Revisiting the three keys to the game:
- Stay Confident: The Blue Devils looked poised and strong on their first drive of the game. Redshirt junior quarterback Anthony Boone completed two out of his first three passes and put Duke on the board with a touchdown run on the sixth play of the drive. After Boone left the game due to a collarbone injury in the second quarter, back-up quarterback Brandon Connette led Duke on a key drive in the third quarter that gave his team a 14-7 advantage. Connette would continue to make big plays with his arm, finding wide receivers Isaac Blakeney and Brandon Braxton for touchdowns in the fourth quarter. On the other side of the ball, Duke’s defense continued to make noise. In the secondary, cornerbacks Ross Cockrell and Garett Patterson both had a couple key pass break ups late in the game. Dezmond Johnson added a fumble recovery in Memphis territory late in the game.
- Don’t Take Memphis Lightly: Although it seemed as though Duke might take a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, Memphis defensive back Bobby McCain intercepted Anthony Boone’s pass and returned it for a touchdown to tie the game 7-7. Memphis redshirt freshman quarterback Paxton Lynch was solid in his collegiate football debut, and did not throw any interceptions. Punter Tom Hornsey’s rugby-style punts prevented any explosive returns from Jamison Crowder. The senior punter also booted a 79-yard punt in the first quarter, which was the second longest in Memphis history. Defensively, the Tigers were less impressive, giving up 470 total yards, but did force three turnovers that kept the Memphis in the game until late in the fourth quarter. Memphis tuned out to be respectable and competitive opponent for the Blue Devils, showing a vast improvement from last year’s 4-8 season.
- Recognize Inexperience: The Duke defense held the Tigers to fewer than 100 yards rushing, forcing the pressure on Paxton Lynch to generate offense for the Tigers. Lynch only managed to complete 14 passes for 148 yards and did not throw for a touchdown. The Duke defense also forced the young quarterback to fumble on fourth down twice in the second half. Memphis missed the experience of All-Conference USA left tackle Jordan Devey, as redshirt senior defensive end Kenny Anunike made five tackles, 2.5 of which were tackles for loss.
Three key plays:
- On the opening drive of the game, Anthony Boone sells a pump fake to his left and takes off down the middle of field to score on a 23-yard touchdown run. This would prove to be Boone’s last big play of the day as he would leave the second quarter with a collarbone injury.
- After fumbling on the previous drive, Junior tight end Braxton Deaver hauls in a 36-yard pass from Brandon Connette. This completion would kickstart a nine-play, 87-yard drive in the third quarter that resulted in a Juwan Thompson rushing touchdown.
- Brandon Connette finds Brandon Braxton for a 12-yard touchdown pass with 6:56 to go in the fourth quarter. This would extend the Blue Devils lead to 14 points, giving Duke some much needed breathing room.
Three key stats:
- Duke holds Memphis to 237 total yards: Duke put up an impressive defense performance and held their opponent to under 250 yards of offense for the second straight game. If Duke wants to be competitive in the ACC this year, they must maintain this defensive intensity through November.
- The Blue Devils gain 25 first downs. Duke looked impressive on offense, consistently moving the ball into Memphis territory and converting on third down. The Blue Devils also managed to go 1-for-2 on fourth down conversions, keeping Paxton Lynch and the Memphis offense off of the field.
- Brandon Connette throws for 198 yards. Blue Devil fans are used to seeing Brandon Connette operate out of Duke’s Wildcat formation on short-yardage and goal-line situations. But after Anthony Boone got injured in the second quarter, Connette came in and made big plays with his arm, throwing for two key touchdowns late in the game. Connette also took care of the ball and did not throw any interceptions.
And the Duke game ball goes to… wide receiver Jamison Crowder
Crowder didn’t have a fancy punt return in this game, but he did catch a career-high 11 passes for 140 yards. Crowder had a few drops early in the game, but bounced back by hauling in a 43-yard catch from Connette with 8:45 left to play in the game, setting up Duke’s fourth touchdown. There was no doubt that Crowder was the best receiver at the Liberty Bowl this afternoon.
And the Memphis game ball goes to… defensive back Bobby McCain
The Memphis defense gave up almost 500 yards, but McCain provided the defense with a spark early on when he intercepted Anthony Boone’s pass deep in Memphis territory and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown. McCain would later get his hands on the ball again when he recovered a Braxton Deaver fumble. McCain softened the blow to the Memphis defense, which could not contain the high-powered Duke offense.
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