ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Duke took control of the middle-8 and closed out UCF in a 30-13 win in Wednesday’s Military Bowl at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
The Blue Devils (9-4) scored 10 points in the last two minutes of the first half and added a field goal at the end of a 7-minute drive to start the second half.
A stalwart defensive effort that only allowed two of UCF’s first nine drives to gain more than 30 yards allowed Duke to beat the Big 12-bound Knights (9-5).
Duke had six sacks, setting a Military Bowl record. Linebacker Cam Dillon was the only Blue Devil with multiple sacks, notching two.
Duke won nine games in a season for the third time since World War II, and it's the most wins in program history for a first-year coach (Mike Elko).
The Blue Devils put the clamps on this game with a grueling drive to open the third quarter. It was a 13-play drive that went 54 yards, the longest play going for 10 yards.
Though that only resulted in a field goal, it put Duke ahead 23-7 and meant that in the same time Duke had run its last 40 plays, going back to early in the second quarter, UCF had run six.
UCF scored a touchdown with 9:03 left to make it a 10-point deficit, but Duke stopped the two-point conversion attempt to maintain the two-score lead.
The Knights got the ball back down 10 with 7:49 and picked up two first downs, but Darius Joiner recorded a first-down sack, and Ryan Smith notched a fourth-down sack with 5:25 left to get the ball back to the Blue Devils.
That was essentially what sealed it, and Riley Leonard's airborne rushing touchdown in the closing minutes touched off the celebration on Duke's sideline.
Duke scored first, going on a nine-play, 87-yard march that was capped by a 14-yard touchdown scamper by Jaquez Moore. UCF’s answer came in the form of a 14-play, 75-yard drive, on which the Knights converted a fourth-and-1, and punched the ball in on third-and-goal from the 1.
All four of Duke’s running backs to play significant snaps this season — Jaylen Coleman, Jordan Waters, Terry Moore and Jaquez Moore — had a touch in the first 21 minutes of the game.
Todd Pelino kicked a 21-yard field goal midway through the second quarter to put Duke back in the lead, and then a flourish by Duke to end the first half sent the Blue Devils to the locker room with a two-touchdown lead.
Brandon Johnson forced a fumble, recovered by Darius Joiner, on the second play of UCF’s ensuing possession. That was the sixth turnover Johnson has been involved in this season, with an even spread; he had two interceptions, two fumbles forced and two fumble recoveries.
Duke needed seven plays for a 58-yard touchdown drive, with two plays to Jaquez Moore serving as the keys before Leonard’s 1-yard sneak. On third-and-5, Leonard turned to Duke’s sideline appearing to be confused, and then Moore fielded a direct snap and ran for 6 yards.
On the next play, Leonard found Moore on a crossing route for a 32-yard catch and run to UCF’s 1.
Duke forced a three-and-out, and Pelino made a 48-yard field goal to send into halftime with a 20-7 lead. That’s a career-long for the freshman who took over after Charlie Ham’s temporary absence.
Duke was missing leading tackler Shaka Heyward. The fifth-year linebacker had his tonsils removed after the end of the regular season and was unavailable. Tight end Nicky Dalmolin, who missed the last two games of the regular season with a leg injury, was also unavailable.
