WINSTON-SALEM — For 30 minutes Saturday, Duke’s offense ran like a well-oiled machine.
Then, almost inexplicably, it broke down.
After scoring 35 points and amassing 326 yards in the first half, the Blue Devil offense sputtered after halftime, allowing Wake Forest to claim a 54-48 victory in what was the second highest-scoring game in ACC history.
“We didn’t come out at halftime like we should’ve and you could definitely see it out there,” senior Austin Kelly said. “I felt like our execution and our focus wasn’t there in the second half for the offense.”
Duke’s second-half yardage was less than half of what it accounted for in the first. While quarterback Sean Renfree had only two incompletions in the first half—both of which were bobbled balls that led to interceptions—he had 14 in the second. Running back Desmond Scott rushed for 108 yards in the first half, including a 63-yard touchdown scamper, but averaged only 3.5 yards on his four carries in the last 30 minutes.
However, the Blue Devils’ second-half struggles would have been inconsequential had it not been for the defense’s poor performance throughout the contest. It allowed the Demon Deacons 500 total yards and eight touchdowns and was consistently gutted both through the air and on the ground.
Big plays were the major problem for the unit, as it allowed four touchowns of more than 20 yards, including an 81-yard touchdown on a trick play that had wide receiver Marshall Williams hitting a wide-open Chris Givens for the score.
“Defensively you simply need to tackle better to begin with,” head coach David Cutcliffe said. “And the consistency it takes to not give up huge plays, those are all correctable things, but they’re not being done. And that falls back in my lap.”
Duke was able to remain within striking distance throughout the entire game thanks to its own proficiency making big plays. Indeed, the Blue Devils nearly pulled off a miracle when, down 13 with less than two minutes to go, Renfree hit Vernon for a 51-yard touchdown pass on a well executed hitch-and-go on the first play of the drive. However, the ensuing onside kick was recovered by Wake Forest, icing the game.
A consistent rain that escalated into a downpour during the second half likely influenced that onside kick, as well as many other aspects of Duke’s offense. Drops were an issue for the Blue Devil receivers throughout, and they led to two of Renfree’s three interceptions.
Still, no one on Duke’s offense would point the finger at anyone else for those mistakes. While Kelly stated that the rain was “not an excuse,” Renfree tried to shoulder the blame himself, saying the drops were due to inaccurate throws on his part. Even Cutcliffe felt accountable, saying, “We haven’t thrown a wet ball and caught a wet ball quite enough.”
Those drops and interceptions, along with a fumbled punt returned by Givens for a touchdown, halted the nearly overwhelming momentum of the Duke attack in the first half. After an 82-yard Wake Forest drive, capped off by a 23-yard run from quarterback Tim Stachitas, started the game, the Blue Devils quickly answered with an electrifying kickoff return by Patrick Kurunwune that was nearly a touchdown. Eight plays and less than four minutes later, Duke had its first touchdown after freshman quarterback Brendan Connette stuffed the ball into the endzone.
After one of the Blue Devils’ few defensive stops, Duke went on another quick scoring drive, capped by a touchdown pass from Renfree to tight end Cooper Helfet. But the Blue Devils squandered the momentum that came from yet another defensive stop on Wake Forest’s subsequent drive by not only stalling on their own possession, but allowing the Demon Deacons to tie the game on that fumbled punt.
Duke nearly wrested the momentum back away from Wake Forest after tying the game at 21 thanks to a 70-yard touchdown pass from Renfree to Vernon, who, despite tight coverage, was able to fight off his defender and then scamper unabated to the endzone. But the Blue Devil defense let up its own big play on the game’s next snap in the form of Williams’ trick-play pass to Givens for the touchdown.
Vernon nearly single-handedly earned Duke a victory, accounting for 181 yards on his own, along with two touchdowns.
“I did everything in my power to come out of here with a win,” Vernon said. “I put this game on my shoulders.”
Still, despite the plethora of fine offensive efforts by the Blue Devils Saturday, it wasn’t enough to overcome a slow second half and a porous defense. Duke learned that while scoring 48 points may win a team a lot of football games, allowing 54 will almost certainly cost it more.
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