Unlike Duke teams of previous years, it was the ground-and-pound and not the aerial attack that led the Blue Devils to a 45-0 victory against N.C. Central Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium.
After rushing for 257 yards and throwing for 231, Saturday’s game marked the first time since Aug. 30, 2008 that Duke rushed for more yards than it threw for in a victory.
The last time the Blue Devils accomplished this feat was David Cutcliffe’s first game as head coach, a 31-7 victory against James Madison. Now as he enters the first year of his new contract extension, Cutcliffe’s team ran up and down the field, pushing around N.C. Central’s defensive line thanks to an up-tempo, no-huddle pace.
“We have to be a team that runs the football pretty well,” Cutcliffe said. “There’s two reasons—one, because it helps you win football games, the other because we’re good enough to do that.”
The Blue Devils boast a deep backfield in senior Juwan Thompson, redshirt junior Josh Snead and sophomores Jela Duncan and Shaquille Powell. A case can be made for any four of Duke’s running backs for the starting position. So instead of choosing just one, the offense uses all four throughout the game, with every back ready to go at a moment’s notice.
“That was a good start for our offensive line and running backs, our running game in particular,” redshirt junior Anthony Boone said. “It’s kind of a baseline of where we’re out. I thought they did a great job.”
All four backs received at least six carries on Saturday and all four averaged more than five yards a carry. Together, the unit averaged six yards per carry.
“We have got to maintain being good enough to [run the ball].” Cutcliffe said. “I thought, going in, that we might run for more yards than we did.”
Duke’s quarterback contributed to the ground game as well, as redshirt juniors Boone and Brandon Connette combined for 46 rushing yards, each adding a touchdown run.
What was most impressive about the rushing outburst was the Blue Devils’ efficiency running the ball on first down. Duke averaged 7.2 yards per carry on first down, setting the team up with a number of second-and-short opportunities, giving the Blue Devils flexibility to go back to the ground.
Six of Duke’s runs on first down went for longer than 10 yards—including a 31-yard scamper by Snead—which moved the chains and kept the clock moving as the offense moved at a frantic pace.
Duke’s rushing attack has usually played second fiddle to the passing game, with talented quarterbacks Thad Lewis and Sean Renfree running the Blue Devils’ offense in past years. The team heavily relied on the aerial attack to get them through the game, using the run just to catch the defense off-guard.
Nobody was caught off guard when Duke ran the ball—but nobody could stop it either. The Blue Devils kept rotating their backs and hitting the holes hard, keeping the Eagles on their toes for the entire game.
If any of the running backs deserves a gold star, Duncan was the one who made the best case. The sophomore ran downhill all day, rumbling for 76 yards on 11 carries and adding one touchdown in the third quarter to put Duke up 35-0.
Duke’s success in the run game is a testament to the work of its offensive line. Led by redshirt senior Perry Simmons, the Blue Devil line boasts four returning starters from last year’s team, with redshirt sophomore center Matt Skura taking over for the recently-graduated Brian Moore.
Even when Duke did not run the ball, the offensive line gave ample passing protection for both Boone and Connette, neither of whom were sacked during the blowout victory.
“It was great,” Boone said. “They gave me all the time in the world and did a great job in pass protection and understanding what I was seeing. We were on the same page “
The Blue Devils’ 257 rushing yards were the most a Duke team has gained on the ground since Sept. 29, 2002. The team’s 49 attempts have been surpassed just once by a Duke team during the Cutcliffe era—in last year’s last-second victory against North Carolina.
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