One can hardly blame Manny Diaz for calling the two-point conversion attempt in overtime that would decide the outcome against No. 22 SMU.
Todd Pelino, one of the bright spots in Duke’s win over Florida State, had missed an extra point and he had missed a 42-yard field goal.
Either one of those kicks would have won the game in regulation. And on the final play of regulation, Pelino tried a 30-yard field goal that was blocked; not his fault since SMU’s Jahfari Harvey leaped over a Duke blocker to reject the kick.
But for sure, Diaz wasn’t thinking “fourth time is the charm” after Maalik Murphy’s pass to Eli Pancol made it 28-27 in OT. Why kick for a point to tie when it leads to a second overtime when two-point conversions will be required? Diaz made his choice. But Murphy’s next pass to Pancol fell incomplete-a pretty difficult ending for a game in which the Blue Devils did so many things well against a ranked opponent.
SMU is very difficult to defend. The Mustangs have great talent at the skill positions—multiple runners and receivers who can make defenders miss and even run through tacklers at times. And of course Kevin Jennings is a dual threat quarterback.
Yet except for two long pass plays where the Duke secondary lost coverage on the Mustangs Roderick Daniels, the Blue Devils kept the Ponies in the corral. SMU, which averages 39 points per game, scored just 21 in regulation, the Mustangs’ lowest total in ACC games by far.
And Duke forced a whopping six turnovers, and made two great goal line stands. SMU has to feel pretty lucky to win. In fact, coach Rhett Lashlee said as much after the game.
- SMU drove to the Duke 4 on the game’s first possession. But the Ponies lost the football as Jennings was trying to hand off to L.J. Johnson. Ryan Smith recovered for Duke.
- The Blue Devils forced a second turnover in the second quarter. Cameron Bergeron intercepted a Jennings pass.
- Moments later Duke jarred the ball loose from SMU tight end Matthew Hibbner. Tre Freeman fell on the ball.
So that’s three turnovers in the first half by SMU. Trouble is Duke did not get a single point from those turnovers.
The pattern continued in the wild fourth quarter.
- Freeman picked off a Jennings pass and returned it to the SMU 37. No points for Duke.
- Chandler Rivers intercepted at the SMU 39. The Duke offense went three and out.
- Jennings fumbled, Duke’s Ozzie Nicholas scooped up the football and ran it all the way to the SMU 13. But yeah, still no points.
Also note that on another occasion Duke denied SMU points that were all but certain. One of the long passes to Daniels gave the Mustangs a first and goal at the Duke one. SMU tried four straight running plays but still finished one foot short of the goal line. It was an epic goal line stand! But still not enough.
Duke’s offense has run hot and cold this season-to put it mildly-but Jonathan Brewer’s unit made some plays against SMU. Maybe Texas transfer Maalik Murphy, a notoriously slow starter, was inspired going against a team from the Lone Star State? Whatever, Duke scored the game’s first touchdown as Murphy threw a beautiful 43 yard strike to Que’ Sean Brown, capping a 95-yard drive.
Murphy’s second touchdown pass was also memorable, with Jordan Moore making a one hand grab of a well defended pass from 12 yards out.
Most of all Murphy developed chemistry with Pancol. Murphy found him 11 times, mostly to move the chains on third down.
And let me say this about the Duke ground game — both Star Thomas and Peyton Jones ran effectively at times in the third and fourth quarters. The Devils gained 98 yards against the ACC’s No. 1 rushing defense. Still, it wasn’t enough.
This was just Duke’s second loss at home in two seasons. The last loss, a 21-14 defeat against Notre Dame, was also a game that the Blue Devils had chances to win.
Miami native Manny Diaz is going home this week but his football team will be very much on the road. The Devils face the undefeated and sixth ranked Miami Hurricanes. Miami leads the ACC in both total offense and total defense, and this team averages 47 points per game.
The Canes do commit a lot of penalties and their defense has given up some big point totals in ACC games—38 points to Cal, 34 points to Virginia Tech, and 45 against Louisville.
But Cam Ward and the Miami offense are relentless. Florida State, which has a defense loaded with NFL type talent, gave up 36 points against the Hurricanes and that’s their lowest point total all season.
Duke is eliminated from the ACC Championship competition and probably won’t win Saturday. But the Blue Devils have an opportunity to measure their resilient defense against an offense the entire nation is talking about. This week, if the Blue Devils turn Miami over, they’ve got to capitalize.
