Halftime Report: Duke football at Troy

Duke holds a 24-14 lead at the half after following up a weak first quarter with a dominating second quarter performance. The Blue Devils scored the last 21 points of the half, using two huge defensive stops on fourth down and big offensive plays from quarterback Anthony Boone to turn a 11-point deficit into a 10-point lead over the course of a single quarter.

A combination of penalties and mistakes by quarterback Anthony Boone doomed the Blue Devils' opening drive, as Duke punted the ball after just five plays. Troy took the ball and drove 83 yards in 11 plays for the game's first score, jumping out to a 7-0 lead.

Duke needed a conversion on fourth-and-10 on its next drive to break into the red zone, but were forced to settle for a Ross Martin field goal. The Trojan offense continued to slash through the Blue Devil defense on the ensuing drive, driving 68 yards in 14 plays to take a 14-3 lead.

Duke responded with a 30-yard touchdown run by Boone, but the momentum truly shifted when the Blue Devils stopped Troy on fourth-and-short on the Trojans' own 40 yard-line. Taking over with great field position, Duke's offense drove for a quick touchdown to take a 17-14 lead.

After a Trojan punt following a seven-play drive, the Blue Devils put up another quick score on a 49-yard toss from Boone to redshirt senior Issac Blakeney. Troy threatened on its next possession, but another stop on fourth-and-short prevented the Trojans from making up any ground before the half.

Observations from the first half:

• At the end of the first quarter, Troy was averaging 6.7 yards on 15 carries while the Blue Devils were averaging just 3.4 yards on nine attempts. By the end of the half, both teams were averaging 4.8 yards per carry.
• After completing 7-of-8 passes in the first quarter,
  
• Boone's touchdown run of 30 yards was the longest of his career.
• DeVon Edwards is the first Blue Devil to force two fumbles in a game since Walt Canty achieved the feat against FIU in 2011.
• Jamison Crowder now has 25 straight games with five or more receptions.
• After allowing 100 yards on the ground in the first quarter, the Blue Devil defense gave up just 39 yards rushing in the second period.
• Thomas Sirk notched his first career passing touchdown on a two-yard jump pass to David Reeves.
• Reeves now has five career touchdown passes from three different quarterback. He caught three from former Blue Devil Brandon Connette and connected for a score with Boone once.
• Six Blue Devils caught multiple passes in the half.