LAWRENCE, Kan. — Duke head coach David Cutcliffe knew his team needed a few big plays to defeat No. 22 Kansas, listing that objective as an essential element needed to defeat a ranked team at his media press conference Tuesday.
But after the opening drive when the Blue Devils covered 87 yards in just two plays for a 7-0 lead, only the Jayhawks exploded for the game-deciding plays.
Duke (1-2) surrendered 20 unanswered points in about six minutes spanning halftime as it lost to Kansas (3-0) 44-16 Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.
“They’re a team that will lead the country in explosiveness,” Cutcliffe said. “We’ve got to have big plays and we didn’t, which is why we didn’t score.”
The Jayhawks outscored the Blue Devils 30-9 over the last 40 minutes of the contest. Duke also allowed Kansas to rack up plays covering 34, 48 and 45 yards on the three scoring drives in the deciding six-minute swing, highlighted by Jayhawks’ defensive end Max Onyegbule’s 48-yard touchdown off an interception.
Onyegbule’s interception came with the score 20-7 and turned what could have been a momentum-changing drive for Duke into an effective stamp on the victory for Kansas. Had the Blue Devils scored, they would have trailed by just one possession but instead found themselves down by 20 against a team that had not given up more than 10 points all year.
On that play, a 3rd-and-6 from Duke’s 45-yard line, Thaddeus Lewis dropped back and looked to hit one of his crossing receivers for a chain-moving completion. Lewis let the ball go without much pressure, but it was never clear whom he was throwing to. Onyegbule picked the pass off near midfield with no Duke wideout near him.
He ran untouched into the end zone, zapping the Blue Devils of any potential momentum coming out of the locker room.
“I saw the passing lane and it looked open,” Lewis said. “The defensive lineman dropped into coverage and I didn’t see him at all. It was a great call on their part.”
The Blue Devils had a great deal of trouble getting anything going on offense for the vast majority of the game, as consistent pressure from the Kansas defensive line made deep throws difficult. When Lewis and Sean Renfree did get a deep ball off, it was often inaccurate and overthrown from having to backpedal against the onslaught of defensive linemen. The Jayhawks recorded five sacks on the day for a combined loss of 41 yards.
Lewis and Renfree finished a combined 30-of-50 for 299 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions, both by Lewis.
Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing, meanwhile, finished with three touchdowns on 28-of-41 attempts and 338 yards, eluding Duke’s pass rush with a nice mix of sidesteps and spins to keep the plays alive.
His elusiveness was on full display on the Jayhawks’ fourth straight unanswered touchdown drive. Facing 3rd-and-7 from Duke’s 18-yard line midway through the third quarter,
Reesing eluded two defensive linemen with nifty jukes and a spin back to the middle to find himself with an open field and no defenders in front of him. By the time Duke’s defensive backfield converged, he had dived to the 4-yard line.
Kansas would score easily on the next play to go ahead 34-10 with just over 20 minutes remaining in the game.
“He’s different than any guys I’ve had,” Cutcliffe said of Reesing. “He may be one of the greatest creators I’ve seen.”
Before Reesing’s scrambling act, though, Duke had a couple of opportunities with the score at 27-7. On the drive after Onyegbule’s interception, Lewis drove the offense down to the Jayhawks’ 18-yard line and had two prime opportunities to score, but overthrew open receivers on second and third down.
Kansas scored again, and Cutcliffe inserted Renfree at quarterback. The redshirt freshman drove Duke to Kansas’ 32-yard line, but heavy pressure on a fourth down attempt forced a bad throw and a turnover on downs.
“They make you look worse than you are,” Cutcliffe said. “They’re far better than the No. 22 team [in the country].”
Though the quarterback duo struggled throughout, the game started promisingly for the Blue Devils.
The Duke defense held Kansas on the Jayhawks’ opening drive, and on the ensuing possession, Lewis hit wideout Austin Kelly to his right on a bubble screen. Kelly cut across the field and, with great blocking from his other receivers, covered 66 yards.
Lewis then scrambled up the gut of the defense on the next play for a 21-yard touchdown to give Duke its only lead of the day with 9:46 remaining in the first quarter.
But that was it for the Blue Devils’ touchdown output until the fourth quarter.
And by then, Duke’s lack of explosion had put it down by more than 21 points and out of the game.
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