Fans chanting "undefeated" after last week's victory were silenced Saturday with the football team's 40-3 loss to Louisville at Wallace Wade Stadium.
"I think momentum was a huge difference," middle linebacker Ryan Fowler said. "Once we lost momentum in this game, it's hard to get that back without big plays. In any football game, momentum has a big part."
After a scoreless few minutes, the momentum shifted to the Cardinals when they sacked quarterback Adam Smith in the endzone for a safety just over five minutes into the game-and for the first time this season, Duke was in a deficit.
Louisville then raced to a 26 point lead over a team that made its first score off a 48-yard field goal with 31 seconds left in the half. Cardinal quarterback Dave Ragone, a Heisman prospect for this year, made up for last week's disappointing performance. He connected with senior tight end Ronnie Ghent with just over five minutes left in the first quarter to set off the Cardinals' scoring frenzy.
The Cardinal defense held Duke to zero offensive yards in the first quarter and did not allow a first down conversion until 1:36 remained in the first half.
Louisville gained the 12-0 lead after Ragone's 11-yard rush on third-and-goal brought the team
Two minutes later, Duke attempted a fourth down conversion, but fell short when quarterback Chris Dapolito failed to gain a yard in his rush. The Cardinals got the ball on their opponent's 38-yard line and Ragone again found his receiver in the endzone, this time Dontay Spillman. The scoring drive lasted a mere one play and six seconds.
"We showed teams that you just can't sit back and zone us, because we'll throw effectively on them." Ragone said. "Offensively speaking, we came in here pretty well and mixed it up pretty well."
With 1:23 left in the half, Trey McDonald's punt was blocked by Louisville's Brandon Johnson, who ran the ball straight to a touchdown.
The third quarter went scoreless for both benches, as the defenses stepped up, sacking the quarterbacks a combined five times.
When Louisville running back Henry Miller scrambled 42 yards for a touchdown with 7:32 left in the game, the Cardinals had 11 times as many points as Duke. Their final touchdown of the day came with just over a minute and thirty seconds left when Ghent caught a 2-yard pass from backup quarterback Stefan LeFors.
The Blue Devils switched back and
"We played very poorly on offense," head coach Carl Franks said. "Our quarterbacks had a tough time just getting away or having time to throw."
Another major offensive dearth for Duke was their eight first downs for the game, compared to Louisville's 21. The Cardinals had a net total of 452 yards, 260 of them passing, while the Blue Devils had 175 total and only 22 from rushing. Alex Wade, who rushed for 109 yards in the season opener, was only allowed 13 by Louisville's defense.
Freshman linebacker Brendan Dewan, who had an interception returned for a touchdown and a fumble recovery against ECU, was out due to a broken ankle. The Blue Devil defense was able to pick up a pair of fumbles and interceptions each, though they failed to result in scores. Duke's offense has yet to commit a turnover this season.
The Blue Devils never made a single third down conversion, going 0-15, compared to Louisville's eight in the same number of attempts.
"Everything that could go wrong did go wrong with us, including our kicking game," Franks said. "We tried to beat ourselves as many ways as possible tonight."
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