Making the grade: Duke football vs. Memphis

After cruising to a rout of North Carolina Central in their season debut, Duke struggled against a Memphis squad that they had dispatched 38-14 a year ago. Eventually the Blue Devils established themselves as the stronger team and pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 28-14 road win at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

Offense: C

Pass: On the first Duke drive of the game it looked like the Blue Devils would be able to move the ball at will through the air against the Memphis defense. That series resulted in a touchdown, but for the rest of the half Duke found it difficult to punctuate drives with scores due to either costly penalties or turnovers. Before he left the game with a collarbone injury, redshirt junior quarterback Anthony Boone was shaky, tossing for 99 yards on 16 attempts, but also throwing an interception that Memphis defensive back Bobby McCain returned 75 yards for a touchdown. Filling in for Boone, Brandon Connette also produced mixed results, stalling the offense at points in the third quarter, but delivering two fourth quarter touchdown drives. Jamison Crowder starred again at receiver, with 11 catches for 140 yards, including an impressive downfield catch which required him to acrobatically land on his tiptoes to avoid coming down out of bounds.

Rush: The running games for both teams looked anemic early on, owing in large part to stout defensive fronts. However, coach David Cutcliffe stuck to the run game, and as the game progressed the Blue Devils found more success on the ground. Juwan Thompson took the majority of the work load, running for 67 yards on 14 carries, but Jela Duncan and Josh Snead also had success, combining for 13 carries and 56 yards.

 X’s and O’s: Cutcliffe did not alter his playcalling after Boone left with an injury, and Connette showed that he is a capable enough passer and runner to lead the offense on sustained drives. Duke ran the ball 45 times and only put the ball in the air 37 times, a mark that the team is continuing its focus on running the ball after forging its identity as a pass-first offense last year.

Defense: A-

Pass: The Blue Devils’ pass defense was solid, though the front seven’s constant pressure on the Tigers’ redshirt freshman quarterback Paxton Lynch masked some lapses in coverage that led to open receivers. Since Memphis’ running game was completely shut down and could not string together long drives, it was evident that the Tigers would need a few big plays in the air to stay in the game. That made it easy for the Duke secondary to give receivers more cushion, and limit the receivers to short yardage gains.

Rush: Duke’s front seven dominated right from the get-go, and stuffed any of Memphis’ attempts to establish a rushing attack. The Tigers ran the ball 33 times, only managing 2.7 yards per carry. The rush defense played a pivotal role early in the game, as the Tigers drove deep into Duke territory only to turn over on downs after failing to convert a fourth-and-1 running play. That was a defining moment in the game, as Memphis never regained momentum and only found an offensive groove on one other drive. The Duke defense also forced two fumbles, which contributed to its lopsided time of possession.