Duke football takes on SMU for its penultimate home game, hoping to guarantee its third straight winning season. The Blue Devils enter the locker room in a tight battle with the Mustangs, as they trail 14-7 at halftime:
Five observations
Bend but don’t break: Through 30 minutes, the Blue Devils have maintained their identity through characteristic defensive play. On SMU’s opening drive, the tempo-focused Mustangs drove all the way to the Duke 4-yard line, but defensive end Ryan Smith punched the football out of quarterback Kevin Jennings’ hands and fell on it for the eighth defensive fumble recovery of the Blue Devils’ season. With less than a minute to go, Jennings looked for wide receiver Roderick Daniels Jr., but the ball was plucked out of the air by Cameron Bergeron for the Mustangs’ second turnover of the night. On SMU’s next play from scrimmage, linebacker Tre Freeman knocked the ball out of tight end Matthew Hibner’s hands, recovering for Duke’s third takeaway of the half. Against an efficient Mustangs offense, defensive coordinator Jonathan Patke’s unit will need to be at its best for 30 more minutes to earn an upset Blue Devil victory.
Aggressive offense: In the Blue Devils’ victory against Florida State last week, quarterback Maalik Murphy largely failed to move the ball downfield, averaging less than three yards per pass attempt. However, offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer has dialed up more deep shots for the 20-year-old against the Mustangs thus far. The Blue Devils have converted 3-of-7 third downs so far, a welcome change from a 3-of-17 clip against the Seminoles last week.
Pancol party: Murphy completed nine passes in the first quarter, and five of them were caught by wide receiver Eli Pancol. The graduate student’s longest catch of the half was a heavily contested 19-yard pickup over Mustangs cornerback Deuce Harmon, contributing to his total of 59 in the first quarter alone and 76 total. With fellow graduate wideout Jordan Moore taking a lower share of snaps, the Blue Devils have welcomed Pancol’s ability to step up and will hope to have him more involved in a pivotal second half.
Missed (and taxing) tackles: For as strong as Duke’s defense has played through seven-and-a-half games, missed tackling opportunities have occasionally been an issue. None have been bigger this game than that of linebacker Ozzie Nicholas, who failed to bring Mustangs running back Brashard Smith on a fourth-down touchdown run in the second quarter. Later in the game, cornerback Chandler Rivers made an excellent tackle on wideout Jordan Hudson, but was forced into the medical tent following the play.
Stopping a two-headed monster: The Mustangs’ run game has been particularly hard to stop for most opposing teams given its armada of talent. Prior to this contest, SMU running back Brashard Smith averaged 6.9 yards per rush attempt, while Jennings notched 5.2 yards per carry. However, the Blue Devils have mostly limited opportunities on the ground for the Mustangs, with SMU as a team averaging 4.2 yards per rush attempt in the first half. While a total of 139 yards and two touchdowns on the ground allowed is undoubtedly a disappointing mark, Smith and Jennings have been held well below their season rushing averages so far.
By the numbers
158 passing yards: Murphy racked up just 70 yards through the air against the Seminoles last week, with the Blue Devils choosing to take a ground-and-pound approach on offense. The script has completely flipped thus far, as the Texas transfer broke his previous total in the first quarter alone. Heading into the locker room, Murphy has racked up his fair share of passing yards, and will look to continue his passing prowess in a pivotal second half.
23 rushing yards: On the other hand, Duke’s offense has limited its presence on the ground so far. Running back Star Thomas received just four carries in the first half, and the Blue Devils averaged 2.9 yards per rush attempt as a team through 30 minutes of play. With tight end Nicky Dalmolin out for the season, Duke’s run-blocking has created fewer opportunities thus far for Thomas and the rest of the backfield.
36 penalty yards: The Blue Devils have committed just four penalties in the first half, but all have proven taxing so far. On a defensive third-and-3 at Duke’s 8-yard line, linebacker Ozzie Nicholas committed a facemask penalty, giving the Mustangs an automatic first down and setting them up to score four plays later. As the half drew to a close, a would-be interception on Jennings by safety Terry Moore was undone by a pass interference call on cornerback Joshua Pickett, preventing a second Duke turnover.
A play that mattered
With the first quarter coming to a close, Murphy stepped back to pass at the Mustangs’ 43-yard line. Thanks in part to a strong block from running back Peyton Jones, the redshirt sophomore quarterback had enough time to unload a deep pass to wide receiver Que’Sean Brown. The redshirt freshman caught it to give the Blue Devils a 7-0 lead, marking Duke’s first offensive touchdown in the first quarter since its Sept. 21 win over Middle Tennessee State.
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