LIVE BLOG: Duke 13, Alabama 62 (FINAL)

DUKE 13, ALABAMA 62, FOURTH QUARTER, FINAL

With that, the game is mercifully over. I'll be going to the Alabama locker room to hear if Saban was more content with his team's defensive effort in the second half.

DUKE 13, ALABAMA 62, FOURTH QUARTER, 5:43 REMAINING

Brandon Connette connected with Jay Hollingsworth on his first pass attempt of his career. The true freshman followed that up by scrambling for a first down to the Duke 49. There is one fan in the stadium with a Connette 18 jersey sitting four or five rows back at midfield—I'd put money on that being his dad. Connette completed another pass on the drive that would stall when he was sacked back at the Alabama 38. Duke tried to take a delay of game penalty to give King  more space, but the Crimson Tide declined to accept the call. King's punt landed a few yards in the end zone.

Watching  Connette go down reminded me of a positive Duke could draw from this game—Renfree didn't take many hits and will be healthy heading into the Army contest.

DUKE 13, ALABAMA 62, FOURTH QUARTER, 11:47 REMAINING

In the Chron Pod preview of this game, I predicted Saban would have too much respect for Cutcliffe to run up the score. Well, I was wrong, as Alabama continues its aerial assault. Lacy added yet another seven to Alabama's total with a 1-yard touchdown run.

Alabama has now retired its starters and brought in its backups. McCarron comes out to lead the Crimson Tide with Eddie Lacy as his running back. True freshman Kelby Brown sacked McCarron, forcing the first Alabama punt on the day.

DUKE 13, ALABAMA 55, THIRD QUARTER, 4:49 REMAINING

Josh Snead continues to chip away at the defense, earning a first down after consecutive carries for 12 yards. On the next third down, Scott found  open space and took a screen pass 15 yards for a Duke first down. The drive stalled on the next set of downs, but Duke elected to go for it on fourth down, needing only one yard. After a timeout by the Blue Devils, Connette came in under center and handed off to Snead, who was stuffed at the line of scrimmage, short of the marker at the Alabama 38.

In other news, apparently Alabama head coach Nick Saban offers thoughts to the media at halftime, which were just distributed in the press box. He’s disappointed with his defensive performance, saying “we’re not playing to a standard of being a good football team.” Some high standard they have down there for football in Tuscaloosa.

DUKE 13, ALABAMA 55, THIRD QUARTER, 9:11 REMAINING

More of the same from Alabama. Duke didn’t give its defense much of a rest. Scott’s return lost a yard, setting Duke up at its own 12. Snead gained four yards on first down, and Renfree missed his mark on the next two plays.  Marcus Maze moved laterally long enough for basically the entire special teams unit to bring him down at the Duke 45. Trent Richardson promptly ran the next play 45 yards into the end zone. The final score is still anyone's guess, but my colleague Vignesh Nathan is predicting 70 for Alabama.

DUKE 13, ALABAMA 48, THIRD QUARTER, 10:17 REMAINING

Ingram made his first appearance of the half with a 7-yard gain on second down, bringing up Alabama’s first third down attempt of the game.  Julio Jones found some space in the defense and McElroy exploited it for a 31-yard gain. McElroy picked up 28 more yards on the next play, down to the Duke 19. McElroy tested Johnny Williams on his next two passes, but a holding call against the Blue Devils gave Alabama an automatic first down.  Safety Matt Daniels wrapped up Ingram in the backfield for a two-yard loss, and McElroy went right back at Williams in the end zone to the same result for the third time on four plays. On third down, McElroy scrambled to set up Foster’s 21-yard field goal. Once again, the Blue Devil defense failed to stop the Crimson Tide from adding to its lead.

DUKE 13, ALABAMA 42, THIRD QUARTER, 13:25 REMAINING

From Duke’s 21-yard line, Desmond Scott gained 3 yards to push his game total to 35.  Varner was hit immediately as he caught Renfree’s second down attempt for a loss of 2. Scott then drove home one of my halftime points by dropping a third-down pass in the backfield, leading to an Alex King punt. He hung a beauty, 64 yards down to the Alabama 16.

DUKE 13, ALABAMA 45, HALFTIME

Now that neither team can score for the next 20 minutes, here's some thoughts:

• Duke's defense is not physical enough to corral the Alabama running backs. There have been gaping holes at the line of scrimmage, to be sure, but many of the Blue Devils' defense woes have been the result of missed tackles. You wouldn't realize Mark Ingram was coming off of knee surgery by watching him run over Duke defenders today. Through the half, Ingram has 148 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries.

• After a horrendous first half, the offense settled in nicely. If the game started at the second quarter, the score would be Alabama 17, Duke 10. After digging themselves into a 28-point hole, Renfree, Snead and Connette have made a few plays and helped the Blue Devils earn nine first downs in the second half and rack up 138 yards of total offense.

• Rain or shine, the wide receivers and tight ends officially have catching issues. Last weekend head coach David Cutcliffe expressed disappointment over the number of dropped passes after playing against Wake Forest with a steady downpour throughout the game. This week, though, its a balmy 80 degrees without a cloud in the sky, and there have been several balls that have bounced off of the hands of Duke receivers. My unofficial count has Cooper Helfet in the "lead" with three drops.

• The second half will be exciting. Can Duke score another touchdown on the most stringent defense in the Football Bowl Subdivision? Will the defense force Alabama to punt? Stay tuned.

DUKE 13, ALABAMA 45, SECOND QUARTER, 0:00 REMAINING

In a perfect snapshot of how Duke’s season has gone thus far, the defense was unable to hold up its end of the bargain. Duke tried an onside kick, which it appeared to recover, but the referee ruled the Alabama return man called for a fair catch at Duke’s 48-yard line.  Richardson dropped the ensuing pass, but Dial caught the next attempt for 20 yards. Alabama took its second timeout with 11 seconds remaining in the half. Abraham Kromah was beat on the next play, but backup quarterback A.J. McCarron overthrew his intended target. A Cade Foster field goal rotated sideways through the uprights to give the Crimson Tide three more points.

DUKE 13, ALABAMA 42, SECOND QUARTER, 0:29 REMAINING

Duke’s first sustained drive of the game started off with Desmond Scott getting spun around by Dont’a Hightower on first down. Brandon King, Helfet’s tight end partner, failed to hold onto a Renfree pass on second down.  Varner converted the third-and-8 and brought the Blue Devils into Alabama territory.  Renfree tried a long ball attempt to Vernon on the next play, but was unable to bring down the ball amidst the four Crimson Tide defenders around him. On third-and-8, Renfree avoided the Alabama rush to convert another first down.

Snead continued to be a bright spot for the Blue Devils, gaining 8 yards on the carry. Brandon Connette then made his first appearance under center and pushed the pile forward 4 yards for Blue Devil’s third first down.  Right Guard Brian Moore jumped early, making it first-and-15 for Duke. Renfree connected with Vernon to get back to the original line of scrimmage. Connette came back and gained 6 off of a fake handoff he kept himself. Varner dropped the third down attempt and Hightower added insult to injury by laying him out flat. Hightower, who outweighs Varner by more than 50 pounds, then helped him up in a show of Southern hospitality.

After a timeout, Duke decided to go for it on fourth-and-4, and Renfree and Helfet made Cutcliffe look like a genius as Duke converted, setting up at the Alabama 11. The very next play, Austin Kelly battled through the Alabama defense for a touchdown, the first scored on the Crimson Tide this year. Thirteen plays, 68 yards, 5:09 off the clock and Duke has something to hang its hat on going into the locker room.

DUKE 6, ALABAMA 42, SECOND QUARTER, 5:38 REMAINING

Before Mark Ingram came back, Trent Richardson was the featured back in the Crimson Tide offense. Now, he’s making his name on special teams. After fumbling the kickoff at the 4, he picked it up at the 9 and ran 91 yards. Just like that, it’s seven more points for Alabama.

DUKE 6, ALABAMA 35, SECOND QUARTER, 6:01 REMAINING

Snead returned the ensuing kickoff 28 yards to the Alabama 35, continuing Duke’s run of decent field position.  Desmond Scott gained 13 yards after Barron missed a tackle. After a loss of one, Varner caught the next pass, good for 2 yards. Varner found space over the middle on the next play and Renfree evaded an Alabama defender to complete a 19-yard pass, giving the Blue Devils a new set of downs.  Scott ran for 5 yards on the next play. Marcell Dareus was shaken up on the gain, but walked off under his own power. Helfet then dropped his third pass of the day, setting up third-and-6. Renfree hit Varner for the third time this series, but a costly slip would prevent him from obtaining the first down. Snyderwine nailed a 42-yard field goal to double Duke’s score. Take heart Blue Devils fans, your team now has scored more points than Penn State!

DUKE 3, ALABAMA 35, SECOND QUARTER, 9:00 REMAINING

Ingram continued to drag down his impressive yards per carry average with a 9-yard run on first down. He then countered with a 20-yard gain through the Duke defense, which once again failed to wrap him up. Preston Dial then failed to hold onto a McElroy pass in the end zone, but McElroy went right back at him on the next play when he was open again in the end zone, and this time he held on for the 15-yard touchdown reception. Five plays,  1:50 off the clock, and the lead is now 32. At this point, even a few of the Crimson Tide faithful appear to be headed to the postgame tailgate.  So far on Alabama’s six possessions, five have resulted in touchdowns, with Butler’s interception the only exception.

DUKE 3, ALABAMA 28, SECOND QUARTER, 10:44 REMAINING

Scott ran for 8 yards on the first two downs of Duke’s drive before Alabama had to burn a timeout—quite possibly the squad’s first mistake of the game. With 2 yards to go on third down, Alabama jumped offsides to give Duke the automatic first down.  Snead pounded out 5 yards on the next play, and Renfree hit Kelly for another first down to Duke’s 33.  Helfet, who was open, dropped his second pass of the day on Renfree's next attempt. Renfree went right back to him, though, and Mark Barron, Alabama’s strong safety, was there to break up the pass. A 38-yard punt by King was returned to the Duke 44 by Alabama.

DUKE 3, ALABAMA 28, SECOND QUARTER, 13:49 REMAINING

Alabama continued to dominate, with Richardson taking two plays to get the Crimson Tide a first down on their ensuing possession. Mcelroy took advantage of single coverage by Rwabukamba and completed a 28-yard pass to end the first quarter, which did not feature a third-down conversion by either team, albeit for different reasons.  To start off the second quarter, Jones earned Alabama’s 13th first down.  Lee Butler, though, put a stop to the parade, jumping Mcelroy’s passing route to secure a diving interception, giving the Duke sideline reason to celebrate.

DUKE 3, ALABAMA 28, FIRST QUARTER, 1:47 REMAINING

In one of the first bright spots for Duke, freshman Josh Snead gained 7 yards on first down. On the next play, he earned the Blue Devils  their first first down. The Snead show continued with a 27-yard run to Alabama’s 33.  Renfree hit another running back, Scott, for a 7-yard gain.  Tight end Cooper Helfet dropped the first-and-goal pass, and Renfree then missed a wide-open Donovan Varner in the middle of the end zone on second down, opting instead to hit Conner Vernon for a 4-yard gain.  On third-and-goal, Renfree overthrew Kelly, bringing on the field goal unit for a 22-yard attempt.  Snyderwine hit it, and with that, the goose egg is gone for Duke.  As bad has the game has gone for the Blue Devils, with that 10-play, 67-yard drive, they now have the same number of points Penn State put up against Alabama last week.

DUKE 0, ALABAMA 28, FIRST QUARTER, 4:48 REMAINING

Desmond Scott set the offense up at the 43-yard line with a 15-yard return.  Renfree, though, threw his pass right to Dre Kirkpatrick. Alabama took over at its 48, and McElroy quickly led the Crimson Tide into Duke territory with a 31-yard pass to Hanks. Ingram beat Walt Cantry and Lee Butler for a 17-yard touchdown. Three plays, 48 yards and less than a minute off the clock, and its 28-0 Alabama.

DUKE 0, ALABAMA 21, FIRST QUARTER, 6:03 REMAINING

Varner was wrapped up in the backfield for a loss of 4 to open Duke’s drive. Renfree then hit Varner for a 6-yard gain, but on a long third down attempt Kelly dropped a pass over the middle as Marcell Dareus hammered him.

A block in the back negated a long punt return by Jones, pushing Alabama back it its own 23. Ingram exploited a huge hole in the line, scampering 50 yards until Matt Daniels caught him at the Duke 27. That’s 101 yards on three carries for Ingram.  Trent Richardson received the snap from the wildcat formation to earn another first down for the Crimson Tide. About five Blue Devil defenders brought him down for a loss on the next play. McElroy responded with a 16-yard completion, bringing Alabama down to the 1-yard line.  Ingram pounded the ball in, and racked up a 15-yard personal foul penalty. After a 6-play and 77-yard series, it’s 21-0 and the first Duke fans have started to leave the stadium.

DUKE 0, ALABAMA 14, FIRST QUARTER, 10:34 REMAINING

After a forgettable three-and-out from Duke, McElroy and company continued to pick apart the Duke defense. Cornerback Chris Rwabukamba missed a tackle on Jones’s first reception of the drive, leading to a 12-yard gain. The defense responded with a sack, but then missed several more tackles as Jones rumbled down into the end zone. A replay overturned the touchdown, but three plays later Jones was back in the end zone for Alabama’s second score.

DUKE 0, ALABAMA 7, FIRST QUARTER, 13:41 REMAINING: After winning the coin toss, Duke elected to kick off to let the Alabama offense start off the game. Julio Jones took the kickoff from his own 4-yard line out to the 40 to set up the Crimson Tide offense. Mark Ingram wasted no time making his mark, breaking several tackles on a 48-yard run on the first offensive play. Two plays later, Greg McElroy connected with Darius Hanks in the right corner of the end zone to make the score 7-0 Alabama.

PREGAME: Welcome to this edition of The Blue Zone's Live Blog. This one offers a special attraction, reigning national champions and No. 1-ranked Alabama. Duke's campus is buzzing an hour before kickoff, and the DirectTV blimp is covering the scene from the sky. There are plenty of Crimson Tide fans on campus—and plenty of scalpers offering overpriced tickets. On my walk over, I'd say the split was 90-10 Alabama fans. As I got closer to the Stadium, the split was more even, with the Crimson Tide occupying a little over half of Wallace Wade stadium as of right now. There are plenty of unclaimed seats, so it remains to be seen which fan base will be in the majority. Both teams came out to noticeably loud cheers.

On the field, Mark Ingram will start for Alabama. Also returning for the Crimson Tide is defensive end Marcell Dareus, who was the defensive MVP of last year's title game. Dareus was serving a suspended two games by the NCAA for accepting nearly $2,000 in improper benefits from an agent on two trips to Miami. His presence will bolster the Alabama defense that has yet to allow a touchdown this season.

For the Blue Devils, starting TE Brett Huffman will not play due to a leg injury. Brandon King will start in his place.

As you wait for the game to get started, check out some of The Chronicle's coverage from this week:

• Duke and Alabama share plenty of common football history.
• The fact that this game is being played in Wallace Wade stadium is a testament to Duke's dedication to building its program.
• David Cutcliffe believes his squad can top the Crimson Tide.
• The University took extra preparations for the expected large contingent of Alabama fans.