Extra point: Duke football vs. Pittsburgh

Entering Saturday’s matchup with Pittsburgh, Duke looked to go on its first win streak of the season and put itself in consideration for a fifth straight bowl appearance. But the Blue Devils ended up playing mistake-filled football that led to their worst loss in more than six years by a score of 56-14 on the road at Heinz Field.

Revisiting the three keys to the game:

• Stop the run: Duke stopped the run well when it beat North Carolina last Thursday, but its efforts to contain James Conner and the rest of Pittsburgh’s running game were futile. The Panthers rushed for 224 yards, nearly nine times the 25 rushing yards Duke accumulated. Conner ran for 101 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries, and wide receiver Quadree Henderson and running back Qadree Ollison each added a rushing touchdown as well.
• Flip the field: Duke punter Danny Stirt continued to struggle pinning opponents deep in their own territory, averaging just 32.2 yards per attempt Saturday. Head coach David Cutcliffe continued to explore other options, with quarterback Daniel Jones punting once for 43 yards. Shaun Wilson also lost a fumble on a kickoff, as Pittsburgh capitalized on good field position all afternoon.
• Win the turnover battle: Both of Duke’s turnovers came on Wilson’s fumbles, which gave the Panthers opportunities to keep piling on points. Pittsburgh's lone turnover came when redshirt junior cornerback Bryon Fields picked off Nathan Peterman and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown. Duke was unable to build on its momentum, though, as Pittsburgh scored on the very next possession and the Blue Devils did not score the rest of the game.

Three key plays:

• 15:00 remaining, first quarter: On Duke’s first play from scrimmage, Daniel Jones handed the ball to Shaun Wilson, who ran for no gain to the Duke 17-yard-line. He was hit by Oluwaseun Idowu at the scrimmage and lost control of the ball, which was recovered by Matt Galambos to set the Panthers up for their first touchdown.
• 0:00 remaining, second quarter: With Pittsburgh up 28-14 and the Blue Devils’ last drive of the first half stalling, Cutcliffe had to settle for a 31-yard field goal. Freshman kicker A.J. Reed, who has been unreliable all season, missed the attempt wide right to drop to 3-for-9 on the season.
• 11:01 remaining, third quarter: After the Panthers' first drive of the third quarter resulted in a 1-yard touchdown run by Conner, Quadree Henderson took a Duke punt to the house for a 65-yard touchdown just 63 seconds later to open the floodgates and give Pittsburgh a 42-14 lead.

Three key stats:

• Pittsburgh scores 56 points on 461 yards of total offense: Duke struggled to defend a Panther offense that was clicking both through the air and on the ground. With 237 passing yards and 224 rushing yards, Pittsburgh, led by Peterman and Conner, did whatever it wanted to the Duke defense. Duke’s inability to stop any aspect of the Panthers’ offense led to eight touchdowns and 56 points for Pittsburgh.
• Duke rushes for 25 yards with 1.1 yards per carry: The Blue Devils are sorely missing the presence of redshirt senior running back Jela Duncan, who tore his Achilles tendon against Georgia Tech three weeks ago to end his career. Duke was forced to rely on Wilson, who had a nightmarish game, rushing for just 11 yards and fumbling twice.
• Duke wins the time of possession battle 30:37 to 29:23: Unlike many of Duke’s losses this season, the Blue Devils’ offense was actually able to stay on the field longer than the opposition. Both Duke and Pittsburgh had 18 first downs, but the disparity in the score can be attributed to the Panthers' explosive plays. Pittsburgh required very little time to score at all, with three of its touchdowns being scored in three plays or less, and Duke had several promising drives stall around midfield and end with punts.

And the Duke game ball goes to…T.J. Rahming