Duke’s defense stole the show during Friday night’s victory over Florida State with four turnovers and six sacks to power a 23-16 win.
The Blue Devils beat the Florida State Seminoles for the first time ever on Friday night in Durham, emerging with a 23-16 victory thanks to an epic defensive performance.
Florida State entered Friday’s game as the worst offense in the ACC, and the miscues continued for the Seminoles in Durham.
In the final minutes of the opening quarter, FSU quarterback Brock Glenn tried to hit wideout Jalen Brown on a third-down out route, but Duke cornerback [autotag]Chandler Rivers[/autotag] jumped in front of the route like he’d heard the play call in the huddle. The junior defensive back easily made the 36-yard journey to the end zone, putting the Blue Devils ahead.
On the very next play, Glenn tried to scramble to his left, but Duke linebacker Ozzie Nicholas punched the ball out for a fumble, giving the Blue Devils the ball at the FSU 36-yard line and setting up another touchdown drive.
On Florida State’s next offensive play (yes, these all happened in a row), Glenn inexplicably threw a short pass directly to Nicholas for an interception, setting Duke up at the FSU 11-yard line after a strong return. Three plays, three turnovers, and the ensuing field goal stretched the lead to 14 points.
Florida State coach Mike Norvell yanked Glenn for true freshman Luke Kromenhoek after that last turnover, but the gaffes looked contagious. Wide receiver Kentron Poitier dropped a perfect 44-yard pass from the first-year quarterback in the end zone, and Hykeem Williams let a throw that would have put his team in field goal range clank off his hands with seconds left in the half.
Readers might notice the Duke offense hadn’t been mentioned yet in this story, and that’s for good reason. After seven combined first-half points against North Carolina and Georgia Tech, a bye week of preparation brought hope for a new-look scheme.
Instead, the Blue Devils punted on their first four drives and only gained 62 yards in the opening half at an average of 1.9 yards per play. The turnovers weren’t just giving Duke an advantage, they were literally keeping the offense afloat. For all of the mistakes listed above, Duke only led by 11 points at the midway point.
Well, four points after FSU’s Samuel Singleton Jr. outraced the Blue Devils kickoff team for a 95-yard touchdown on the first play of the third quarter. Now, despite being in complete control all night, Duke was left to stare at a 17-13 lead on the scoreboard.
With Duke clinging to a seven-point lead midway through the fourth quarter after some field goals, however, the defense came through once and for all. The Blue Devils forced another fumble, this time from true freshman running back Kam Davis, and defensive tackle Preston Watson (a true freshman in his own right) fell on the ball to give Duke the chance to salt the game away.
The offense, which only finished with 185 total yards, could only drain a few minutes off the clock, however. Florida State got the ball back at its own 40-yard line with 2:43 left on the clock and a chance to tie the game.
Instead, once again, Duke’s defense planted a flag. VJ Anthony and Wesley Williams harassed Glenn for the entire final drive, forcing multiple sacks before destroying the final fourth-and-24 play before it ever developed.
The Blue Devils finished with 11 tackles for loss and six sacks for the game, allowing only 291 yards and no offensive touchdowns. Williams and linebacker Alex Howard combined for 3.5 sacks just between the two of them.
Duke, now firmly in the postseason, improves to 6-1 for the year and 2-1 in conference play.
