junior quarterback Nate Peterman, bringing the score to 31-13. The very next drive, Boehme drove Duke into Pittsburgh territory, but was picked off by freshman defensive back Jordan Whitehead inside Pittsburgh’s 10-yard line.
The Blue Devils forced the Panthers to punt, but junior wide receiver Ryan Smith fumbled the return and Pittsburgh regained possession. Duke would turn the ball over one more time—a fumble by Boehme—to put an end to its miserable second half.
“We've got to get back to the drawing board,” redshirt senior safety Jeremy Cash said. “We've got to dissect the film, understand the mistakes we made and hopefully prevent them from occurring in the future.”
Come practice Sunday, it will be a “tale of two tapes,” for the Blue Devils as they compare their solid first half of play to the second half implosion that cost them a victory.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.
Jacob Weiss is a Trinity senior. His column, "not jumping to any conclusions," runs on alternate Fridays.