They say the devil is in the details. But in Durham, the Blue Devils are in the details—and numbers.
Each week, the Blue Zone analyzes key numbers from last week's action in Duke sports, whether they be historic or underwhelming. This week, the numbers follow along Duke football's comeback victory, men's soccer's undefeated season and more:
15
Duke football is coming off a tremendous 45-21 victory against Miami, and turnovers were an enormous part of the game. The Blue Devils forced eight total takeaways, the most in program history. Five of these were fumbles, bringing the total number of fumble recoveries on the season to 15. This marks the highest total of any team in the nation, and is a remarkable improvement from a defense that ranked the lowest statistically in the ACC last year. In addition, Duke is second in the nation in total turnovers gained with 20. Head coach Mike Elko, the former Texas A&M defensive coordinator, has preached defense throughout the season, and it has undoubtedly has contributed to the Blue Devils’ increased success.
183.5
The Duke swimming and diving team kicked off their season Saturday against Virginia Tech. Both teams performed well against a tough opponent, and the women’s team defeated the No. 24 Hokies with a total score of 183.5. In the 200-yard medley, the Blue Devil women took home first and second place with times of 1:39.62 and 1:40.08, respectively. In addition, Yixuan Chang and Audrey Portello took the top two spots in the 1000-yard freestyle race. Sarah Foley was a star for Duke, finishing first in three separate events. The future of this team looks bright, with freshmen Kaelyn Gridley and Martina Peroni both winning their events, as well.
.357
The Blue Devil men’s soccer team remains undefeated after a 4-0 win last Tuesday against George Washington and a scoreless draw with Pittsburgh on Friday. Graduate goalkeeper Eliot Hamill and the Duke defense have been a big part of the team’s success. The Blue Devils have allowed a remarkable .357 goals per game, the best rate in the nation. In addition, Friday’s draw represented the fifth straight shutout for Duke. The last team to score a goal on Hamill was top ranked Wake Forest on Oct. 1. The Blue Devils will conclude their regular season against Virginia Tech Friday night.
24
Not only did the men’s team pitch a shutout, but the women’s team defeated Louisville 4-0 on Sunday. This was a fitting senior day as veteran goalkeeper Ruthie Jones recorded her 24th shutout, which ranks fifth all time for Duke. In addition, the captain has started 57 straight matches in goal.
“The six seniors mean so much to me,” Jones told GoDuke after the match. “It was a great way to have our last home game in Koskinen together.”
The Blue Devils close out their season against Notre Dame on Thursday before turning their focus to the ACC tournament.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.
Ranjan Jindal is a Trinity sophomore and an assistant Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 119th volume.