DURHAM -- Duke ground out a 26-21 win over Connecticut on Saturday night in a game that started better for the Blue Devils than it finished, but still saw them remain unbeaten.
“It’s back-to-back fourth-quarter comebacks, but I thought tonight was different than last Friday night,” said head coach Manny Diaz. “We had a chance to run away from them in the first half.”
The Blue Devils (3-0) held a 17-7 halftime lead but fell into a slump once the second half kicked off. The UConn offense was held in check in the opening half but got a spark in the second half. They started moving the pocket and ran some outside zone to get to the edge to avoid Duke’s defensive line.
Most of the damage came on the ground thanks to some missed tackles and defensive lapses. At the end of the third quarter, the Huskies (1-2) had a 21-17 lead.
Duke's defense started to wake back up from its slumber and returned to the team from the first half. After back to back scoring drives from UConn, Vincent Anthony Jr. got a huge sack on third down.
“Just not panic,” safety Jaylen Stinson said about when the Huskies made their run. “Be resilient, we watched some film and just saw we were starting to panic.”
Duke’s offense got some points on the board in the fourth quarter from a Todd Pelino field goal and a 20-yard touchdown catch from Que’Sean Brown. The Blue Devils executed down the stretch, moving the chains when they needed to chew some clock.
“Our offensive line and backs got better and better as the game went on,” Diaz said.
The Huskies had a chance to take back the lead, but Stinson broke up a pass, forcing a field goal with 5:51 left. UConn kicker Chris Freeman missed a 48-yard attempt allowing the Blue Devils to chew out the rest of the clock.
In the first half, the defense was the story for the Blue Devils as they did not allow any points, with the Huskies lone points coming off a Maalik Murphy pick-six. They got off the field on third down and did not allow UConn's offense to get any momentum.
Despite the third quarter slump, Duke finished with four TFLs, something Diaz has made a priority for his team. They also registered four pass breakups and three QB hits.
The Blue Devils limited the Huskies’ top playmaker Skyler Bell to two catches for eight yards in the opening frame. UConn quarterback Nick Evers struggled with the different coverages Duke threw on the field. He had 41 passing yards at halftime, doing most of his damage in the second half with his legs and designed option plays.
Cam Edwards led the Huskies rushing attack with 106 rushing yards and a touchdown. UConn ran for 179 yards, marking the highest the Blue Devils have allowed this season. Duke held the Huskies to 6-for-17 on third downs.
An encouraging sign for the Blue Devils was Murphy’s improvement. He made quicker and more decisive reads and was accurate (28 of 43). Additionally, Murphy was able to push the ball downfield, finishing his third game with 267 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
Despite some improvements, there’s still some work to do with the young signal caller. Murphy still has work to do with understanding time and situation. There were instances where he went for the home run instead of taking the single in third and short situations.
Three different Blue Devil receivers recorded a touchdown with Brown, Jordan Moore and Eli Pancol all making plays downfield. Brown caught all 11 of his targets for 87 yards with 71 yards coming after the catch.
“We go through everyday saying games are won in the fourth quarter,” Brown said.
Running backs Star Thomas and Peyton Jones held down the backfield with Jaquez Moore sidelined due to injury. Thomas was able to generate explosive plays for the Blue Devil offense all night, going for 122 rushing yards on 22 attempts and one catch for 24 yards. It marked Thomas’ fifth hundred yard game in his career and first with the Blue Devils.
“You have to give him credit for seeing the holes because their unusual defense,” Diaz said. “You have to give credit to the offensive line for holding blocks.”
