Down by seven with four seconds left on the clock, Duke had one shot at the end zone from the 24-yard line to tie the game. Junior quarterback Mike Schneider, playing in just his second series of the game, threw a pass intended for receiver Deon Adams. The ball was underthrown and easily batted away by Navy's David Mahoney to seal the Midshipmen's 28-21 victory.
"This was a gut-wrencher," head coach Ted Roof said. "These kids were really resilient. I thought we played extremely hard."
The Blue Devils (1-4) had erased an 11-point fourth quarter deficit and tied the game at 21 with 3:20 remaining.
Navy (1-2) began the next drive on their own 33-yard line and on the first play of the series, Midshipmen quarterback Lamar Owens ran for a 52-yard gain that moved the ball all the way to Duke's 15-yard line.
Four plays later, Owens carried the ball into the end zone for a two-yard touchdown, leaving the Blue Devils down seven with only 1:18 on the clock.
"The quarterback broke and we were in position to make the play, we just didn't" Roof said. "That was the difference in the ball game, among other plays."
Duke began its failed final-minute drive from its own 35-yard line, and Roof decided to play the more experienced Schneider over true freshman Zack Asack, who had started and taken all but a few snaps up to that point in the game.
"Mike has executed in the two-minute situation many more times and is a lot more comfortable in that mode, so we made the decision to go with Mike," Roof said. "I thought he executed and worked the clock well, he gave us a chance to tie it on the last play of the game. We didn't get it done, but at lest we had a chance there on the last play."
Schneider's only other playing time came at the end of the third quarter after the Duke defense forced a fumble at Navy's 15-yard line, giving Duke a chance to cut into Navy's 21-10 lead. After the Blue Devils were called for holding on first down, Schneider entered the game and moved the ball just two yards over the next three plays to set up a 40-yard Joe Surgan field goal in the first minute of the final quarter.
After holding Navy to a three-and-out, the Blue Devils got the ball back trailing by eight with less than twelve minutes to play. Asack marched the Blue Devils 66 yards down the field and capped the drive with a six-yard touchdown run on third down.
Needing a two-point conversion to knot the score at 21, Asack lobbed a pass into the right corner of the end zone that was pulled in by 6-foot-3 wide receiver Eron Riley. The catch was the freshman's first of his collegiate career.
"We had two great receivers on both sides and I went to Eron who can jump like the devil," Asack said. "I wanted to get it to the corner of the end zone so he could make the play."
The second half opened with Duke and Navy locked in a 7-7 tie, and remained that way until Surgan hit a 43-yard kick for his first career field goal as a Blue Devil.
The Duke defense, which had held the Midshipmen's potent offense in check all day, then collapsed. In its second offensive series, Navy converted a third-and-nine from its own 16-yard line. Three plays later, running back Reggie Campbell ran the ball 52 yards to the Duke nine-yard line to set up a touchdown.
The Blue Devils were pinned at their 13-yard line to start their following drive. Asack made one of his few mistakes on the day when he was called for intentional grounding on third down, giving Navy excellent field position after Duke punted from its own end zone.
Needing a defensive stand to keep Navy from extending its 14-10 lead, Duke allowed a 47-yard touchdown run to fullback Matt Hall on Navy's first play of the drive.
"Any time in football, you cannot give up the X plays, they kill you," Roof said referring to Navy's six plays of 30 yards or more. "You're not going to win giving up four or five of them in a game."
While the defense struggled at times, it opened the game with a red zone interception. On the Midshipmen's first possession, they charged deep into Blue Devil territory and faced second-and-goal from Duke's five-yard line. After two false starts and an incompletion, Duke still appeared to have no chance at keeping Navy off the scoreboard. However, cornerback John Talley read Owens' third-down pass perfectly, intercepting the ball and returning it to Duke's 38-yard line.
"It is a certain read we have to make and we rolled to a cover two," Talley said. "I got a good break and ended up catching it and went down the sidelines."
Duke notched the game's first score on the ensuing possession when tailback Justin Boyle rushed the ball to the right side for a three-yard touchdown. Navy tied the score at seven on its following drive with a 33-yard touchdown pass as time expired in the first quarter.
Asack finished the game 12-for-16 for 111 yards passing and 58 yards on the ground. Roof said he was very pleased with Asack's performance, but that the freshman is not guaranteed the starting spot over Schneider next week in Miami against the No. 9 Hurricanes.
NOTES:
Boyle and receiver Jomar Wright were both injured and were not available for Duke's comeback attempt in the fourth quarter.... Talley's interception in the first quarter was the ninth of his career and third of the season. He is now the active ACC leader in interceptions.
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