Florida State’s offense brought an explosive element that Duke had not faced all season. The Blue Devil defense put forth their second worst performance of the season, allowing the Seminoles to score 41 points. The only higher opposing point total came in Duke’s second game of the season, against Stanford.
Although the Cardinal scored more points than Florida State, it managed to score those points by methodically driving down the field and picking up first down after first down. Stanford possessed the ball for over 34 minutes in its trip to Wallace Wade. Florida State, meanwhile, only controlled the ball for 29 minutes, but was able to put points on the board by picking up large chunks of yards at time.
Seminole signal caller E.J. Manuel completed three passes of fifty yards or more in the first quarter. The first of which came on the first play of Florida State’s second offensive possession. The 59-yard pass to redshirt freshman Christian Green led to a Manuel touchdown run that gave the Seminoles a 10-3 lead, setting the tone for the rest of the contest. Manuel completed passes for 50 yards and 51 yards on his next two drives.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team have three fifty-plus yard pass plays in such a short period of time so the game just kind of jumped out of our hands quickly,” head coach David Cutcliffe said.
Duke had no answer for the talented receiving core. Despite being without freshman standout Rashad Greene, Florida State utilized five wide receivers, all of whom were able to create separation from the Blue Devils in coverage. By rotating receivers in and out during drives, the Seminoles were able to take advantage of a banged up secondary.
Although Duke was coming off a bye week, three starting defensive backs were listed as questionable or doubtful with leg injuries entering the contest. Matt Daniels and Johnny Williams were two of the injured that played, and perhaps their ailments kept them a step behind Florida State’s receivers, allowing Manuel to throw deep completions with ease.
Manuel racked up 202 passing yards in the first half and he likely could have thrown for far more than 239 yards, but the Seminoles transitioned to a ground-heavy attack in the second half.
The Blue Devils have allowed 30.2 points per game through their first six games of the season, tied for worst in the ACC. The defense is in its first season under defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and his 4-2-5 formation. While the team’s rushing defense has improved, its passing defense continues to struggle, surrendering over 270 yards per game through the air, worst in the conference.
Looking forward, Duke is fortunate that the Seminoles have scored more points per game than any team remaining on the its schedule. The Blue Devils will have to heal and shore up their secondary if they hope to achieve their goal of reaching a bowl game.
“Today we were just a step slow and that’ll get you beat,” cornerback Zach Greene said. “Going into next week we just have to refocus and it’s a new week starting tomorrow so we just have to forget about it and move on.”
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