EL PASO, Texas—After the dust settled at Sun Bowl Stadium Saturday evening in the mountains of El Paso, two things became clear.
First, the 81st Sun Bowl was one of the best college football games this season.
Second, Duke's seniors might not have been able to end the team's 54-season bowl-win drought themselves, but the group is one of the biggest reasons the Blue Devils are in position to achieve postseason success in the near future.
Duke fell behind No. 15 Arizona State 20-3 in the second quarter and 30-17 in the third quarter, but two separate 14-0 Blue Devil runs set up a frantic finish in the fourth quarter.
The teams racked up 792 total yards and combined for only six penalties—two of which came on Duke's opening possession—and the Blue Devils' two second-half turnovers were the only takeaways of the game. Both turnovers were not caused by Duke miscues, but rather exceptional plays by Sun Devil defensive back Kweishi Brown.
"Nobody gave anybody anything—everything that was done was earned," Blue Devil head coach David Cutcliffe said. "It was a clean game, which was good to see. There wasn't any extra-curricular activity."
In the third quarter, Brown cleanly stripped the ball from wide receiver Issac Blakeney inside the red zone and on the last real drive of the game, the El Cajon, Calif., native picked off Anthony Boone by outfighting Jamison Crowder for position in the end zone.
In addition to limiting sloppy mistakes, the two teams played a game that was historic in many ways. Crowder tied former Duke teammate Conner Vernon atop the ACC career receptions list with his 283rd grab, a 45-yard catch on third-and-six on the Blue Devils' final drive of the game.
Junior running back Shaquille Powell had a career-high 117 rushing yards, becoming the first Duke running back to rush for 100 yards in a bowl game since 1945.
On the other sideline, Arizona State redshirt senior quarterback Taylor Kelly surpassed 10,000 yards for his career and freshman running back Demario Richard captured MVP honors by punching in four Sun Devil touchdowns to tie a Sun Bowl record. Richard joined legends Priest Holmes and Thurman Thomas as the only players to score four touchdowns in the nation's second-oldest bowl game.
And the main reason Duke was able to be part of such an exciting bowl game for the third consecutive year was because of its senior class, which led the Blue Devils to their most successful two-year stretch ever in their last 27 games.
The on-field accomplishments of Crowder, Boone, first-team All-American right guard Laken Tomlinson and first-team All-ACC linebacker David Helton, the other six senior starters and the entire class have been well-documented.
Saturday showed why the group's achievements will last long after they leave Durham and extend well beyond the playing field.
"They have committed so much energy [and] enthusiasm," Cutcliffe said. "They have developed others as they've gone along with great habits. Their contributions, although great on the field with the number of victories, will never be measured in that regard."
Duke's leadership and toughness was illustrated by the way the team overcame a 20-3 deficit to one of the nation's most explosive offenses to take a 31-30 lead for 18 seconds with 5:03 left in the game.
The group led by example, making big plays on the field and doing everything in their power to go out on top.
After starting the game 3-of-8 for 15 yards, Boone showed why he owns a 19-3 regular-season record, hurting the Arizona State blitz with two long runs on critical third downs to help the Blue Devil comeback before finally getting it going through the air.
In the fourth quarter, the Weddington, N.C., native capped a critical drive that took 7:03 by scrambling again with 10:10 left in the game to buy time and saw sophomore Johnell Barnes get open near the goal line. He threw across his body on the run and watched Barnes do the rest, showing quick feet of his own and diving into the end zone to get Duke within six points.
On the final Blue Devil drive, Boone delivered once again to get his team in position for the win with a long strike to Crowder before Brown's dramatic interception in the corner of the end zone on a 50-50 ball. The signal-caller finished with 222 total yards and two touchdowns despite the slow start.
Crowder infused the team with energy with his 68-yard punt-return touchdown—the longest of the season—in the first half to bring Duke within three after Arizona State's early onslaught and finished with seven receptions for 102 yards.
But perhaps his best moment came when he threw on a trick play for the Blue Devils' go-ahead score with 5:03 left. The Monroe, N.C., native used his off hand—his left hand—to toss a touchdown to his high school teammate Issac Blakeney after faking a jet sweep.
Blakeney, another senior, showed the resilience that characterized the group on the field, recovering from an earlier critical drop and fumble to catch the touchdown.
Up front, Tomlinson and left tackle Takoby Cofield led another strong performance from Duke's offensive line, which didn't allow a single sack against a defense that racked up 97 tackles for loss and 39 sacks during the regular season.
On the other side of the ball, Helton closed his career out with a solid nine-tackle performance after leading the ACC in tackles each of his final two seasons. Defensive linemen Dezmond Johnson, Jordan DeWalt-Ondijo and Jamal Bruce helped the defense stabilize itself after surrendering scores on its first four possessions, combining for five tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble.
C.J. France—who was expected to back up linebacker Kelby Brown before Brown's season-ending injury in the preseason—battled injuries during the season before finishing with a strong seven-tackle performance in his final game and adjusting on the fly.
The five senior defensive starters were part of Duke's enormous fourth-and-one stop early in the fourth quarter that led to Crowder's touchdown pass.
All in all, the group of seniors brought their team back as they have throughout their careers and once again allowed seemingly magical plays like Crowder's punt return, Crowder's touchdown pass and a 30-yard fake-punt pass by Will Monday to work.
Cutcliffe's explanation for the spectacular moments? Preparation.
"[We] shot ourselves in the foot a little bit early, but you couldn't have a team prepare better than what we prepared," he said.
That's what will define the group of Blue Devils leaving the program—preparation to get the most out of their talent by coming together as a unit.
And that is why Duke didn't fold after getting behind 20-3.
That is why despite losing 10 starters and valuable contributors like running back Josh Snead, the future perhaps has never looked brighter. With emerging stars like Powell and Brown returning and talented recruits coming into town, the Blue Devils will continue to travel down a path that has already been charted by those who resurrected a losing program.
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