Nobody said anything about needing style points.

Duke survived a mistake-filled game and scored touchdowns in both overtimes of a 26-20 win at Northwestern at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium.

“I told the team just a moment ago that I’m in awe of their effort,” coach Manny Diaz said after a game that started on Friday night and ended on Saturday morning (or 5 minutes before midnight, if in the central time zone).

“All of the adversity that we went through tonight, some self-inflicted, some caused by Northwestern, our ability to persevere and overcome was remarkable.”

We got to overtime at 13-13 after 60 minutes of each kicker missing a chip-shot field goal, each quarterback throwing a who-is-that-to? interception, and after the only two touchdown “drives” of regulation were from 29 and 11 yards away (Duke’s was four plays; Northwestern’s was two).

Neither team ever led by more than one score; in fact, the teams traded scores until Duke (2-0) scored to end the first overtime and again to start the second one.

“I feel like we just fight from start to finish,” said linebacker Alex Howard, who led Duke with 14 tackles and 2.5 TFLs. “This started before August, this is a team that will fight to the end.”

That needed to be the case for obvious reasons.

This game went to overtime because of a 22-yard field goal by Todd Pelino with 14 seconds left. That was quick redemption, as he missed from 33 yards a couple of minutes earlier.

Northwestern (1-1) started overtime with an authoritative drive, converting a third down — making the Wildcats 3-for-15 in the game — and scoring on Cam Porter’s 10-yard run on the next play.

Duke needed only one play to match, with Maalik Murphy hitting Jordan Moore in the middle of the field for a 25-yard touchdown pass.

That was the connection again to start the second OT, only Moore was tackled 3 yards shy of the end zone. On the next snap, Murphy threw to the back shoulder of Eli Pancol, who turned around in time for his second touchdown catch of the night.

Moore had 11 catches for 121 yards; nine of the catches and 106 of the yards came after halftime, and he had six catches for 76 yards in the fourth and quarter and overtimes.

“Coach Diaz always preaches, ‘Play the next play.’ Some of the plays I felt like I should have made, I didn’t,” Moore said. “But they called them my way again and I felt like I had to make the most of my opportunities.”

Duke needed one stop to win the game and it didn’t look like the Blue Devils would get it. The first four plays of Northwestern’s second-OT possession went to Porter, for 7-, 6-, 5- and 4-yard gains, setting up third-and-1 from Duke’s 3.

But the Wildcats ran a QB sweep and junior cornerback Chandler Rivers knifed through blockers for a TFL — Duke’s 11th of the game — to derail their momentum.

“Everybody on our team made plays when they needed to, specifically Chandler Rivers at the end,” Moore said. “I’m just so happy that we can be a part of a team where somebody is lacking, another person can pick it up.”

When Mike Wright’s desperation fourth-down heave to the back of the end zone was incomplete, Duke’s road win was finally — mercifully — complete.

“Double overtime, it was an interesting way to win,” Moore said. “But a win is a win and we’re going to celebrate it like any other win.”

It’s Duke’s first overtime win since the Pinstripe Bowl in 2015 against Indiana. The only two overtime games in between were in the last two seasons — losses at Georgia Tech (2022) and UNC (2023).

The start of the second half won’t be remembered for its beauty.

It started with Duke going three-and-out, Murphy sacked on third down. Kade Reynoldson’s punt was blocked and Northwestern took over at Duke’s 9-yard line.

The Wildcats only went backward and failed to score because Jack Olsen’s 29-yard field goal attempt clanged off the goalpost.

Take a deep breath; there were two more momentum-swinging plays in this sequence.

Murphy threw an interception two plays after the missed field goal; it was into double coverage and was, at best, a poor decision. On the ensuing possession, Northwestern fumbled the ball back to Duke on a third-and-3 when Terry Moore popped the ball loose and Ozzie Nicholas recovered it around midfield.

On the ensuing possession, Duke briefly inserted Henry Belin IV at quarterback and he ran twice for 12 yards, and completed his only pass attempt for 7 yards. That helped set up Pelino’s 49-yard field goal that tied the game at 10-10.

Northwestern broke the tie with a methodical 11-play, 43-yard drive that ended with a 35-yard field goal. That drive started in the third quarter but ended in the fourth; switching directions between the quarters meant Northwestern was kicking with the wind for the last frame.

Duke, going into the wind in the fourth quarter, had 165 of its 342 yards in the final quarter and in the overtime segments.

“I think the offensive staff did a nice job of sort of sussing out what they were doing,” Diaz said. “They make it hard, they play an umbrella coverage … they limit you from being able to throw the ball down the field.”

Duke’s first takeaway of the season came on Moore’s first career interception. The junior safety picked off Wright’s pass on Northwestern’s sideline halfway through the first quarter, and four plays later Murphy threw a strike to Pancol for a 16-yard touchdown.

That gave the Blue Devils a 7-3 lead and it was a mistake on their end that allowed Northwestern to retake the lead.

Que’Sean Brown muffed a punt inside the 15-yard line. Two plays later, Porter pounded in a 4-yard touchdown run to make it 10-7.

Northwestern got an early lead on Olsen’s 44-yard field goal into the wind on the game’s first possession. That yardage was significant; Porter cut back for a 44-yard run on the second play of the game.

In the entirety of Duke’s opener against Elon, the longest play the Blue Devils gave up was 21 yards.

EXTRA POINTS: Linebacker Nick Morris Jr. missed the game. He started the season opener and was tied for third on the team with 61 tackles last season. … That was only the start of bad news; Duke lost running back Jaquez Moore to an apparent foot injury on his third carry of the game, as he came up limping on the sidelines, and lost tight end Jeremiah Hasley on a punt — he was carted off the field with an apparent knee injury. … Diaz said he didn’t have an update on the injured players after the game, but Moore was shown on TV walking with a boot on his foot and the TV reported that Morris was on crutches earlier Friday. Hasley’s status seemed to be the worst, as he was unable to walk off the field.