Tomahawk drop

CHARLOTTE—With Duke riding high on an eight-game winning streak, the Blue Devils crashed back down to Earth hard against top-ranked Florida State in the ACC championship game.

With a solid first half performance from the defense, the Blue Devils failed to do what they had done all season—turn opportunities into points. The offense could not find an answer for the Seminole defense and blew early opportunities en route to a 45-7 loss.

"You are going to have to make plays when they present themselves," Duke head coach David Cutcliffe said. "We're not going to beat a lot of people when we complete 50 percent of our passes. That's not always just the quarterback. In a game like this, any given opportunity to make a play, you'd better make it."

“That kind of shocked them I think,” Blue Devil defensive end Kenny Anunike said. “Because a lot of teams have been sitting back on their heels and just playing, but that was our game plan just to come after them from the jump, hit them in the mouth and that’s exactly what we were doing.”

Duke’s offense seemed to be running on all cylinders, as it drove down to the Seminole 33-yard line. On first-and-10, Boone found sophomore running back Jela Duncan wide open on the left sideline and lofted the ball his way, only for it to slip through his hands and go incomplete.

After a three-yard completion to receiver Johnell Barnes, Duke faced third-and-seven. Boone dropped back and tried to squeeze the ball into a tight window to Barnes, but the pass was a step behind him and Barnes could not hang on to the ball. This brought out kicker Ross Martin, who has been a huge part of Duke’s eight-game winning streak, with go-ahead field goals at Virginia Tech and North Carolina.

But Saturday’s contest would not feature a Duke lead, as Martin’s 48-yard attempt sailed wide right, squandering the chance to draw first blood and giving the Seminoles the ball.

“It’s one of those things where you've got to answer early, try to get some momentum,” Boone said. “Because a team like that, they have a great defense, they can put people away, and they have a quick offense that can score at will. So you've just got to get points where you can and try to catch a rhythm and we missed the points.”

The next letdown for the Blue Devils came after a Kelvin Benjamin touchdown put the Seminoles up 7-0 with 12:36 left in the second quarter. After Duke and Florida State posted consecutive three-and-outs, the Seminoles, who had negated receiver and punt returner Jamison Crowder thus far in the game, finally gave up a big play. On the punt return from Duke’s 23-yard line, Crowder cut left and turned upfield, taking the ball 40 yards to Florida State’s 37-yard line and giving the Blue Devils their best starting position of the day.

After picking up four yards in two plays, Boone dropped back on third-and-six and forced a ball into double coverage looking for a blanketed Crowder. Seminole cornerback Lamarcus Joyner picked off the pass at the 22-yard line to erase any chance Duke had of scoring.