That was odd.
Despite a two-hour weather delay and a less-than-ideal performance from the Blue Devil offense, Duke came out on top of a blowout victory against Middle Tennessee, walking out of Murfreesboro, Tenn., with a 45-17 win. Even with the oddities and subpar showing from the attack, the group from Durham demonstrated its resilience, adaptability and ability to capitalize in what was a game marked by turnovers and challenges.
“I’m proud of the complimentary football that we played, forcing four turnovers on defense that turned into 28 points by our offense,” head coach Manny Diaz said after the game. “But ultimately, that's it. That was a telling stat in the game.”
Duke put up 216 yards through the air and added 124 ground yards, both relatively average displays. Even so, quarterback Maalik Murphy threw for three touchdowns, and the rushing attack matched his total, with kicker Todd Pelino tacking on a field goal for good measure.
As has become the standard for Diaz’s team, the Blue Devil defense defined itself with big plays. Before it could execute one, it had to give one up. Running back Jaiden Credle took a handoff through the middle and turned upfield, dashing 66 yards to give the early lead to the home team. That said, things turned around quickly. Duke scored a touchdown on its first drive of the game, and began to demonstrate exactly what sort of momentum-altering plays it planned to impose on its opponent.
“From what I saw watching the film, it just looked like we were hitting, you know? We had the one [fumble] on the quarterback,” Diaz said. “But we had a couple on the [running] backs and just looked like some really good pops.”
The Blue Devils ended up forcing three turnovers in just the first quarter, turning all of them into short-field touchdowns. The visitors had scoring drives of 20, one and 24 yards in the opening period, giving them a healthy 21-point cushion just from the forced giveaways. Notably, not one of those drives lasted more than 90 seconds. Indeed, even an interception by safety DaShawn Stone early in the fourth quarter led to a one-minute, 14-yard drive into the end zone to tack on some late insurance points.
Even when the offense failed to stay on the field or chew up much of the clock, it was the Duke defense that held strong. When the Blue Raiders managed to avoid giving up the ball, the Blue Devil rush had another excellent performance that included 12 tackles for a loss and six sacks.
“I think it's always our central focus,” defensive lineman Wesley Williams said on attacking the backfield. “Get after the quarterbacks, stopping the run game in the backfield. And this week, we knew especially that controlling the line of scrimmage was going to be a huge key to winning the game. We went out there and thankfully we were able to get it done.”
Middle Tennessee also managed to put together some strong, lengthy drives, testing the resolve of the Duke squad. In two drives of five minutes or more by the home team, the Blue Devils allowed just three total points. It was a challenging environment, starting in the hot sun and finishing in the cool, damp aftermath of a thunderstorm, but Duke ultimately held up, demonstrating its maturity and ability to adapt to the different approach taken by the Blue Raiders.
One darker spot for the Blue Devils was the passing offense, which did not have an especially strong game against a secondary that has given up significant yardage through the air in its other games this season. Murphy completed 14 passes and gave up one interception, not one of his best performances. That said, Diaz indicated that perhaps that was not entirely Murphy’s fault.
“I am proud of our offense. It looked like a grind at times. That's because Middle Tennessee can completely change defenses,” Diaz said. “They went from a four-down team to an odd team. Played all new coverages, all new pressures. They did something entirely different than what we had practiced all week and what they showed in their first three games.”
Ultimately, this will go in the win column as a decisive win even with the challenging conditions and surprising defense the Blue Devils came up against. With the nonconference games now complete, Duke will launch itself headfirst into ACC play against a floundering North Carolina group Saturday, looking to walk out of Wallace Wade Stadium with its first victory against the Tar Heels since 2018.
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Martin Heintzelman is a Trinity junior and Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.