The oddsmakers in Las Vegas predicted Alabama would win by 24.
The Crimson Tide beat that mark within the first 10 minutes of the game.
In a game where Duke (1-2, 0-1 in the ACC) struggled with basic fundamentals such as tackling and catching, No. 1 Alabama (3-0) capitalized time and time again in front of the 39,042 at Wallace Wade Stadium en route to a 62-13 victory, the Blue Devils’ most lopsided defeat in 10 years.
“That’s a laundry list of things that need to be addressed as a head coach,” Duke head coach David Cutcliffe said after the game. “I told them that it’s obvious to anyone who watched this game or the last two games that we’re in rehab. We certainly have some things to fix. In this point in time, that’s where we are.”
The Crimson Tide rolled early. Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, who missed Alabama’s first two games due to a knee injury, wasted no time in making his presence known. Senior quarterback Greg McElroy gave him the ball on the first offensive play of the game, and Ingram broke several tackles as he rumbled down the field for a 48-yard gain. Two plays later, McElroy connected with wide receiver Darius Hanks, who was open in the right corner of the end zone, for an early 7-0 lead.
“I wasn’t going to come back out here if I wasn’t confident in what I could do,” said Ingram, who said he has never before missed games due to an injury. “If I didn’t feel I could do me out there, I wouldn’t have come back. I had complete confidence, no hesitation out there.”
Ingram racked up 119 yards on five first-quarter carries as Alabama continued to score at will with three more first-quarter touchdowns to push the advantage to 28-0. On Duke’s ensuing drive, freshman running back Josh Snead and redshirt sophomore quarterback Sean Renfree paced the Blue Devils down to the Alabama 4-yard line.
On first-and-goal, junior tight end Cooper Helfet dropped Renfree’s pass, the first of several that would bounce off of the hands of Duke receivers. On second down, junior wide receiver Donovan Varner was wide open in the middle of the end zone, but Renfree instead went at Conner Vernon, who was brought down by sophomore Dont’a Hightower at the 4-yard line. Renfree’s third-and-goal pass, intended for Austin Kelly, fell incomplete, and Will Snyderwine kicked a 22-yard field goal to put Duke on the scoreboard.
The Blue Devils defense came up with their only stop of the first half on the following drive. McElroy lead the Crimson Tide down the field to the Duke 23, where junior safety Lee Butler jumped his passing route and made a diving interception at the 6-yard line.
“The interception was just a mental error,” McElroy said. “I was a little bit late on the throw and trying to force it and getting a little greedy.”
Later in the second quarter with 29 seconds remaining, Renfree connected with Kelly for an 11-yard touchdown, the first scored against the Alabama defense this season. The strike followed Trent Richardson’s 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, in which he fumbled the ball at the 4-yard line, recovered it at the 9, and continued on for 91 yards.
Even though Alabama went into halftime with a 45-13 lead, faced no third downs and outgained the Blue Devils by 169 yards, Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban was not pleased, saying at halftime that “we’re not playing to a standard of being a good football team.” After the game, Saban said he was disappointed in his defense’s execution on the line and in coverage.
“I think we got tired defensively in the second quarter,” he said. “They went no huddle against us—we practice against it all the time. It isn’t something that we anticipated in this game, and I think we got a little bit tired and gave up 13 points in the second quarter or about three drives in a row, whenever they came.”
While Alabama would score 17 unanswered points in the second half with mainly its backups on the field, a few young Blue Devils registered personal firsts. Freshman quarterback Brandon Connette completed the first pass of his college career, a 2-yard completion to Jay Hollingsworth and finished the day 2-for-4 for 12 yards in addition to 29 yards on six carries. Freshman Kelby Brown made his collegiate debut and registered a sack and recovered a fumble.
Last week, Cutcliffe said he thought Alabama was the most talented team in the country. After seeing the Crimson Tide for himself, he no longer had to rely on speculation alone.
“And I will say, that’s the best Alabama team I’ve ever coached against—the 26 times I’ve coached against them,” he said. “If you get on your heels against a team like that, they’re going to make you look really bad.”
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