The Blue Devils picked up their third win of the season with a 38-31 victory against Troy. The Blue Devils were led by redshirt junior quarterback Brandon Connette, who threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 55 yards and two touchdowns. Duke built a 21-7 lead in the second quarter and held off a late Trojan comeback attempt to win in front of the alumni on homecoming weekend.
Revisiting the three keys to the game:
· Don’t Underestimate Troy: Although Troy was routed last week 62-7 by Mississippi State, the Trojans put up an admirable fight this afternoon against Duke, setting the tone early to take a 7-0 lead in the first quarter and never trailing by more than two touchdowns. Behind redshirt senior quarterback Corey Robinson, the Troy offense had no trouble amassing 512 total yards of offense and 31 points. Robinson went 35-for-45 for 354 yards and found the end zone twice on touchdown passes to Wilson Van Hooser and Eric Thomas. On the ground, the Trojans used a number of backs to gain 150 rushing yards, with sophomore running back Brandon Burks leading the way with 68 yards rushing. Troy looked less impressive defensively, but forced a crucial turnover when defensive back Chris Davis intercepted a deep pass thrown by Brandon Connette in the second quarter.
· Continue to be creative in getting the ball Crowder: The Blue Devil coaching staff had no problem drawing plays that got the ball in the hands of explosive playmaker Jamison Crowder. Crowder caught the ball seven times and gained 149 yards, most of which came on a 60-yard touchdown pass from Connette early in the second quarter. Even though Troy attempted to punt the ball away from Crowder, he still averaged 15.5 yards a return. Crowder continues to be the go-to player for Duke.
· Maintain momentum for longer periods of play: The Trojans struck first on a 12-play, 66 yard drive early in the first quarter, but the Blue Devils would bounce back and score 21 unanswered points. Following Troy’s first score, Duke redshirt junior running back Josh Snead broke a 53-yard run that would set up a Connette 7-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Max McCaffrey. The defense, while giving up 512 yards of offense, came up with key stops throughout the game, especially late in the fourth quarter which prevented Troy from tying the game.
Three key plays
· With fewer than 12 minutes to play in the second quarter, Connette faked the handoff to running back Shaquille Powell, pump fakes to his left and then floats the ball over the middle of the field where Crowder catches the ball in stride and sprints into the end zone for a 60-yard touchdown catch.
· After Troy had tied the game at 28, Connette faces a third-and-10 from his own 48-yard line. He dropped back, fired the ball over the middle and finds McCaffrey, who makes a few nifty moves and runs the ball all the way down to the Trojan 4-yard line for a gain of 43 yards. This play would lead to a Connette touchdown run that would give Duke the lead, one it would never relinquish.
· Late in the fourth quarter, Connette tossed Crowder a screen pass and Crowder takes off down the sideline for a 33-yard reception that would send the offense deep into Trojan territory and set up a 34-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Ross Martin that gave the Blue Devils a 38-31 lead.
Three key stats:
· Turnover ratio was 1:1. In last week's game against Pittsburgh, Duke lost the turnover battle 4-0. Today, the Blue Devils took much better care of the football against the Trojans. Brandon Connette was only intercepted once and although Jela Duncan fumbled on a run in the second quarter, Troy could not come out of the pile with the football. The Duke defense forced an interception late in the game when redshirt sophomore safety Jeremy Cash picked off Robinson's hail mary pass on the last play of the game. Winning the turnover battle is often times one of the keys to a Duke victory in tight games like this one.
· Duke goes 5-for-12 on third down. The Blue Devils emerged with a victory, but could not consistently convert on third down. When Duke did convert on third down, it resulted in big plays such as a 50-yard pass to freshman wide receiver Johnell Barnes on a third-and-20 deep in Trojan territory. The Blue Devils will have time to work on their third-down performance during their upcoming bye week, so we will have to see whether Connette and the Duke offense can improve in this category.
· Duke rushes for 190 yards. In its other two wins this season, Duke has rushed for 257 yards against North Carolina Central and 173 yards against Memphis. When the Blue Devils establish the run game, they put themselves in a good position to win. Duke rushed 39 times and averaged 4.9 per rush. Snead had a breakout game, rushing for career-high 108 yards on just 11 carries. The constant threat of the Blue Devil rushing attack had the Trojan defense on their toes, opening up the field for Connette and paving the way for this afternoon’s big plays.
And the Duke game ball goes to… Brandon Connette
The resilient Connette bounced back from throwing four interceptions last week against Pittsburgh and threw for more than 300 yards. The quarterback from Corona, Calif. also found the end zone five times. Connette, who went 20-for-28 passing with one interception, continues to look more accurate and more experienced with each passing week. His ability to run the ball poses a threat for opposing defenses and gives Duke a huge advantage offensively.
And the Troy game ball goes to… Eric Thomas
Thomas, a senior wide receiver and preseason All-Sun Belt selection did not forget to leave his skills back in Alabama and torched the Blue Devil defense for nine receptions and 77 yards receiving. Thomas also hauled in a 12-yard pass from Robinson in the second quarter to cut the deficit to 21-14. He was one of the main components of the Trojan offense, which threw for 362 yards passing and two touchdowns.
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