After the nerve-wracking end to last week’s 26-20 overtime defeat of Northwestern, Duke football fans hoped for a comfortable home win against UConn to improve to 3-0 on the season.
For much of the first half, it looked like the Blue Devil faithful’s wishes would come true, as Duke jumped out to an early 17-0 lead. However, the Huskies stormed back, scoring 21 unanswered points. Facing adversity and the brink of defeat in a match they expected to win, the Blue Devils answered the call on both sides of the ball. Head coach Manny Diaz’s defense held UConn scoreless for the rest of the game, while quarterback Maalik Murphy led the offense on two massive fourth-quarter drives, first to take the lead and then to seal a 26-21 victory.
“I’m really proud of our football team,” Diaz said after the game. “To be 3-0 here tonight. It’s the only thing you can accomplish when you play three games, to win three. Our guys, they took a proper punch tonight, and [I loved] the way that they responded.”
Standout kicker Todd Pelino, who had converted on a career-high 53-yard attempt earlier in the game, promptly kicked the ball through the uprights to open the final quarter. UConn led 21-20.
Just when the team needed it most, safety Terry Moore picked off Nick Evers’ deep pass, as the aggressiveness of Diaz’s defense paid off in the biggest form yet. Murphy and the offense immediately pushed the ball down the field, before barely converting on a crucial third-and-1 on the Huskies’ 23-yard line.
Then, on third-and-9, Murphy completed one of the most important passes of his young Duke career, a perfectly placed 20-yard strike to redshirt freshman Que’Sean Brown. After a failed two-point attempt, Duke regained a five-point lead.
Consecutive punts from each team followed before the Huskies drove the ball back into Duke territory. On third down from the 30-yard line, Evers’ pass was nearly intercepted, but fell incomplete. UConn kicker Chris Freeman’s 48-yard field goal attempt fell to the right of the goalposts, maintaining Duke’s five-point advantage.
With a chance to put the game away for good, Duke’s offense got to work. At the three-minute mark and facing third down, Murphy launched a lightning bolt towards Brown which came inches away from the hands of a UConn defender. The perfectly timed throw was snagged by Duke’s young wideout, extending the drive and forcing the Huskies to use their first time out. A 14-yard pass to Pancol later, and Duke clinched the victory.
“It was a great pass,” Brown said at the post-game press conference. “It was one-on-one coverage. [The coaches] said if they ever play you in man coverage, that’s disrespectful [so] take advantage of that. Quarterback did his job, I did my job, the O-line did its job, and got us a touchdown.”
The second half could not have started worse for the Blue Devils. Brewer’s offense immediately went three-and-out, and the Huskies combined a few big plays to set themselves up in the red zone. On third-and-goal from the one-yard line, UConn running back Cam Edwards powered through the trenches for a score, cutting Duke’s lead down to three.
Before the Blue Devils could even blink, the Huskies had the ball in the red zone again with a chance to take the lead, less than a quarter removed from trailing by 17 points. On second-and-6 from the 13, Evers connected with tight end Alexander Honig in the end zone, completing the UConn comeback.
Having relinquished a double-digit lead in the matter of minutes and with momentum fully in UConn’s favor, Murphy and offense were tasked with a quick response. After a sustained Duke drive deep into UConn territory, the Huskies got their first sack of the game on third down, forcing the Blue Devils to settle for a field-goal attempt.
In contrast to the beginning of the second half, Duke’s offense opened the game in style, scoring the game’s first touchdown on a clinical nine-play drive which ended with a four-yard connection in the end zone between Murphy and Moore.
Then, after a few unsuccessful possessions, Murphy displayed his incredible arm talent on a beautiful 36-yard touchdown pass to receiver Eli Pancol. After missing all of last season with a lower-body injury, Pancol has already scored four times through three games, the second-most in the country.
Murphy’s first-half performance was not without its flaws, however. With four minutes left in the first half, just as it looked like the Blue Devils were running away with the game, the Inglewood, Calif., native attempted a quick pass which was tipped in the backfield and intercepted and returned for a 64-yard score by UConn linebacker Langston Hardy. Murphy’s miscue proved to be a turning point in the game, giving the Huskies life after a lackluster start to the game.
“We had a chance to really run away from them in the first half, and then a freak play happens,” Diaz said. “You gotta give [UConn] credit. They really seized control of the game.”
Besides a 23-yard run by Evers on the first play of the game, UConn could not move the ball down the field, mustering only 136 yards of total offense in the first half. Evers, who was named the starter despite a historic performance last time out from backup quarterback Joe Fagnano, had a mixed performance in the first half, looking erratic through the air but tearing through Duke’s defense on several long runs.
The Blue Devils travel to Murfreesboro, Tenn., to take on Middle Tennessee Sept. 21 in their final nonconference game before hosting rival North Carolina at Wallace Wade Stadium Sept. 28.
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Rodrigo Amare is a Trinity sophomore and assistant Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.