It was a tale of two halves for Duke again Saturday, and for the second straight week, the Blue Devils' rally was too little, too late.
Duke (0-8) allowed Vanderbilt (4-5) to jump out to a 28-0 lead-with the Commodores scoring on four of their first five possessions. The Blue Devils rallied for 21 fourth-quarter points but ultimately fell, 45-28.
"We have to learn to come out and play right away," linebacker Jeramy Edwards said. "It's unacceptable to go down in the first half-and then come out fired up in the second half."
Vanderbilt quarterback Chris Nickson was a menace all afternoon to Duke, tallying 400 total yards-250 passing and 150 yards on the ground.
Nickson was a major reason why the Commodores were able to get off to a quick start, rushing for 45 yards and throwing for 120 in the first quarter alone.
"I hope we don't face another [quarterback] like him," head coach Ted Roof said.
Trailing 38-7 early in the fourth quarter, Duke was able to quickly put points on the board and keep the outcome of the game in question. Despite facing a 31-point deficit with less than 12 minutes to play, the Blue Devils mounted their comeback mainly on the ground. Running back Justin Boyle scored three touchdowns in a span of less than five minutes.
Suddenly, Duke trailed 38-28 and lined up for a two-point conversion. Quarterback Thaddeus Lewis handed off to Re'quan Boyette, but the running back was stopped just short of the end zone. The ensuing onside kick was recovered by the Commodores, and Duke still trailed Vanderbilt by two scores. Nickson added a late running touchdown for the Commodores to account for the final margin.
"If we convert that two-point play, after everything else that happened, it's still down to a one-possession game," Roof said. "To get down to a one-possession game with under five minutes to go, you have a chance."
Along with his three fourth-quarter touchdowns, Boyle had a career day on the field for the Blue Devils. The running back matched a career-high with 113 rushing yards on only 14 carries, and he tied a school record with four rushing touchdowns-he rushed for a two-yard score late in the first half.
"I thought he played excellent," Roof said. "What jumps out at you are the yards that he rushed for, but he was just as good without the ball in pass protection. He's being more patient waiting for his blocking to develop, and when he sees the hole, he's hitting it."
Boyle had some success running the ball before halftime, but he did most of his damage in the second half-especially in the fourth quarter. After scoring two quick touchdowns to cut the score to 38-22 with 7:27 left, Boyle ran straight up the gut for a 32-yard score on Duke's first play after recovering Joe Surgan's onside kick.
"The offensive line played a great game," Boyle said. "The holes were wide open."
In the first half, the Blue Devils had no answer for the Commodores' offense, headed by Nickson. The Vanderbilt quarterback directed his team to touchdowns on each of its first three possessions, highlighted by a 77-yard scoring pass to receiver Earl Bennett on the team's second drive of the game.
Duke punter Alex Feinberg had pinned the Commodores at their own three-yard line, but Nickson scrambled away from the end zone to set up the drive with the scoring strike to Bennett.
"It just came down to making tackles," Edwards said. "We didn't execute like we wanted to. It came down to making tackles in the open field, and we didn't do it."
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