Compiling 394 yards of total offense would usually make a team competitive against any opponent.
But not when that opponent is a No. 22 Kansas team that racks up 490 yards of its own.
At first glance, Duke put together a solid offensive performance in Lawrence, Kan. The quarterbacking duo of Thaddeus Lewis and Sean Renfree combined to complete 60 percent of its passes for 299 yards. The running game finally showed some signs of life, and though it wasn’t stellar by any means, the rushing attack picked up 95 yards for the Blue Devils.
Upon further review, though, Duke’s offense did have some issues against the Jayhawk defense. Renfree threw one touchdown against Lewis’ two interceptions, one of which was returned for 48 yards by Max Onyegbule for a Kansas touchdown. The Blue Devils needed 33 attempts to reach 95 yards on the ground, making for a measly 2.87 yards per carry.
And Duke simply couldn’t execute when it mattered most, going 4-for-18 on third down. Too often, the Blue Devils needed five yards or more on third down, limiting play-calling options. Duke saw many drives stall as rushing attempts came up short or ended in the backfield on first and second down, and Lewis and Renfree were forced to make difficult throws on third down.
Head coach David Cutcliffe was especially concerned over the Blue Devils’ abysmal 0-for-7 effort on third down in the first half. Duke was forced into going for it on fourth down in situations that it ordinarily would not, as the Blue Devils desperately needed points.
“We just didn’t execute,” Lewis said. “Sometimes it’s a drop here and there, things of that nature, a missed read or something like that. They did a great job of disguising their defense and dropping a lot of guys into coverage and not creating a lot of passing lanes for us on third down.”
Throw in the pressure from the Jayhawk defensive line, which had five sacks on the day, and there wasn’t much that the quarterbacks could do.
“We’re not protecting the quarterback very well,” Cutcliffe said. “They did a nice job of rushing the passer, and we’re struggling protecting the quarterback and that’s not an easy thing to fix. It’s not as much schematic as it is the one-on-one battles.”
On the other side of the ball, Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing showed that he could do essentially whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted.
Reesing shredded the Blue Devils for 338 yards and 3 touchdowns on 28-of-41 passing. He created all the time he needed with his feet, dodging sacks throughout the game and running for 51 yards on eight attempts.
With the score at 27-10 midway through the third quarter, Reesing sealed the game with a signature scramble. As he dropped back to pass just beyond the Duke 20-yard line, defensive tackle John Drew broke through the Jayhawk line. Reesing took a quick stutter step to his left, and Drew took the bait and lunged for the quarterback. Reesing effortlessly spun back to his right and scrambled through the hole in the line left by the sprawling Drew, sliding down at the 4-yard line.
Freshman running back Toben Opurum scored on the next play, ending any hopes of a Blue Devil comeback.
Making things even worse, Duke had planned to slow down the high-powered Kansas offense by containing the Jayhawks’ receivers. In particular, Dezmon Briscoe and former quarterback Kerry Meier gave the Blue Devil secondary fits.
“Coming into the game, we knew they had great receivers,” safety Matt Daniels said. “Coming in we knew they were a great passing team. One of the keys was we were trying to not let them have any explosive plays, trying to keep Briscoe under control. He’s really their motivator on offense, their go-to guy.”
The Kansas receiving corps, however, looked quicker and more disciplined than the Blue Devils’ secondary from the very beginning. Duke struggled to contain Briscoe, as the star receiver compiled 6 catches for 117 yards and a touchdown.
Meier was all over the field for Kansas as well, with 8 catches for 64 yards and a touchdown. Meier also chased down Chris Rwabukamba on a 60-yard footrace after Rwabukamba scooped up a blocked extra point in the second quarter.
The Blue Devils were hurt most by a few key plays for large gains. The Jayhawks’ longest play was a 45-yard connection from Reesing to Briscoe which set up Kansas’ second touchdown. One Duke three-and-out later, Reesing and Briscoe hooked up for 39 yards, putting Kansas in position to strike again before halftime.
Duke couldn’t keep up. The Blue Devils’ only big play was a 66 yard catch-and-run by Austin Kelly on their first play from scrimmage, and Duke never found that magic again, as the Jayhawks’ defense contained receivers to short and intermediate gains.
“You’ve either got to have a ton of big plays or you have to make first downs,” Cutcliffe said. “And we’re not getting much of either one offensively—and therefore not a lot of points.”
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