While other teams around the country struggled against FCS teams, the Blue Devils cruised past Elon 52-13 in their season opener Saturday night. Although the Phoenix kept the score close in the first quarter, Duke scored 21 unanswered points in the second quarter to take a 28-6 lead by halftime. Elon could not mount a comeback and was held to just a single fourth quarter touchdown.
Offense: A+
Pass: After posting a disappointing 13-13 touchdown-to-interception ratio last season, Anthony Boone started 2014 on a high note with four touchdown passes on the evening. He completed 22-of-33 passes for 247 yards, finding senior wide receivers Jamison Crowder and Issac Blakeney for two touchdowns apiece. Boone, who was well protected throughout the game, seemed very comfortable in the pocket and only a handful of his throws were off target. Thomas Sirk, who played in his first career game, also had success throwing the ball, completing 5-of-7 passes for 40 yards in the second half.
Rush: Duke's passing attack was helped by a four-headed rushing attack that pounded the Elon defense throughout the game. Redshirt senior Josh Snead and junior Shaquille Powell split most of the early touches, combining for 128 yards on 23 carries. Powell added a two-yard scamper into the end zone with 8:08 to play in the first half. But it was freshman Shaun Wilson who stole the show in the second half, as the speedy and explosive youngster ripped through the Phoenix front seven for 71 yards on only six carries. Redshirt freshman Joseph Ajegbe also saw time in the second half, but only averaged two yards per carry.
X’s and O’s: The Blue Devils only averaged 7.5 yards per pass, but that number was skewed by the conservative play-calling from upstairs. Although new offensive coordinator Scottie Montgomery was not afraid to pull the trigger on the big play, as demonstrated by Boone's 46-yard bomb to Crowder in the first half, he chose to focus on the ground game, especially in the second half. Like last year, we will most likely see multiple running backs splitting carries evenly, with the best performers seeing the field more later in the season. But don't sleep on Montgomery, who David Cutcliffe says is an aggressive play-caller, as he is sure to have a few tricks up his sleeve for later in the season.
Defense: A-
Pass: The Duke secondary allowed Phoenix redshirt senior quarterback Mike Quinn to complete only 50 percent of his passes and when Quinn did find his receivers, it was usually for only a short gain. But Quinn was able to find his star receiver, Kierre Brown, five times for 70 yards. The defensive linemen made themselves at home in the Elon backfield, with Quinn being subject to constant harassment from Blue Devil blitzes. Defensive lineman Carlos Wray recorded his first career sack in the first half, and redshirt senior defensive end Dezmond Johnson had a sack as well. Neither the secondary nor the pressure on Quinn was enough to force an Elon turnover, although a few of his passes did come close to being intercepted.
Rush: Phoenix running backs B.J. Bennett and Tracey Coppedge found success on the ground during the game, with the duo combining for 156 yards on 28 carries. Bennett scored Elon's only touchdown in the fourth quarter. The presence of Kelby Brown was clearly missed most against the rush, as the Blue Devils still seemed to be searching for another linebacker opposite of David Helton. C.J. France missed a tackle early and was replaced by the duo of redshirt freshman Chris Holmes and freshman Zavier Carmichael, who showed promise in the second half.
X’s and O’s: Duke is still clearly trying to adjust to life without Brown at the linebacker position and used the lopsided score to experiment ways to do this. France, Holmes and Carmichael played well for most of the game, but Jim Knowles occasionally used strike safety Jeremy Cash as a linebacker and played with six defensive backs on the field. This might be the look for the Blue Devils going forward in passing situations, as Cash has the skillset to play safety, but is also strong enough to play closer to the line of scrimmage.
Special Teams: A-
The only reason special teams does not get a perfect mark this week is because they allowed Kierre Brown to return seven kicks for a combined 174 yards, including one return that went for 47 yards. Cutcliffe mentioned in his post-game press conference that he would like to see the kickoff coverage team play better in future games. Kicker Ross Martin did his part in booting in a 49-yard field goal in the third quarter.
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