This is the worst rushing offense in the Atlantic Coast Conference?
Wake Forest, supposedly a one-dimensional offensive football team, steam rolled Duke 38-24 Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium behind a surprisingly balanced offensive attack.
The Demon Deacons, ranked dead last in the conference at 88.1 rushing yards per game, ran the Blue Devils into the ground in the second half, controlling the ball for almost 20 minutes, and broke open a 24-24 game with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown runs.
Duke (2-6, 0-5 in the ACC) lost for the fourth straight time, and its 15th in a row in the ACC. Wake (4-4, 3-3 in the ACC), meanwhile, has won four games in a season for the first time ever under head coach Jim Caldwell.
Herman Lewis and Morgan Kane alone combined for 306 yards of Wake's season-high 309 rushing yards. Kito Gary scored the winning touchdown on a 6-yard scamper off tackle with 6:33 to play in the fourth quarter, and Kane added a one-yard touchdown plunge five minutes later for the final margin.
"We were probably leaning a little bit too much toward the pass today," Duke safety Eric Jones said. "They caught us in a couple of blitzes, that's why you saw those big runs."
Lewis broke free on a 55-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, and Kane had runs of 20, 36 and 43 yards in the second half as the Demon Deacons churned out 27 total first downs. Lewis (161 yds.) and Kane (143 yds.) both finished with career highs.
Jones was the bright spot on the Duke defense, twice picking off passes from Wake's Brian Kuklick. He also blocked a first quarter field goal attempt and recovered a fumble to set up Duke's first touchdown.
But Duke couldn't overcome the loss of starting wide receiver Scottie Montgomery late in the first half-a loss which left Corey Thomas as virtually the only option for quarterback Bobby Campbell. Montgomery already had six catches for 94 yards when he went down with a sprained ankle. He watched the second half on crutches, and may be out for the next two weeks.
Without Montgomery, Duke looked lost on offense. The Blue Devils managed only five first downs in the second half, and squandered their best scoring opportunity on an unsuccessful fake field goal attempt.
With the score still tied 24-24 in the third quarter, Duke faced a fourth-and-goal from the two yard line. Head coach Fred Goldsmith decided against a chip-shot field goal attempt, and called for a fake. Holder Jeff Hodrick took the snap, raced around left end and dove for the goal line. But he came up a yard short, and Duke turned the ball over on downs.
"We got what we wanted, we thought, by their alignment," Goldsmith said. "We thought we could block the guy on the end, we looked for it, it was there... they dropped and covered like we wanted them to, and a guy just came from the backside and made the play."
Duke never got close to the Wake end zone again. Campbell, who tossed for 173 yards and two scores in the first half, was just 3-for-14 for 23 yards in the second. With Montgomery out, Wake Forest squeezed linebackers and safeties into the defensive box, and choked out Duke's running attack.
"Losing Scottie was big," Thomas said. "He went out, and it seemed like I had 12 guys guarding me."
Thomas finished with five catches for 74 yards and a touchdown.
Kuklick, the ACC's leading passer, was slightly below his usual form, throwing three interceptions. But the Demon Deacons ground game more than made up for it. Wake averaged 6.3 yards per carry, and had two 100-yard rushers for the first time under Caldwell.
"The good thing is we don't have to depend on [Kuklick's] arm to win every ballgame," Caldwell said. "He's a heck of a player, but there have to be some other guys to step up and help."
Aside from the interceptions, Kuklick was solid. He directed a brilliant scoring drive just before the half which covered 80 yards in eight plays in just 1:28. Kuklick connected on six of seven pass attempts, including a six-yard touchdown strike to Thabiti Davis which tied the game at 24-24.
At 4-4, Wake Forest is still alive for a postseason bowl bid. The Deacs host Clemson next week in a chance to climb the ACC ladder. Duke, meanwhile, is going nowhere at 2-6.
"I think when both teams looked at our schedules, we were probably looking at one another the same way: we gotta get a win in that game," Caldwell said.
Wake Forest snapped a 14-game ACC losing streak against the Blue Devils last year in Winston-Salem, and Duke was looking to return the favor. With a closing stretch against Clemson, Georgia Tech, and North Carolina, Duke mourned Saturday's loss as a possible last chance for an ACC win.
"This team knew if we had everybody healthy we were going to win that game," Thomas said. "I'm pretty sure Wake Forest looked at us on the schedule and they chalked it up as a victory; we did the same thing.... I still think we have a chance to win the last three, if we can just get healthy. Maybe I'm just an optimistic person."
Duke has not won an ACC game since a 42-26 victory over Wake on October 28, 1995 at Wallace Wade.
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