It hasn't been pretty, but the Blue Devils have done enough in heavy rain and wind to take a seven-point lead into the locker room.
Duke (2-3) rode strong defensive play and capitalized on two short fields to take a 13-6 lead against Army at halftime Saturday afternoon at Wallace Wade Stadium. With each team fumbling twice and losing one due to the stormy conditions caused by Hurricane Matthew, the teams have combined for just 189 total yards—42 of which have come through the air.
With 9:05 remaining in the first quarter, the Blue Devils made the first big play of the game when strike safety Corbin McCarthy hammered Army tail back Andy Davidson in the backfield and forced a fumble inside the Black Knights’ 10 yard line. The fumble was recovered by one of McCarthy’s partners in crime in the defensive backfield—Deondre Singleton.
Just two plays later, in at quarterback in the red zone for a 3rd-and-short situation, backup Parker Boehme threw a high-arcing jump pass to tight end Erich Schneider for the first score of the game.
Following Boehme’s touchdown toss, both teams traded punts for the remainder of the first quarter, with Duke enjoying starting field position around its own 40-yard line and the Black Knights (3-1) often starting inside their own 20-yard line. Army gained only 12 yards in the first quarter despite leading the nation in rushing yards entering the game.
After the Blue Devils stuffed the Black Knights on fourth down by crushing Army quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw, Duke quarterback Daniel Jones took advantage.
The redshirt freshman fumbled earlier in the game but launched a perfect 22-yard pass to redshirt freshman wide receiver Aaron Young in the corner of the end zone. The botched snap on the extra point following Jones’ seventh touchdown pass of the season gave the Blue Devils a 13-0 lead with 10:22 left before halftime.
Despite several more miscues, including a blocked punt, Duke held onto its 13-point advantage until Davidson finally found some running room with 2:11 left before halftime, gutting the Blue Devil defense for a 45-yard rushing touchdown. The ensuing fake extra point attempt was stuffed for a loss, preserving Duke's seven-point lead.
Here are some observations from the first half:
- The Duke offense has been bailed out early by defensive penalties, including one that wiped out a Jones fumble. Both teams have three penalties so far in the wet conditions.
- Linebacker Ben Humphreys has found himself in the offensive backfield early and often, recording 10 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss in the first 30 minutes.
- It took 21 minutes for Army to earn its first first down and first completion, both on a pass from Carter. After Bradshaw started the game with little success, Carter came in to give the Black Knights a spark.
- Blue Devil running back Jela Duncan had nine carries for 40 yards—he missed the Virginia game last week with an ankle injury. Duke has tried to lean on its running game but is only averaging 2.9 yards per carry because of several negative plays.
- The teams combined to go 0-of-4 on fourth downs with weather impacting the special teams battle. The Blue Devil defense came up with three of those stops.
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