The independent news organization of Duke University
In a disappointing start to the season, the Blue Devils were defeated 31-28 by Charlotte, and the Blue Zone is here to break down their performance with three key takeaways and stats, plus a look ahead.
Duke football lost a heartbreaker Friday night, dropping its season opener 31-28 on the road to the 49ers as not even senior running back Mataeo Durant’s school-record 255 yards rushing could mask the Blue Devils’ shortcomings on the defensive end.
We are three games into the Duke men’s soccer season, and the team has yet to give up a goal.
Why are these Blue Devils different from all other Blue Devils?
The Blue Devil faithful saw Duke get taken down 31-28 by Charlotte. It was a game in which even historic play by senior running back Mataeo Durant was not enough to make up for a combination of defensive lapses and offensive failures in key moments. The South Carolina native rushed for 255 yards, a Duke program record, and tallied three touchdowns, but it wasn't enough.
Duke came in as a 6.5-point favorite, but Charlotte commanded the game early on. Second-quarter touchdowns from Jordan Waters and Mataeo Durant gave the Blue Devils some much-needed energy as they headed into the locker room up 14-10.
One offseason removed from 2020’s miserable 2-9 showing, this year’s Blue Devils look to right the ship starting with Friday night’s season opener at Charlotte.
Every football game, our beat writers Cam Polo, Jake Piazza, Max Rego, Alex Jackson, Micah Hurewitz and Jonathan Levitan will be here to give you their picks for Duke's upcoming matchup, and we'll keep track of their prediction records every week. First off, Duke has Charlotte on the road at 7 p.m. Friday, where the Blue Devils are favored by 6.5 points.
In their biggest test of the season, the Blue Devils secured their lead midway through the second half, and didn’t look back, taking down No. 10 Stanford 2-1 at Koskinen Stadium for their fifth-straight win to start the season—the best start since 2000 and in head coach Robbie Church's tenure.
Another recruit for Jon Scheyer.
Duke aims to recreate a monster win to kick off its 2021 season.
If this is truly to be Duke’s year, then there’s a decent number of demons it’s going to have to exorcise. Thursday is the first opportunity to put a dent in that list.
The quarterbacks, running backs, receivers and tight ends are labeled as skill positions. But the guys in the trenches have as much of a role to play in a football game.
Our football beats make their predictions for the 2021 football season.
The Chronicle brings you our annual Blue Devil football preview. Check out our preseason features, beats' predictions and opponent previews here.
We previewed all of Duke's opponents for the 2021 season.
