Quarterback Thaddeus Lewis slogged through his worst game of the season Saturday. Still, he managed to direct the offense down the field for three touchdowns-and after a dreadful first half, his final numbers didn't look too bad.
After two quarters, the junior had taken two sacks, thrown two interceptions and amassed only 73 yards in the air.
Thirty minutes later, he had upped his 9-for-20 passing clip to 18-for-32, tossed two touchdowns and guided the Blue Devils to scores when they needed them.
"[David Cutcliffe] said, 'No excuses, it's your job to get in rhythm,'" said Lewis, whose nation-best string of 206 attempts without an interception was snapped on the game's first play from scrimmage. "I refocused myself and just saw what the defense gave us in the second half."
What he found was a lagging Cavalier defense sitting back in a zone, allowing for an array of quick hitters, swings and screens. Lewis' two touchdown passes-a swing to running back Jay Hollingsworth for an 11-yard score and a screen to wide receiver Eron Riley for a 30-yard tally-traveled no more than five forward yards in the air.
"That's what the defense was giving me," Lewis said. "Sometimes, you gotta take those short throws."
Cutcliffe has been hesitant to make comparisons between Lewis and his two most famous quarterback proteges, Eli and Peyton Manning. But after Lewis' recovery in the second half, the Duke head coach made an implicit reference to his star students.
"All quarterbacks that I have been around have off days," he said. "When you win 31-3 with an off day... It wasn't his best performance. He told me at halftime, 'Coach, I just feel rushed.'"
Tough call
While Lewis blatantly underthrew wide receiver Raphael Chestnut on the quarterback's first interception, his second was less of an error on his part and more of an egregious mistake by the referee.
Lewis threw a long ball into the end zone for freshman wideout Johnny Williams, who was hounded by cornerback Ras-I Dowling. At the last second, Dowling got away with a bump and picked off the pass, drawing the ire of Duke's coaching staff.
It even solicited boos from the Wallace Wade Stadium crowd, which saw the pass interference on replay.
Sideline shooter
Abby Waner, a guard on the women's basketball team, served as ESPNU's sideline reporter for the game.
The senior with broadcasting aspirations informed viewers of some of the storylines for this year's Blue Devil football and women's basketball teams, and interviewed teammate Karima Christmas and men's basketball players Kyle Singler and Gerald Henderson.
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