Extra Point: Duke football vs Wake Forest

Duke was the better team on both sides of the ball and snapped its four-game losing streak with a 27-21 victory at Wake Forest in its regular season finale Saturday afternoon. The Blue Devils never trailed in the game and held off a late rally by the Demon Deacons after taking a 24-7 lead into the fourth quarter. The Blue Devils improved to 7-5 with the win and clinched their third straight winning season.

Revisiting the three keys to the game:

• Manage Boehme and Sirk: Thomas Sirk started the game and engineered a solid drive on his first possession before Ross Martin barely missed a 39-yard field goal. On the Blue Devils’ second drive, Boehme took the field and could not lead the offense to a first down on Duke’s only three-and-out until its last possession of the game. Sirk reentered the contest and led a touchdown drive the next time down the field, and Duke head coach David Cutcliffe rode the hot hand and kept his starting quarterback in for the rest of the game.
• Do not take Wake Forest lightly: The Demon Deacons have challenged several strong opponents despite their 3-9 record, and they did not go down quietly as they tried to mount a fourth-quarter comeback. The Blue Devils knew they needed a win to improve their bowl placement prospects, and they came ready to play from the start and made enough plays down the stretch to finish off a gritty Wake Forest squad.
• No slow starts: Duke was very disciplined from the opening kickoff, marching down the field on its first possession and rebounding from the missed field goal to get a couple stops in a row and strike first with a touchdown late in the first quarter. The Blue Devils gradually built up a 10-point halftime cushion, gaining 18 first downs in the first half while allowing the Demon Deacons to move the chains just four times.

Three key plays:

• 6:19 remaining, first quarter: With the game still scoreless, Wake Forest quarterback John Wolford scrambled up the middle on third-and-five and fumbled as he dove for the first-down marker, with Duke linebacker Dwayne Norman knocking the ball loose. Junior safety Deondre Singleton recovered the fumble—which was upheld after review—and the Blue Devils took advantage of the short field for their first touchdown drive.
• 0:04 remaining, second quarter: Senior kicker Ross Martin has had a shaky last few weeks and missed his first attempt against the Demon Deacons, but he calmly split the uprights on a long 51-yard attempt on the last play of the half to give Duke its first two-possession lead of the afternoon.
• 7:20 remaining, fourth quarter: Wake Forest was down 24-14 and driving into Blue Devil territory with plenty of time to mount a comeback. But Wolford’s pass down the right sideline intended for K.J. Brent was intercepted by cornerback Breon Borders. The junior dove in front of Brent for his third pick of the season and the Demon Deacons’ third turnover of the game.

Three key stats:

• No turnovers for Duke: Wake Forest outgained the Blue Devils 450-431, but Duke did not commit any turnovers to put its yards to waste. In a six-point game, it was important not to give the Demon Deacons any easy opportunities for points. The Blue Devils had at least three turnovers in each of their last three games prior to Saturday, and it was the first turnover-free game for Duke since its last win October 24 against Virginia Tech.
• 37:12 time of possession for the Blue Devils: Most of Duke’s drives were long and productive, and the Blue Devils were able to get a few first downs to flip field position even on drives when they could not put points on the board. Duke controlled the game well after jumping out to an early lead and ran the ball 48 times to keep the clock moving as the game went on. The clock became the Blue Devils’ friend in the fourth quarter, when time ran out on the Demon Deacons as they received a punt on the last play of the game.
• Two touchdown catches for Max McCaffrey: Duke’s senior receiver only caught one pass for five yards in last week’s loss against Virginia and did not haul in a touchdown pass during the Blue Devils’ four-game losing streak. But McCaffrey rebounded with a big performance in his final regular season game. The Castle Rock, Colo., native caught five passes for 93 yards, catching a perfectly placed pass in the right side of the end zone for Duke’s first score and then getting open down the left sideline for a 28-yard touchdown catch to extend the Blue Devils’ lead to 24-7.

And the Duke game ball goes to… Thomas Sirk