In one of the weirdest college football games you will ever see, the Duke Blue Devils defeated Northwestern 26-20 in double overtime on Friday night.
After a high-flying debut from transfer quarterback Maalik Murphy last week, the cooler temperatures of Illinois seemed to chill the former Texas Longhorn early on. After the Blue Devils spent all game throwing downfield against Elon, the offense felt much more conservative against the Wildcats.
Murphy did have one standout first-half moment when he hit graduate wideout Eli Pancol on a slant route for the game’s first touchdown, but he completed seven of 13 passes for just 52 yards in the opening half.
After the Blue Devils averaged 2.2 yards per carry on the ground, those rushing struggles continued against the Wildcats. Duke’s offense gained just 42 yards on its 15 first-half rushing attempts, and senior running back Jaquez Moore left the game with an ankle injury before reappearing on the sideline with a walking boot. Without Murphy throwing the ball all over the field, the microscope focused even harder on those shortcomings.
Unfortunately, Northwestern running back Cam Porter did not share those issues. The senior rattled off a 44-yard run on the Wildcats’ second play of the game and rumbled his way into the end zone in the second quarter to put his team back ahead 10-7. He finished the game with 93 yards and a pair of scores on 16 carries.
The Blue Devils hoped to come out swinging when they received the second-half kickoff, but fans were instead treated to one of the most bizarre sequences of the year. After a quick Duke three-and-out, Northwestern blocked the ensuing punt to give their offense ideal field position and a chance to make it a two-score game.
Instead, the Wildcats offense also went three-and-out before kicker Jack Olsen clanked one off the upright from 29 yards away to keep the game 10-7. Duke seemed to have new life, but Murphy threw an interception two plays later to give the ball right back to Northwestern.
Ball game, right? Well, not if the Wildcats fumbled the ball back to the Blue Devils three plays after that.
The excitement toned down quite a bit from there with both teams trading field goals before Duke kicker Todd Pelino lined up for a game-tying effort from 33 yards with two minutes left to play. On any other night, the reliable Blue Devil would be a sure bet to knock one that short one through the uprights, but he pushed it wide to the right to keep Duke down.
The Blue Devils managed to get the ball back for one final gasp, and they tied the game against all odds. Murphy drove the team down the field, missing a potential game-winning touchdown to Jordan Moore but still driving the Blue Devils down to the doorstep of the end zone.
Pelino trotted out for a 22-yard attempt, and this time, he split the uprights.
After the two offenses traded touchdowns in the first overtime period, Murphy found Pancol yet again for this third passing touchdown of the game in the second overtime period. The Blue Devils failed their 2-point conversion, but a fourth-down stop on the other end meant they didn’t need the points anyway.
Murphy put the team on his back in the second half, leaving the early conservative playbook behind. He finished the game with 242 yards through the air, completing 24 of 39 passes. He connected on 12 of his final 15 attempts, including all three in overtime, for the improbable comeback.
Duke improves to 2-0 for the season and now gets an extra day of rest before taking on Connecticut in Week 3, the Blue Devils’ first Saturday game of the year.