Tag: jordan moore

Why has the Duke offense stopped throwing to wideout Jordan Moore?

Jordan Moore, Duke’s star wide receiver, finished with 23 yards on Saturday, the second time in three games he’s failed to reach 50.

Just 22 days ago, Duke wide receiver [autotag]Jordan Moore[/autotag] looked like a runaway freight train.

The senior put up back-to-back 100-yard games to start the season, catching seven passes for 112 yards against Elon before adding 11 catches for 121 yards and a touchdown against Northwestern. He gained 47 of Duke’s 50 overtime yards against the Wildcats, including a 25-yard score on the first possession that kept the comeback alive.

Through the first six minutes of Week 3 against the Connecticut Huskies, Moore looked destined to chase down the single-season school record. He hauled in a 45-yard pass and a four-yard touchdown on Duke’s first offensive possession, giving him 20 receptions for 282 yards and two scores already for the season.

In the three games, three quarters, and 10 minutes since that touchdown, Moore has only caught 10 passes for 161 yards.

He looked shaken up after an awkward landing late in the game against the Huskies, briefly heading to the sidelines, and that likely explained his one catch against Middle Tennessee the following week.

However, during Duke’s 20-point comeback against the North Carolina Tar Heels in Week 5, the star wideout only caught four passes (although he turned one of them into a 43-yard chunk play). And against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Saturday, quarterback Maalik Murphy only targeted him twice during a stagnant first half.

Even with an eye-popping one-handed catch in the fourth quarter, Moore ended the game with two catches for 23 yards. It’s his fourth straight game with fewer than 100 receiving yards, and the second time in three games he’s finished with fewer than 40.

I won’t sit here and pretend not to understand Moore’s role in the offense over the past few games. He’s a smooth route runner who demands the eyes of multiple defensive backs in coverage, so it’s easy to understand why offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer consistently wants him pushing the field and creating space underneath.

That doesn’t mean the offense should simply accept the idea of him being limited. Georgia Tech brought two star wideouts to Saturday’s game, Malik Rutherford and Eric Singleton Jr. Instead of capitalizing on attention elsewhere, however, quarterback Haynes King targeted them on 17 of his 31 attempts, and that duo finished with 118 of the team’s 167 yards through the air.

The Blue Devils threw for two yards on four attempts in Saturday’s first quarter, and Murphy started the North Carolina game 7/20 for 60 yards. Maybe that fall against Connecticut shook Moore up more than we realized, and maybe other hits have the senior operating at less than 100%. But the passing attack still takes time to shake off cobwebs every week, and it’s getting harder and harder to think Moore’s ability to create space for others is more valuable than the damage he can do with the ball in his hands.

It’s no secret that the Duke offense is putting too much pressure on the defense right now. The Blue Devils fell behind by double digits in each of its last two games and needed a fourth-quarter comeback against the Huskies. It’s hard not to feel like the biggest change to make is also the most obvious.

Duke wideout Jordan Moore could lead the ACC in all three receiving categories

Through five games, Duke receiver Jordan Moore remains a serious candidate to lead the ACC in receptions, yards, and touchdowns.

Through five games of the college football season, Duke receiver [autotag]Jordan Moore[/autotag] looks like a realistic candidate for the triple crown among ACC wideouts.

Moore has caught 28 passes for 420 yards and three touchdowns through Week 5, boosted by back-to-back 100-yard performances to start the season. Those numbers leave him third, second, and tied for seventh among conference wideouts in each category, and he’s narrowly behind the frontrunners in each statistic.

NC State’s Kevin Concepcion leads the ACC with 31 receptions, only three more than Moore, and Miami’s Xavier Restrepo has 422 yards, only two more than Moore. No player in the conference has more than five receiving touchdowns.

Moore caught four passes for 80 yards against the North Carolina Tar Heels last Saturday, highlighted by a spectacular catch that picked up 43 yards during Duke’s second touchdown drive. Even after an awkward landing on a jump ball against the Connecticut Huskies in Week 3 seemed to slow him down against Middle Tennessee, the senior still amassed 187 yards on 10 receptions over the past three games.

The last Blue Devils wideout who finished with 1,000 yards in a single season was Jamison Crowder, who did so for the third consecutive year in 2014. Moore’s current pace would give him 1,008 receiving yards by the end of the regular season.

Duke didn’t play Georgia Tech in 2023, but the last time Moore faced off against his Week 6 opponent, he caught three passes for 22 yards in his first season as a receiver.

Duke star wide receiver Jordan Moore among semifinalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy

Jordan Moore made the William V. Campbell Award semifinalist list, which honors the best combination of athletic and academic success.

The William V. Campbell Trophy semifinalists were announced on Wednesday morning, and Duke football star [autotag]Jordan Moore[/autotag] was among the 203 players nominated for the prestigious award.

The Campbell Trophy is meant to reward the college football player who best combines academic and athletic success, as well as work within their locker room and community.

Blue Devils fans know Moore qualifies for the on-field portion of the award. The senior receiver leads the Blue Devils with 24 receptions and 340 yards so far in 2024 after back-to-back 100-yard games to start the season, and he’s within the top four in the ACC in both categories.

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The Blue Devils haven’t had a 1,000-yard receiver since Jamison Crowder in 2014, but Moore looks well on his way to accomplishing that feat. He’d need to average 82.5 yards per game over the rest of the regular season to reach quadruple digits.

Moore gets to play the North Carolina Tar Heels at home on Saturday, a team he shredded in Chapel Hill last year. He caught six passes for 88 yards and a career-high three touchdowns.

If Duke football wants to beat North Carolina again, it’s now or never

The Duke Blue Devils haven’t beaten North Carolina on the football field since 2018, but they’ll never have a better chance than Saturday.

The Duke football team hasn’t beaten the North Carolina Tar Heels in five years, but the Blue Devils have an ideal chance to shift the power balance in Wallace Wade Stadium on Saturday.

Legendary head coach Mack Brown took over the UNC program in 2019, and Duke has lost to him in each game since.

The recent trend gets even more frustrating upon closer examination with three of those losses coming by three points or fewer. The Blue Devils took North Carolina all the way to double overtime in Chapel Hill last fall before a failed two-point conversion foiled the upset bid.

On Saturday, however, Duke looked much steadier than its in-state counterpoint. The Blue Devils walloped Middle Tennessee 45-17 thanks to three first-half fumbles while UNC gave up 53 first-half points in a stunning upset at the hands of James Madison.

Brown apparently even asked his players if he should step away from the team after the 70-50 loss, a comment he clarified did not mean he was on the brink of retirement but seems to indicate some instability in the locker room.

Even besides the general form, North Carolina looks like it’s missing something critical from the last five seasons: an NFL talent at quarterback.

Sam Howell started for the Tar Heels from 2019-21, throwing for more than 10,000 yards and 92 touchdowns in his three years at the helm. He threw for at least 220 yards with multiple touchdowns in all three games against the Blue Devils, culminating in a 321-yard, three-touchdown game in 2021.

Drake Maye followed in his footsteps and somehow looked even better. The 6-foot-4 slinger threw for 4,321 yards and 38 touchdowns in his first season as a starter, and he finished with 364 total yards and three touchdowns in last year’s overtime thriller.

Howell ended up as a fifth-round NFL draft pick, playing 18 games for the Washington Commanders between 2022-23, while Maye went to the New England Patriots with the third overall pick earlier this year. Between their five starts against Duke, the duo completed 61.4% of their passes at a staggering 9.06 yards per attempt, averaging more than 300 passing yards per game with 15 total touchdowns against just four interceptions.

UNC quarterback Jacolby Criswell threw for 475 yards and three touchdowns against the Dukes on Saturday, but he also tossed two interceptions. He seems to have won the job after sophomore Conner Harrell started against Charlotte in Week 2, but the Tar Heels split time between them against NC Central in Week 3. That’s three different approaches to the quarterback position in three weeks.

Combine that with a Duke pass defense allowing 4.2 yards per attempt with more interceptions than touchdowns allowed through four games, and the Blue Devils should have the blueprint to make UNC one-dimensional. Granted, that’s still a great dimension with running back Omarion Hampton, but it’s better than the exhausting effort of defending Maye and Howell for the last half-decade.

The passing advantage extends to the other side of the ball as well. UNC has given up at least 300 yards through the air in two of its first four games. James Madison’s 388 yards and five touchdowns were an aberration, but the Charlotte 49ers threw for 309 yards and two scores against this secondary.

Through four weeks, Duke ranks second in the ACC in pass attempts per game with 36.0. First-year starter [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] has thrown 11 touchdowns in his first 16 quarters with the team, the third-most in the conference so far this season, and senior wideout [autotag]Jordan Moore[/autotag] is within the top five in catches (24) and yards (340) despite a quiet game against MTSU.

Between the general vibes around this UNC program after last week and a vulnerable pass defense playing into Duke’s strengths, it’s no wonder the Blue Devils opened as 3-point favorites on Monday. However, those advantages bring expectations, and there’s no reason for head coach Manny Diaz to not get off to a 5-0 start.

Duke kicks off against the Tar Heels at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday, and Blue Devils fans can watch their team try to make a statement on ESPN2.

The best photos from Duke football’s Week 4 victory over Middle Tennessee

Check out the best photos from Duke’s delayed 45-17 victory over Middle Tennessee on Saturday.

The Duke Blue Devils won yet again on Saturday, this time with their most dominant performance yet.

Duke beat Middle Tennessee 45-17 on the road thanks to a commanding game from the defense. The Blue Devils forced four turnovers on their opponent’s side of the field, including three fumbles in the first 15 minutes, and finished with six sacks and 12 tackles for loss. Once sack yardage is factored in, the Blue Raiders only managed 87 net passing yards on 41 plays.

Maalik Murphy, the former Texas Longhorn and first-year Duke starter, did not struggle in a similar fashion. He finished Week 4 with 216 passing yards and three touchdowns, his third straight game with three scoring passes. Tight end Nicky Dalmolin started the game with a 71-yard catch-and-run into the end zone, part of a 100-yard, two-touchdown game for the graduate student.

Here are the best photos of the Blue Devils from their third win of the season.

Can Duke’s deep passing attack finally come together in Week 4?

The Duke offense talked all season about wanting to attack downfield in 2024, and the Blue Devils have certainly tried through three games.

First-year Duke offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer did warn everyone, to be fair.

The Blue Devils said all offseason that they wanted to move quickly and throw the ball aggressively, and that game plan always included plenty of deep passes.

According to Pro Football Focus tracking, quarterback [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] has thrown 24 passes more than 20 yards downfield through the first three games of the season. Not only is that the most in the ACC, but Wake Forest’s Hank Bachmeier is the only other quarterback with 20 such attempts.

However, despite the frequency of those shots, the Blue Devils remain on different pages. Murphy only connected six of those 24 passes for a 25% completion percentage. Of the 14 quarterbacks in the conference with 10 deep attempts, only Stanford’s Ashton Daniels (20%) has been worse.

The end result is a deep passing game averaging 8.0 yards per attempt, the third-worst mark in the ACC.

The blame doesn’t entirely lie on Murphy for that inefficiency. Most of his throws end up only missing their mark by a yard or two, which could just as easily be a tracking issue with the wide receivers. He’s bounced countless balls off of the outstretched fingers of his teammates, showing that the difference between those previous stats and some truly gaudy numbers is minuscule.

However, ACC play grows closer by the week, and the Duke offense still hasn’t made tangible progress toward precision. Murphy found Jordan Moore for a 45-yard gain on the opening possession against Connecticut, and Eli Pancol broke free for a 36-yard touchdown in the second quarter against the Huskies. But UConn erased that 17-point lead last Saturday partially because the accuracy issues reared their head again in the third quarter, slowing the Duke offense to a halt.

Moore and Murphy have looked a little disconnected at times, but part of the problem could be the lack of other deep threats on the roster. Outside of Pancol’s 36-yard score against the Huskies, Murphy has completed one of six deep attempts. Moore, conversely, has been targeted 13 times.

Duke travels to Middle Tennessee for its final non-conference tune-up of the year, and the Blue Raiders have given up more than 380 yards per game through the air. That’s such a ridiculous total that only one other FBS team sits within 50 years of MTSU right now.

If the Blue Devils look choppy again down the field, it’s time for some new approaches in practice before a home game against the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Duke wide receiver Jordan Moore leads the ACC in receiving yards through Week 3

Despite a quiet second half against Connecticut on Saturday, Duke’s Jordan Moore leads the ACC in receiving yards through Week 3.

Through three weeks of the 2024 college football season, no ACC wide receiver has more yards than [autotag]Jordan Moore[/autotag].

The Blue Devils star is the only player in the conference with more than 300 yards this season after he caught 23 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns, including a 73-yard game against the Huskies over the weekend.

The senior looked like he was on pace for a torrential season when, after two 100-yard performances to start the campaign, he hauled in a 45-yard catch on Duke’s first passing play against UConn. He caught a touchdown later on that drive but only managed three receptions for 24 yards over the rest of the game. He finished with 112 yards against Elon and 121 yards against Northwestern.

Moore seems destined to become Duke’s first 1,000-yard receiver since 2014, and he even has a chance to break the single-season school record. He’d need to average 117.1 yards per game over the rest of the regular season to surpass Jamison Crowder’s 1,360-yard season.

Where does Duke wide receiver Jordan Moore stand on his record chase after Week 3?

Duke wideout Jordan Moore was on pace to break the school record for receiving yards through two games. Where does he stand after Week 3?

Duke wide receiver [autotag]Jordan Moore[/autotag]’s chances to break the school’s single-season receiving yardage record took a small hit against Connecticut on Saturday.

After the senior racked up 233 yards through the first two games of the season, he seemed poised for his third straight 100-yard performance after the opening drive. He hauled in a 45-yard reception on the Duke’s first pass attempt and added an impressive catch for a four-yard touchdown to cap off the drive.

He only caught three passes for 24 yards throughout the rest of the game, however, ending with a season-low 73 yards for the night.

Moore now sits at 306 receiving yards through three games. That puts him on a 12-game pace of 1,224 yards, falling behind Jamison Crowder’s program record of 1,360 (set in 2013). Moore’s 23 receptions also put him on track for 92, well behind Crowder’s record of 108.

The former quarterback would be second in Duke history in both categories at that pace, but his first two games had him ahead of schedule for challenging Crowder’s marks. If Duke makes a bowl game and Moore elects to play, that 13th game bumps his pace to 100 receptions and 1,326 yards, still behind both records.

Moore also briefly exited the game early in the fourth quarter after a contested catch effort led to an awkward landing. He looked to be carrying his right arm gingerly as he jogged off the field, but he made his way back into the game later. Head coach Manny Diaz said nothing about his status afterward, so it appears that he won’t miss time. Should he be limited moving forward, however, his chances to break Crowder’s record get even smaller.

The Duke star will need to average 117.1 yards per game if he hopes to catch Crowder by the end of the regular season.

Duke wide receiver Que’Sean Brown didn’t surprise the Blue Devils with his breakout game

Redshirt freshman Que’Sean Brown broke out with 11 catches for 87 yards against Connecticut, and the Blue Devils were completely unsurprised.

Most Duke football fans at Wallace Wade Stadium probably didn’t expect redshirt freshman Que’Sean Brown to lead the Blue Devils in every receiving category against Connecticut on Saturday, but his teammates and coaches were not among those surprised.

Brown caught 11 passes for 87 yards against the Huskies, and he reeled in his first touchdown of the season on a 20-yard go-ahead score in the fourth quarter. He made an impressive play on the ball there, too, spinning around to play the back-shoulder pass perfectly.

“It was one-on-one coverage,” Brown said after the game. “They (Duke’s coaches) said, ‘If they ever play you in man coverage, it’s disrespect, take advantage of that.'”

The Winston-Salem native, who stands 5-foot-8, also converted a key third down on Duke’s final drive. He found an opening for a 13-yard gain on third-and-7, moving the chains on a drive that saw the Blue Devils waste the final six minutes of clock.

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Diaz made a point to emphasize that Brown’s coaches and teammates have seen this player all offseason.

“If you ask anybody on our roster, they would tell you they saw that all August in training camp,” Diaz said. “He just started making play after play as he got comfortable in the offense…Just talking to the kids on defense, if you ask them, they felt like he was one of the hardest guys to cover on our team.”

Many of Brown’s receptions came near the line of scrimmage, taking advantage of his speed and agility to make tacklers miss for more yards. He credited his father for the mentality he brings as a ball carrier.

“My dad said, ‘Every time you get the ball, you should want to score a touchdown,'” Brown said after the game. “So with that mindset, it’s like, I’m not going to let this first guy tackle me…I just have that mindset, every time I get the ball that I’m trying to score a touchdown.”

The moments Duke turned to Brown further emphasized the team’s faith in him. Eight of his receptions came after halftime, and seven of them came on second or third down.

[autotag]Jordan Moore[/autotag] remains a candidate for the school’s single-season school receiving record, and sixth-year wideout [autotag]Eli Pancol[/autotag] caught his team-leading fourth touchdown pass against the Huskies, but Brown has clearly emerged as a steady contributor to the offense.

Duke survives second-half upset alert in Week 3 victory over Connecticut

The Blue Devils surrendered a 17-point lead against Connecticut on Saturday night, but Duke clawed back for a third straight win.

Duke football fans likely wanted a more comfortable fourth quarter and margin of victory, but head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] and his team took care of business for a third consecutive week in a 26-21 victory over the Connecticut Huskies on Saturday.

The Blue Devils offense took advantage of a vulnerable Connecticut secondary from the opening play. The Huskies entered Week 3 allowing 8.6 yards per attempt through the air, and Duke quarterback [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] found star wideout Jordan Moore for a 45-yard gain on his first attempt to show that the Blue Devils had every intention of attacking downfield.

Duke marched 92 yards in nine plays on that opening possession, and Murphy found Moore again in the end zone for the first touchdown of the game.

The former Texas Longhorn found Eli Pancol for another score midway through the second quarter, a 36-yard teardrop that put the Blue Devils ahead 17-0. After Murphy completed 17 of his final 23 passes against Northwestern to end Week 2, he completed 14 of his 20 first-half attempts against the Huskies for 152 yards and two touchdowns.

Connecticut did eventually get on the board with a fluky pick-six against Murphy, a deflection that landed perfectly in the hands of defensive lineman Langston Hardy, but it seemed like an unfortunate break in the midst of a blowout at the time.

However, the Duke offense stalled to start the second half. Murphy whiffed on a deep ball to Moore, and the Blue Devils punted on the first two drives after the break.

Connecticut quarterback Nick Evers capitalized on the opportunity, leading two touchdown drives to pull his team ahead 21-17. Evers, who started his career with the Oklahoma Sooners and Wisconsin Badgers completed his first five second-half passes for 76 yards and ran for 29 more between the two scoring possessions.

In 10 minutes and 29 seconds of game time, Duke’s 17-point lead completely evaporated.

The defense did its job again the rest of the way, however. UConn’s offense only gained 20 yards on the three drives after they took the lead, only converting a single first down.

The biggest play came after Duke kicked a field goal to move within a point. The pass rush forced a weak deep ball from Evers on third down, and safety Terry Moore perfectly undercut the pass for his second interception of the season.

On the ensuing drive after Moore’s turnover, Murphy summoned his best throw of the season when he perfectly placed a back-shoulder ball to Que’Sean Brown for the go-ahead touchdown.

The 20-yard dart gave Murphy his third touchdown pass of the night, and the Blue Devils passer ended the night with 267 passing yards, but Brown was the real story of the night. The redshirt freshman caught a team-leading 11 passes for 87 yards, most critically on a third-down conversion in the final minutes to help ice the game.

The Huskies didn’t score in the final quarter, missing a 48-yard field goal attempt to pull within two in the final six minutes and never getting the ball back.

The Blue Devils move to 3-0 under Diaz, the second time in school history that a Duke coach won his first three games with the program. Murphy and the team will travel to Middle Tennessee for its final game before conference play next Saturday.