Duke improved its record to 5-1 with a dominant victory on the road, defeating Army 44-3 with a solid defensive performance and an explosive offense that scored five touchdowns on the day. With the victory, the Blue Devils completed their non-conference slate and will head into the bye week looking to get healthy and stay atop the ACC Coastal.
Revisiting the three keys to the game:
- Take risks downfield in the passing game: Thomas Sirk completed 17 of his 27 attempts for 197 yards and was in total control of Duke's offense. Six wide receivers had more than 10 yards receiving, and capitalized on Army’s weak secondary. Sirk did in fact take shots downfield Saturday highlighted by Johnell Barnes’ 38-yard catch and Max McCaffery’s 32-yard reception.
- Win the time of possession battle: Duke had the ball on offense for just a minute longer than Army and did a better job of keeping their defense off the field than in past weeks. With a big lead, the Blue Devils defense was fresh all game and maintained their high level of play from the opening kickoff. But injuries to defensive end Kyler Brown and safety Deondre Singleton cast a shadow on a nearly perfect day and could haunt Duke going forward.
- Stay disciplined and dominant on defense: The Blue Devils built on their success defending the triple-option against Georgia Tech by stifling the Black Knights throughout the afternoon. Duke’s defense was truly dominant in all facets and held Army to just 168 total offensive yards. The Blue Devils also had success forcing turnovers as Army lost three fumbles and an interception
Three key stats:
- Thomas Sirk goes 17-of-27 through the air: Finding holes throughout the Black Knights secondary, Sirk had a field day and recorded one of his best games of the season. Although he only threw for one touchdown, the redshirt junior looked like a brand new quarterback after the Blue Devils’ offense struggled against Boston College last weekend. Sirk also continued to use his feet to his advantage and finished with 53 yards rushing on 13 carries to complement his accurate performance from the pocket.
- Duke defense forces four turnovers: The Blue Devils' greatest strength all season has been its defense and the unit continued to impress Saturday. Jeremy Cash and Dwayne Norman formed a dynamic duo that help shut down the Black Knights' offense and the Blue Devil defense continued to fuel the team's offense. Duke converted all four of Army's turnovers into points and used the defense's takeaways to win the field position battle all afternoon.
- Parker Boehme rushes for two touchdowns: Backup quarterback Parker Boehme had his named called twice within ten yards of the end zone and answered the call both times, plowing through for a pair of scores. Boehme's size adds versatility and flexibility for Duke’s offense and as ACC play picks up, the redshirt sophomore may become a solid red-zone option going forward.
Three key plays:
- 2:18, first quarter: Marching down the field, the Black Knights had just entered the red zone when on the tenth play of the drive Deondre Singleton forced a fumble. Duke recovered the fumble and capitalized by scoring the day’s first touchdown to take an early 10-0 advantage.
- 6:18, second quarter: Jela Duncan broke through for a 43-yard touchdown run, pushing the score to 24-0. The run was Duncan's first touchdown run of the season and cemented the running back's full recovery from a pectoral injury earlier this season.
- 11:11, fourth quarter: Safety Corbin McCarthy intercepts an Ahmad Bradshaw pass on the Army 30. Three plays later, Parker Boehme finished the drive by running the ball in from five yards out for his second touchdown of the game giving the team a commanding 44-3 advantage.
And the Duke game ball goes to… Dwayne Norman
Norman led Duke’s defense with 11 tackles on the afternoon and anchored the team's stout performance against the Black Knights' triple-option attack. The Blue Devils allowed just 2.3 yards per carry Saturday and head into their bye week having allowed an average of only 121.7 yards per game on the ground this season. One of the biggest reasons why has certainly been Norman who has far exceeded preseason expectations and become one of the team's leaders on the defensive end. At 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds, the Jacksonville, Fla., native's versatility continues to make him a valuable weapon for Duke.
And the Army game ball goes to…Kelvin White
In a game where the Black Knights struggled to get any sort of offense going all afternoon, White made the biggest reception of the day when he reeled in a 37-yard reception in the third quarter. But in what proved to be a microcosm of the game, the big catch went all for naught as Army's drive ended with yet another fumble. The loss dropped the Black Knights to 1-5 on the season and the team has a tall mountain to climb if it hopes to become bowl-eligible.
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