If he wanted, Sean Renfree could finally let out a sigh of relief. He had just led his team to a 41-27 victory over Elon, passing his first test with flying colors as Duke’s starting quarterback.
After months of speculation and worries about how he would perform in Thaddeus Lewis’ footsteps, the redshirt sophomore had full command of his offense Saturday night in Wallace Wade Stadium, throwing for 350 yards and two touchdown passes on a 31-of-39 performance.
“I’d say it was a pretty solid start for Mr. Renfree,” head coach David Cutcliffe said, concealing a smile.
“Solid” might not have done “Mr. Renfree” justice.
Renfree and the offense got their first chance at action after Elon’s opening drive of the game, in which the Phoenix (0-1) drove 63 yards, including two long-distance passes, to set themselves up for a field goal. It wasn’t exactly the start Duke was hoping for, with its defense revealing hints of weakness in defending the long pass. But the offense was about to compensate for the initial defensive shortcomings.
The Blue Devils (1-0) began their offensive drive on their own 36-yard line, and it took them merely six snaps to get the ball to the end zone and send the home fans into a frenzy.
Even more impressive than scoring on their first drive was the manner in which they scored.
For a team whose wide receivers and passing game have gotten so much attention, Duke relied heavily on its running backs on the first drive, a show of confidence in a rushing game that has been relatively fruitless over the past two seasons. Of the six plays of the first drive, five involved sophomore running back Desmond Scott, and he did not disappoint. He ran for 52 yards, including a 34-yard touchdown run which gave the Blue Devils the 7-3 lead after 5:04 of regulation time.
“We ran the ball almost every day in practice, getting us ready to play the entire game. Obviously, it showed,” Scott said. “Every running back played the game, and I think we did a good job.”
That’s not to say that the Blue Devils didn’t utilize their talent at the wide receiver positions. In fact, after the first drive, Duke’s passing game seemed to take over.
On a drive that closed out the quarter, Renfree hit both sophomore Connor Vernon and junior Donovan Varner for long, 20-yard-plus receptions. He finished the drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Varner to give Duke the 14-3 lead to close the opening period.
The second quarter saw Duke build its advantage to 27-13, managing to score on all three of its possessions. Vernon caught a game-high 47-yard pass to set Duke up for its only touchdown of the quarter.
Coming back onto the field after halftime, Duke looked to take firm control over the game, while Elon looked to stage a second-half comeback. Neither team, however, accomplished much during the third quarter. The Blue Devils were unable to capitalize on any opportunities, but their defense forced the Phoenix to suffer the same scoring drought.
“I thought our team was a little flat.... From the locker room to the field, we just weren’t there completely,” Cutcliffe said. “We just stopped ourselves.”
Duke’s flatness almost caused the team to lose control of the game at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Elon managed to score another touchdown early on, closing the gap to seven, the closest it had been since the first quarter. The Blue Devils and their fans’ emotions changed from excitement over a blowout win to anxiety over their team’s weakening performance.
Something needed to change. It began with Renfree taking the role of a leader in the huddle and inciting his team to do better.
“As soon as that happened, [Renfree] got us rallied up,” Vernon said. “He told us, ‘It’s our turn now, and we have to close the game’.”
Duke did exactly that. With its defense looking sluggish, offense starting to stumble and opponent making a late surge, it pulled itself together, mounting a touchdown drive to put the Blue Devils ahead 34-20 with 7:54 left in the game. Renfree utilized four different receivers on the drive, and freshman running back Josh Snead ran the ball the final 19 yards to put Duke up by two touchdowns.
The defense followed in turn. On the second play of Elon’s responding drive, senior linebacker Abraham Kromah intercepted the ball, preventing any chance for the Phoenix to reciprocate. On top of that, Duke scored another touchdown on its next drive, putting the game out of reach.
The Blue Devils had succeeded in closing out a game, setting themselves up for their ACC opener against Wake Forest Saturday.
To use Cutcliffe’s own choice of words, it was a “solid” showing for a team trying to make it to its first bowl game since 1994.
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