Although Duke posted its highest point total of the season, it could not stop Florida State's offense, losing 51-24 Saturday in Wallace Wade Stadium.
The Blue Devils' current winless streak now sits at 14 games.
"I don't want to take anything away from Florida State, they are a very good ball team," defensive tackle Vince Oghobaase said. "They were the better ball team today. They executed where we didn't-that's all I can say about that. We have to learn to seize opportunities as a whole team."
There were, however, some highlights for the Blue Devils (0-6, 0-4 in the ACC), who tallied three interceptions and totaled 255 yards in the air. But those improvements served only to mask a game that was otherwise marred by untimely mistakes and missed opportunities.
Duke began the game by quickly falling behind 14-0 on two mistakes. After three successful Blue Devil rushing plays, the Seminoles' Lawrence Thomas picked up a fumbled snap and returned the ball 36 yards for the game's first touchdown, just 1:17 into the contest.
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After a three-and-out two possessions later, Duke allowed a 51-yard punt return by Chris Davis all the way to the eight-yard line. On third down, Drew Weatherford's touchdown pass to De'Cody Fagg gave the Seminoles (4-2, 2-2) a two touchdown lead.
"That first drive of the game really hurt us," wide receiver Eron Riley said. "When we start off that bad, like when they score a defensive touchdown, that puts you down. But we had the rest of the game to finish playing. Even though the score doesn't reflect it, I think we came back and played pretty hard."
The Blue Devils did not help themselves climb out of that early hole when they suffered another major momentum swing going into halftime. In the waning seconds of the first half, Duke faced first-and-goal from the five-yard line with a chance to come within 10 points of the lead. But Duke failed to score, reaching only the one-yard line, and entered halftime down 23-6.
Compounding on Duke's failure to score to end the half, Seminoles' running back Antone Smith dashed for an 80-yard touchdown on the first play of the third quarter, putting FSU ahead 30-6.
"We have to finish those red zone drives and when we don't they come back to bite you," head coach Ted Roof said. "They came out on the first play of the second half and stuck a long one in. That was a big momentum swing. Those two plays were huge in the football game."
Duke scored its first touchdown with 13:31 remaining in the second quarter when John Talley returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown. It was Talley's third career interception return for a touchdown, which matches a Duke all-time record.
The ensuing point-after attempt was blocked, though, and Patrick Robinson returned the blocked kick all the way for a defensive two-point conversion.
Similarly, the Blue Devils failed to capitalize after Talley returned another interception to midfield halfway through the second quarter. On their first play after recovering the ball, running backs Justin Boyle and Ronnie Drummer fumbled the exchange on a reverse, giving the ball right back to the Seminoles.
"We made all those mistakes and we still put up points," Drummer said. "If we can eliminate those and just execute, we'll be alright."
Following the fumble, Leon Wright soared in the back of the endzone to pick off a Xavier Lee pass. The interception set up the Blue Devils' failed red-zone attempt to end the half.
In the second half, the Seminoles exploded for 205 yards passing, 112 yards rushing and four touchdowns. Weatherford finished the game with four touchdown passes.
Duke responded with a safety four minutes into the half when Oghobaase tackled Seminole running back Lorenzo Booker in the end zone after the Blue Devils downed a punt on the one-yard line.
"On offense we definitely came a long way but we all know that it's still not good enough," Drummer said. "Just because we put up 24 points-we still lost the game. The only thing that matters is that we got the 'L'."
One week after a resurgent rushing attack notched 201 yards against Alabama, Duke mustered just 52 yards on the ground Saturday. But Lewis, a true freshman, threw for 255 yards and no interceptions against the Seminoles.
"I think that we've shown some really good things," Roof said. "We've shown some improvements in areas, but things that cost you football games-turnovers, kick returns, big plays-those are things that we have to decrease,"
"There isn't any other way to do it but to keep coaching, keep recruiting, keep playing, keep practicing, keep lifting weights, keep studying film. All that stuff is the answer."
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