Duke takes best shot at FSU, falters in fourth quarter

Duke was leading by three late in the third quarter, in a hostile environment, and has a rushing game and a defense that can shorten games in the fourth quarter with a two-score lead.

The 16th-ranked Blue Devils couldn’t convert a fourth down from the 4-yard line, though, and No. 4 Florida State’s 96-yard drive that followed changed Saturday night’s game at Doak S. Campbell Stadium.

It changed the top of the ACC standings, too — but it didn’t mean Duke can’t notch a rematch against the Seminoles.

“It got away at the end, and so now we’ve got to regroup,” coach Mike Elko said after Duke’s 38-20 loss at FSU on Saturday night.

Duke (5-2, 2-1 ACC) remains in a place that both puts it above taking moral victories from losses, and in a place that could mean an early December trip to Charlotte.

It’s that, plus the healthy of quarterback Riley Leonard, that becomes the focus moving forward.

Leonard started and gutted his way through this game after missing last weekend’s game with an ankle injury. He appeared to aggravate the injury on a sack on the same drive that ended with the missed fourth down.

“He wanted to come back in, he was begging me on the sideline to come back in,” Elko said. “I just didn’t feel comfortable with where he was health wise to bring him back.”

The Blue Devils have road games at Louisville and North Carolina coming up, and wins against both would go a long way in setting the stage for a rematch against FSU in the ACC championship game.

Playing that out, Duke knows it can stand on equal footing based on the majority of Saturday night’s game.

“I thought for three quarters, we battled,” Elko said. “Our defense against their offense, I thought we held them in check to some degree, as much as you can against that offense. But at the end of the day in those types of games, in those types of atmospheres, we’ve got to be more efficient in the throw game, we’ve gotta be able to execute better.”

With Henry Belin IV last weekend against N.C. State, Duke had 109 yards on only four completions. The Blue Devils had 76 passing yards against FSU, with Leonard completing 7 of 16 passes for 69 yards and Belin going 1-for-6.

It was a pass play on that fourth-and-3 from the 4-yard line. Belin’s first reads, to his right, were taken away, and his floater across his body was out of reach for Jalon Calhoun in the back of the end zone.

“We just got covered. Nobody got open,” Elko said of the play. “That was a lot of plays tonight.”

FSU (7-0, 5-0) went 96 yards on 14 plays, ending with quarterback Jordan Travis’ 2-yard touchdown run. The Seminoles scored the last two times they had the ball, on Lawrence Toafili’s 21-yard catch and run and Rodney Hill’s 9-yard run.

Neither team scored in the third quarter but Duke not only came close on the fourth down, it felt like there was a case the opening drive of the half should’ve been sustained.

Duke failed to convert a third-and-3 from its 45. The Blue Devils kept their offense on the field and were lined up to run a play, but referees held the snap to allow FSU to substitute. The Seminoles put their punt return unit on the field and were scrambling to get their defense back on the field.

Because Duke didn’t substitute, the snap shouldn’t have been delayed. FSU called a timeout and after a delay of game, Duke punted.

Everything about the first 10 minutes of this game was how Duke drew it up.

The Blue Devils stuffed FSU on a fourth-and-1 on the game’s opening possession, and then went 64 yards on six plays, the last 42 on a tight-wire touchdown run by Jaquez Moore.

Moore had a career-high 110 yards, surpassing his previous career-high (82) in the first half.

Duke added a 45-yard field goal by Todd Pelino around the midway point of the first quarter.