The missed opportunities in the red zone that plagued the Blue Devils in 2010 returned in their 2011 season opener, as Duke fell short again against Division I-AA opponent Richmond.
Blue Devil fans will recall the team’s 51-percent red zone touchdown rate last year, just 11th in the ACC. Duke posted a 50-percent red zone touchdown rate Saturday night, scoring only two touchdowns on four trips inside Richmond’s 20-yard line. The major difference last season was that the Blue Devils were extremely successful kicking field goals in the red zone. However, in this contest, Duke failed to make any field goals.
The Blue Devils’ first hiccup in the red zone occurred right before halftime. Leading 10-7 with under 40 seconds left in the first half, senior Lee Butler provided a spark, taking Nick Hicks’ punt from his own 47-yard line to the Spiders’ 38-yard line.
Presumably Duke only needed one first down to give Sporting News’ preseason second team All-American, Will Snyderwine, a makeable field goal attempt. On second down, quarterback Sean Renfree found playmaker Conner Vernon for a 19-yard gain over the middle of the field. Without any timeouts remaining, the offense hurried to the line and spiked the ball at its opponents’ 19-yard line with ten seconds remaining.
Snyderwine made 21 out of his 24 attempts last season and is 11 of 13 in his career in field goals from 30-39 yards. This attempt would have been 37 yards, but head coach David Cutcliffe opted to try to pick up one more first down before sending his kicker onto the field.
“At the end of the first half I got greedy,” Cutcliffe said. “That’s poor judgment on my part. We were trying to throw the ball beyond the chains to make a first down or incompletion, then we would have kicked from there.”
Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, Brandon Braxton made the catch inbounds and was tackled short of the first down and the clock ticked to zero before Renfree could spike the ball. Cutcliffe and his team know that was a missed opportunity, one that the team cannot afford to commit. When asked about that play, Renfree was at a loss for words. He admitted that they simply “messed up” and called it “a frustrating play.”
In the third quarter, Duke registered its second rushing touchdown of the night on its first red zone trip of the young season. On second-and-goal, quarterback Brandon Connette saw the field for the first time. After faking the reverse to Donovan Varner and being stuffed on his first try, he tried again on third-and-goal and found the end zone, giving the Blue Devils their first lead of the game.
Duke returned to the red zone on their next possession after Richmond reclaimed the lead. Again, the coaching staff got creative in the red zone, this time bringing in third-string quarterback Anthony Boone. Seeing the first action in his collegiate career, the redshirt freshman carried twice for six yards and found the end zone to give the Blue Devils a 21-17 lead after Snyderwine added the extra point.
Richmond took a 23-21 lead early in the fourth quarter before Lee Butler made defenders miss on his second impressive punt return of the game, taking it to the Richmond 24-yard line. After handing the ball off on the first three plays of the series, Renfree dropped back to throw on third-and-goal from the 5-yard line. The offensive line did a good job of creating a pocket for him, but he decided to roll left and ran into the pass rush.
Cutcliffe sent on his usually-reliable kicker to knock in a chip shot, a 27-yard attempt, to give his squad the lead with under two minutes to go, but Snyderwine missed it wide right.
“I mean you expect to make those,” Renfree said. “We should have put the football in the end zone and not even had to kick a field goal. It falls on the offense in the end.”
The Blue Devils would force a three-and-out before getting the ball back on their own 37-yard line with no timeouts and under 40 seconds to go. After a confusing play call which resulted in a 4-yard gain on a swing pass to Jay Hollingsworth, and an incomplete pass over the middle intended for tight end Cooper Helfet, Renfree found Vernon along the left sideline for 17 yards, just enough for Cutcliffe to send Snyderwine out for a 60-yard prayer. But Snyderwine’s attempt did not have enough power and fell short of the uprights. This loss was certainly not how Duke envisioned starting a season which had high expectations.
“We can’t get this game back,” Vernon said. “We have to forget about it tomorrow and move on.”
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