The past two weeks have resulted in two painful losses for Duke football fans.
The Blue Devils forced six turnovers against the SMU Mustangs in Durham, but a missed field goal in the fourth quarter and a blocked kick on the last play of regulation forced the game into overtime anyway. Duke went for a game-winning 2-point conversion in extra time, but the ball sailed one foot beyond the outstretched arms of wideout Eli Pancol for an incompletion.
Then on Saturday, the Blue Devils built a 28-17 lead over the undefeated Miami Hurricanes on the road after opening the second half with a touchdown. However, three late turnovers helped the Hurricanes score 35 second-half points and cruise to victory.
While the record books will only include two losses, head coach Manny Diaz fairly pointed out that the Blue Devils have given two top-25 teams all they could handle in an eight-day span.
“We showed that we can play toe to toe with anybody in the country,” Diaz said after the game. “That’s back-to-back games against ranked teams that are undefeated in our conference.”
The Hurricanes entered Week 10 as the No. 5 team in the US LBM Coaches Poll thanks to their 8-0 record, and the Mustangs moved up two spots to 20th after they left Wallace Wade Stadium with a win. Even in the Blue Devils’ third loss, a road defeat at the hands of Georgia Tech, Duke led by four points after three quarters.
The Blue Devils go toe to toe with NC State, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest for their final three games of the season.