Tag: SMU Mustangs

Three Duke players named to Pro Football Focus ACC Team of the Week for Week 9

Despite a close overtime loss to SMU in Week 9, three Duke Blue Devils were named to Pro Football Focus ACC Team of the Week.

Despite falling to the SMU Mustangs by one point in overtime this weekend, a handful of Duke football stars still shined bright. Included among them were the three players named to the Pro Football Focus ACC Team of the Week on Sunday.

Linebacker Tre Freeman III led the way on the National Team of the Week after he forced a fumble and picked off a pass. He finished with six total tackles, and his fourth-quarter interception set the Blue Devils up for a go-ahead field goal attempt. Wide receiver Eli Pancol and cornerback Chandler Rivers joined him on the conference squad.

Pancol caught 11 passes for 138 yards and one touchdown, including a 25-yard scoring grab in overtime when he won a contested catch over a Mustangs defensive back. He also snagged the game-tying 2-point conversion in the fourth quarter.

On Rivers’ side of things, the star cornerback had two solo tackles and two assisted tackles. Most notably, though, he made a diving interception in the final five minutes to give the offense a chance at victory in regulation. It marked two weeks in a row that Rivers snagged an interception after he returned one for a touchdown against the Florida State Seminoles in Week 8.

Duke linebacker Tre Freeman named to Pro Football Focus National Team of the Week

Duke linebacker Tre Freeman made the PFF National Team of the Week on Sunday after he finished with six tackles and an interception.

Duke fell to the SMU Mustangs 28-27 in overtime during Week 9 of the college football season, but several Blue Devils shined to help the team come within a play of the upset. Most notably, linebacker Tre Freeman was named to the Pro Football Focus National Team of the Week on Sunday.

The junior recorded six total tackles, two solo and four assisted, against the Mustangs. He contributed to Duke’s six turnovers twice, forcing a fumble near the end of the first half before intercepting a cross-body throw from SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings in the final 10 minutes of the fourth quarter. The latter takeaway set up the offense in Mustangs territory, and if not for a missed 42-yard field goal, it would have provided Duke with the winning margin.

Freeman joined Liberty’s Joseph Carter as one of two linebackers on the national team. Freeman also, inherently, made the ACC Team of the Week for the same position. North Carolina Tar Heels edge rusher Kaimon Rucker was the only other ACC defensive player to make the national list.

Through eight games this season, Freeman has recorded 50 tackles (25 solo, 25 assisted), 3.0 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, two interceptions, one pass deflection, and one forced fumble.

Duke offensive coordinator says 2-point attempt vs SMU came within one foot of working

Duke offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer confirmed what fans saw with their own eyes on Saturday: the 2-point play was almost perfect.

In case any Duke football fans needed a reminder of how close the Blue Devils came to upsetting the SMU Mustangs on Saturday night, offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer made the margin very clear during his Monday press conference.

Brewer said he and the offense worked on the play design for the climactic 2-point attempt as early as the third day of offseason practice. Eli Pancol, who caught a 25-yard touchdown pass on the previous play to set up the conversion, and tight end Jake Taylor ran a mesh concept, running crossing routes at each other from opposite sides of the field in hopes of getting at least one defender lost in the traffic.

“It’s pretty much what you would want to call versus a man coverage,” Brewer said. “We just didn’t execute. We didn’t have guys rub the mesh the right way and set up the mesh the right way.”

Murphy, who needed to scramble to his right after the SMU defensive line broke into the pocket, tried to find Pancol, but with Mustangs cornerback Jaelyn Davis-Robinson running with the wideout in stride, the ball sailed just past Pancol’s reach for an incompletion.

“It’s those details, those small details, that come back to haunt you because it’s the difference between probably about a foot. If he (Pancol) has a foot of separation between the defender and himself, he probably catches the ball and we win the game.”

Brewer, in his first year at the helm of the Duke offense, made it very clear which party deserves any blame for the mistake.

“It’s one of those things that showed up earlier in the game and we didn’t get it corrected,” he continued. “And that’s on us as coaches.”

Duke football coach Manny Diaz wants the Blue Devils to focus on mistakes after SMU loss

Manny Diaz said on Monday that he wanted the Duke football team to focus on self-inflicted errors from the SMU loss rather than bad luck.

For a sport played on a massive field, it’s funny how often football games get settled by a matter of inches.

Duke came within one play of beating the ranked SMU Mustangs multiple times on Saturday night, and a few bad breaks got in the way of their upset effort. The Blue Devils’ 30-yard field goal attempt on the last play of regulation, which would have won the game, got blocked when Mustangs defensive end Jahfari Harvey jumped over the line and got his hand up in time.

Duke later opted for a 2-point conversion attempt on the first overtime possession, and quarterback Maalik Murphy’s pass to Eli Pancol sailed by for an incompletion. A replay angle on the broadcast showed more contact from SMU defensive back Jaelyn Davis-Robinson than fans would have liked.

Just don’t expect Duke head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] to blame the loss on either of those two plays.

“You should never rationalize away a loss,” Diaz said during his Monday press conference. “Because what’ll happen is, given the unusual set of circumstances that happened on Saturday night, you’ll try to find something that’s outside of your control as to why you lost.”

Diaz, who was hired by the Blue Devils this offseason after spending 2022-23 as the Penn State Nittany Lions defensive coordinator, said the film showed mistakes from the offense, defense, and special teams that could have changed the outcome.

“Everyone who had a role in the game on Saturday night could have played better and could have ensured our victory,” Diaz said. “That’s us taking accountability, that’s us taking control.”

Duke football completely drops from AP Poll after overtime loss to SMU

The Duke Blue Devils didn’t receive a vote in Sunday’s updated AP Poll after their 28-27 loss to the SMU Mustangs.

After a brief appearance with a few votes last week, the Duke Blue Devils were nowhere to be found in the updated AP Poll on Sunday.

Duke fell behind the SMU Mustangs by 14 points midway through the third quarter on Saturday night, but a pair of touchdown passes from quarterback Maalik Murphy tied the game with less than ten minutes remaining. Despite the defense intercepting SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings twice and forcing another fumble on the closing three possessions, part of a six-turnover day for the Blue Devils, two missed field goals doomed Duke to overtime.

Kicker Todd Pelino actually had a 30-yard attempt to win the game in the final three seconds, but Mustangs defensive end Jahfari Harvey jumped over the line and got his hand up for a deflection. Murphy threw another touchdown in overtime, but a failed 2-point conversion ended the upset effort.

SMU moved up two spots to 20th as they remained one of four ACC teams in the rankings. The Miami Hurricanes broke into the top five after their 36-14 victory over the Florida State Seminoles, and the Clemson Tigers (11th) and Pittsburgh Panthers (18th) also appeared.

The Oregon Ducks, Georgia Bulldogs, Penn State Nittany Lions, and Ohio State Buckeyes remained the top four teams in order.

Duke still receives votes in US LBM Coaches Poll despite Week 9 loss to SMU

Despite Saturday’s last-second loss to the SMU Mustangs, Duke football still received a few votes in the US LBM Coaches Poll after Week 9.

USA TODAY Sports released the updated US LBM Coaches Poll on Sunday, and the Duke Blue Devils (6-2, 2-2) clung to a spot in the Receiving Votes section despite their overtime loss to the SMU Mustangs.

Duke received three votes, putting the team in an unofficial tie for 33rd with the Virginia Tech Hokies and Arkansas Razorbacks.

The Blue Devils had a 30-yard field goal attempt on the final play of regulation that would have won them the game against SMU, but Mustangs defensive end Jahfari Harvey broke through the line for a game-saving deflection. After exchanging touchdowns during the first overtime period, head coach Manny Diaz opted to go for a potential winning 2-point conversion, but quarterback Maalik Murphy’s pass sailed past Eli Pancol’s outstretched arms.

SMU also entered Saturday’s game with a 6-1 record, and the Mustangs moved up two spots to 20th in a tough reminder of what could have been for Duke.

The Miami Hurricanes, still undefeated through eight games, remained in the No. 5 spot as the top-ranked ACC team in the poll. The Clemson Tigers shuffled up one spot to eighth on a bye week, and the undefeated Pittsburgh Panthers bumped up three spots to 17th after a blowout win over Syracuse.

Check out the complete US LBM Coaches Poll below:

Rank Team Record Points
1 Oregon Ducks 8-0 1,349 (53)
2 Georgia Bulldogs 6-1 1,270 (1)
3 Penn State Nittany Lions 7-0 1,239
4 Ohio State Buckeyes 6-1 1,160
5 Miami Hurricanes 7-1 1,136
6 Texas Longhorns 7-1 1,096
7 Tennessee Volunteers 6-1 987
8 Clemson Tigers 6-1 942
9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 7-1 853
10 Iowa State Cyclones 7-0 846
11 Texas A&M Aggies 7-1 806
12 BYU Cougars 8-0 786
13 Indiana Hoosiers 8-0 741
14 Alabama Crimson Tide 6-2 619
15 Kansas State Wildcats 7-1 533
16 LSU Tigers 6-2 530
17 Pittsburgh Panthers 7-0 495
18 Ole Miss Rebels 6-2 475
19 Boise State Broncos 6-1 459
20 SMU Mustangs 7-1 346
21 Army Black Knights 7-0 278
22 Washington State Cougars 7-1 160
23 Missouri Tigers 6-2 114
24 Illinois Fighting Illini 6-2 89
25 Memphis Tigers 7-1 76

Dropped Out

No. 24 Navy; No. 25 Vanderbilt

Receiving Votes

Colorado 75; Tulane 27; Louisiana 14; Vanderbilt 13; Navy 10; UNLV 7; Arizona State 5; Virginia Tech 3; Duke 3; Arkansas 3; Louisville 2; James Madison 2; Michigan 1

North Carolina jumps back ahead of Duke football in the ESPN FPI rankings after Week 9

A dreaded in-state rival moved back ahead of Duke in the ESPN Football Power Index on Sunday despite a worse record and a head-to-head loss.

The ESPN Football Power Index remains a slightly fickle beast.

One week after the Blue Devils dropped a spot by beating the Florida State Seminoles, Duke actually moved up four spots to 60th in the site’s national rankings on Sunday after an overtime loss to the SMU Mustangs.

Yes, the movement makes sense when fans account for the respective opponents. Florida State lost to Miami by 22 points on Saturday to drop to 1-7 for the season while the Mustangs, now 7-1 for the year and undefeated in ACC play, control their own destiny within the conference. The comparison is just funny to point out.

One could actually argue that ESPN Analytics is being a little stingy by only moving Duke up four spots. The Mustangs stood tight at No. 16 despite giving the ball to the Blue Devils six different times and relying upon a blocked field goal on the final play of regulation.

Either way, Duke’s tiny boost moves the Blue Devils to 11th among ACC teams. In a small bit of injustice, the North Carolina Tar Heels, who are 4-4 for the season after notably blowing a 20-point in Durham, jumped 12 spots to 57th because of their blowout victory over the Virginia Cavaliers.

The Hurricanes (10th) and the Clemson Tigers (13th) remain in line for a showdown in the conference title game with potential College Football Playoff appearances in store. The Mustangs and Louisville Cardinals (17th) are the only other ACC teams within the top 25 of the ESPN rankings.

Duke football coach Manny Diaz expresses faith in kicker Todd Pelino after rough SMU game

Todd Pelino missed twice and had another kick blocked in Duke’s overtime loss to SMU, but Manny Diaz still sounded confident in his kicker.

Duke kicker Todd Pelino has seen better days in the office than Saturday’s loss to the SMU Mustangs.

The third-year kicker missed an extra point in the third quarter and a 42-yard field goal attempt in the fourth before his 30-yard effort got blocked on the final play of regulation. The game-saving deflection from SMU defensive end Jahfari Harvey sent the game to overtime, and the Blue Devils eventually lost after a 2-point conversion attempt fell incomplete during the first overtime possession.

While it’s easy to draw a line between six potential points missed and an overtime loss, Duke head coach Manny Diaz emphasized how confident he remains in his kicker after the game.

“The only assessment I will make is that I trust Todd Pelino,” Diaz said. “I believe in Todd Pelino…I would feel very comfortable putting him in that situation. I believe he would knock it right through the pipes.”

Pelino made seven of his first eight field-goal attempts to start the season, including a 53-yarder against Connecticut in Week 3, but he’s missed four of his seven tries over the last four games. The break in that streak, however, came when he went three-for-three in a six-point victory over the Florida State Seminoles last week.

“It’s unfair to Todd because he has had a great career here,” Diaz continued. “He’s going to finish and he’s going to come back from this, just like everyone else on our team will. I would back him to make that kick 100 times out of 100.”

ESPN gave Duke more than a 90% chance to beat SMU with three seconds left

ESPN didn’t quite think Duke’s game against SMU was over with three seconds left, but it was pretty close.

Football games are exactly 60 minutes long for good reason, but for 59 minutes and 57 seconds on Saturday night, the Duke Blue Devils looked like they’d added a ranked victory to their resume.

With three seconds left on the clock, head coach Manny Diaz and the Blue Devils appeared to have No. 22 SMU on the ropes. After a third consecutive turnover from Mustangs quarterback Kevin Jennings, Duke had the ball at the 13-yard line in a tie game with one play left in regulation.

Despite kicker Todd Pelino missing an extra point and a field goal earlier in the game, ESPN’s win probability tracker gave the Blue Devils a 90.6% chance to walk away with a win. More than nine times out of 10, everything goes to plan, and the students in Durham celebrate once again.

Instead, SMU defensive end Jahfari Harvey lept over the Duke offensive line and got his hand up in the air, blocking Pelino’s winning effort and forcing the game into overtime. And, well, Blue Devils fans know the rest.

Duke football became the second team to ever do this on Saturday night

Duke football lost to SMU on Saturday night despite forcing six turnovers, putting the Blue Devils in some unfortunate historical company.

The Duke Blue Devils lost to SMU in overtime on Saturday night despite creating six turnovers, and historical precedent makes that statistic somehow feel worse than it already sounds.

According to OptaSTATS, the Mustangs became the second team since 2000 to win despite turning the ball over six more times than their opponent. The only other occurrence came in 2011 when Memphis lost to Marshall.

In fact, according to The Athletic’s Matt Baker, teams with six giveaways in a game had only won 31 times since the turn of the century no matter what the final turnover margin was. That is, until Saturday’s misfortunate at Wallace Wade Stadium.

Mustangs quarterback Kevin Jennings ended the game with three interceptions and two fumbles lost, including a turnover within five yards of the end zone on his opening drive. His last three turnovers all came in his own territory with the score tied during the final nine minutes of regulation, but two missed field goals (one blocked, one pulled left) from Duke kicker Todd Pelino meant Jennings got away unscathed each time.

The Blue Devils didn’t score a point on any of their six possessions created by turnovers despite five of them coming within 60 yards of the goal line.