Nasty weather usually forces teams to revert to a more run-oriented offense due to the difficulty of throwing and catching a wet ball in strong winds.
But even flood warnings and heavy rain were not enough to ground the Duke offense Saturday against Maryland at Wallace Wade Stadium.
This weekend, the Blue Devils (4-3, 2-1 in the ACC) narrowly defeated the conference rival Terrapins, 17-13, in a cascade of rain as Duke won consecutive conference games for the first time since 1994. That same year was also the last time that Duke defeated the Terrapins (2-6, 1-3), and ironically enough, the last season that the Blue Devils reached a bowl game.
And despite the rain, Duke did not shift away from its strengths in the passing game. In fact, the Blue Devils prepared throughout the week to deal with the harsh conditions.
“I love to throw the ball when it’s wet,” Blue Devil head coach David Cutcliffe said. “I like it when we know where we are going and they don’t. I think coverage gets difficult. We work a wet ball drill every week and make sure we get wet weather work.”
Luckily for Cutcliffe’s squad, that extra work paid dividends Saturday. Senior quarterback Thaddeus Lewis continued his spectacular play of late and threw for 371 yards and two touchdowns on 30-of-43 passing, marking the third straight week that Lewis had over 350 yards in the air.
The Blue Devils started off sluggishly, mustering a lackluster three-and-out on their first possession. The defense, as it did all game, picked up the slack and generated some momentum early on when senior linebacker Vincent Rey stopped Terrapin running back Caleb Porzel in the backfield on a fourth-and-one in the first quarter.
Lewis and the rest of the offense capitalized on the turnover and proceeded to orchestrate a 69-yard drive on nine plays capped off by a touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Donovan Varner. Varner, who caught a season-high eight passes for 120 yards and a touchdown, has been a large part of the Blue Devils’ receiving corps, which has emerged as a lethal unit this season.
“The [receiving corps wants] to be the best,” Varner said. “We definitely feed off each other. We are an explosive corps, but we are going to continue to keep working hard and stay humble and just continue to make big plays when we can.”
Maryland tacked on two field goals before halftime, the second after a Lewis interception which ended his streak of 130 consecutive passing attempts without being picked off. After Blue Devil kicker Will Snyderwine nailed a 35-yard field goal at the end of the first half, giving Duke a 10-6 lead at the break.
The Blue Devils built on that energy and continued their strong aerial attack in the second half. On its first possession of the third quarter, Duke managed to march the ball down to the Terrapins’ 1-yard line and scored on a playaction pass from Lewis to tight end Danny Parker, who made an unbelievable one-handed grab to put the Blue Devils ahead 17-6.
The Terrapins did not wait long to respond, scoring on a 67-yard screen pass from quarterback Chris Turner to running back Devin Meggett, making the score 17-13. Duke’s strong defensive presence and aerial assault, though, proved too much for the Terrapins.
The rain was coming down so hard that most of the fans poured out of Wallace Wade stadium early on, but based on the Blue Devils’ performance in the passing game, the wetness had virtually no effect. This was particularly the case on an incredible catch by sophomore receiver Johnny Williams slanting across the middle.
“You’ve got to understand what kind of focus that takes to do what he did and to keep his eye on that ball when you’re in the middle of the defense,” Cutcliffe said. “Did you see the size of their safeties? To ensure that catch like he did and pull it down and take care of it, that was huge in that circumstance.”
Including that spectacular grab, Williams had four catches for 47 yards in the game. In addition to Williams and Varner, the Blue Devils’ other two receivers had exceptional performances with junior Austin Kelly finishing with a game-high nine receptions and freshman Conner Vernon reeling in five catches for 102 yards. For Vernon, his effort made him the first freshman to record two 100-yard receiving games in school history.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Blue Devils forced two turnovers to ice the victory, an interception by Rey and fumble recovery by tight end Brandon King on a punt.
And while Lewis’s spirals were not the only objects falling through the sky Saturday, the senior quarterback knows that it was ultimately a team effort that enabled the team’s victory.
“I can’t go out there and throw for 350 yards by myself,” Lewis said. “The line has to block, the backs have to block and the receivers have to catch the football.”
Even in the rain, Duke managed all of the above in a critical victory.
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