The Blue Devils came out strong in their ACC opener but have stumbled into the locker room tied 7-7 with Wake Forest following several missed opportunities on offense that may come back to haunt them.
Although Duke has been in Wake Forest territory on five different drives at Wallace Wade Stadium, it has not been able to score since its first series. The Blue Devils did nothing with two drives that started inside the Demon Deacon 40-yard line and missed a 30-yard field goal to squander a long drive at the start of the second quarter.
Quarterback Daniel Jones is 15-of-24 for 157 yards and scored Duke's only touchdown on a fourth-down run at the goal line after starting the game 5-for-5 during the Blue Devils' 17-play opening drive. The redshirt freshman has received little help from his running backs and offensive line, however, as Jela Duncan and Shaun Wilson have combined for just 26 rushing yards on 10 carries.
Wake Forest starting quarterback John Wolford has been ineffective, with just 17 passing yards, but the Blue Devils struggled to contain dual threat Kendall Hinton in the second quarter after getting five straight stops to start the game.
Hinton led an 85-yard touchdown drive to tie the game, highlighted by a 32-yard scramble and a 37-yard pass to Cortez Lewis before freshman running back Cade Carney broke a tackle with a spin move and waltzed into the end zone with a seven-yard run midway with 6:58 left in the second quarter.
Duke had a golden opportunity to put more points on the board in the first quarter when Ryan Smith returned a punt 30 yards to the Wake Forest 38-yard line. But the Demon Deacons broke up a backwards pass by Jones on the first play of the drive and recovered the fumble to stay within possession.
The teams traded empty drives to end the first quarter before Jones found redshirt sophomore Chris Taylor down the right sideline for a 59-yard connection during the opening series of the second quarter.
The pass put Duke in the red zone, but the Blue Devils could not put any points on the board when a 30-yard field goal attempt by freshman A.J. Reed—the first attempt of his career—sailed wide right.
Veteran safety DeVon Edwards forced a fumble on the ensuing drive to give Duke the ball at the Wake Forest 28-yard line, but the Blue Devils went backwards seven yards and had to punt the ball away again before the Demon Deacons' touchdown drive.
Duke got in scoring position again at the end of the half before Reed missed again from 43 yards out.
Here are some observations from the first half:
- Redshirt freshman linebacker Joe Giles-Harris is having another impressive game with seven tackles and a fumble recovery after starring in his college debut last week.
- Smith remained Duke's starting punt returner even after Cutcliffe voiced displeasure in his weekly press conference Tuesday about the senior's muffed punt against N.C. Central. Smith is making the most of his second chance, with 43 yards on three returns.
- The Blue Devils racked up four sacks in the first half after notching five in last week's game. Duke averaged 1.5 sacks per game last season, one of the worst marks in the FBS.
- The game-time temperature hovering around 90 degrees kept a lot of fans away from Wallace Wade. The stadium is much emptier than it was for last week's season opener.
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