With the clock ticking down and the Blue Devils trailing by one point, Duke’s offensive line gave up back-to-back sacks, putting quarterback Sean Renfree in a decisive fourth-and-20 at Duke’s own 21-yard line. This time, the line held, giving Renfree the time to hit Donovan Varner for a 32-yard gain. Three plays later the line rose to the challenge once again, as it made blocks that allowed Desmond Scott to run 35 yards for the game-winning touchdown.
The 10-play, 91-yard drive, which was the result of great play up front, is even more remarkable considering that center Bryan Morgan was suffering from upper body injuries so severe that he could not even raise his arms to his shoulders.
“He didn’t take a snap off,” Renfree said of Morgan. “Toward the end of the game, it was pretty apparent he was beat up. He was limping around, and you could see it in his face that he was pretty sore. But he was grinding all the way through the end there.”
Duke will need Morgan and the rest of the battered line to persevere throughout the entire contest and turn in a similarly strong performance this weekend as Boston College (4-5, 2-4 in the ACC) comes to Wallace Wade Stadium Saturday at 12 p.m.
Morgan is one of several offensive linemen battling injuries. So far this year, the line has been resilient and played through its injuries, with left guard Brandon Harper the only player of the five-man unit to miss a start. Harper missed last game with a lower body injury that will keep him out this week as well. Dave Harding, his replacement, is listed as probable on this week’s injury report with an unspecified head injury.
As a result of the wear and tear, the Blue Devils have been cutting down on their number of weekly practice snaps.
“It’s pretty amazing for guys not to get many reps and then come in there and do as well as they did,” Renfree said. “They did a phenomenal job. It says a lot about the way they prepare; they are very mentally in tune with what we are doing. They don’t have to take all the physical reps. They can just take mental reps and make them count just as much.”
Duke (3-6, 1-4) scored a season-high six rushing touchdowns behind the blocking of the offensive line last week. The Blue Devils, like any offensive unit, need to run the ball effectively to open up the passing game for Renfree, head coach David Cutcliffe said.
“One of the obvious reasons to be effective running the ball is to create big play opportunities in the passing game,” Cutcliffe said. “We have to do both.”
Boston College will be looking to run the ball as well due to their inconsistent quarterback play. The Eagles rank last in the ACC in scoring offense and total offense, averaging 19.2 points and 295.8 yards per game. Boston College’s rushing offense also ranks last out of the 12 teams, but in a twist Cutcliffe said he has never seen before, Eagles’ running back Montel Harris is the league’s leading rusher. Harris—who originally committed to Duke but reneged after previous head coach Ted Roof was fired following the 2007 season—averages 113.3 rushing yards per game, the only running back in the ACC to average more than 100 yards.
In Duke’s previous two games against run-first opponents (Army and Navy), the Blue Devils were pleased with how they shut down the run. However, focusing so much on the running game allowed both opponents to burn Duke’s secondary with long passes.
“You have to take your week’s practice time and give adequate preparation to the passing game as well, which is hard to do when you’re sitting there looking at these teams thinking, ‘Good gracious, if we don’t spend 90 percent of our time stopping the run, then we don’t have a chance,’” Cutcliffe said. “So it’s kind of darned if you do, darned if you don’t.”
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