Tag: Todd Pelino

Duke kicker Todd Pelino uses ‘short memory’ to help win the NC State game

Just two weeks after he missed three kicks against SMU, Duke’s Todd Pelino played a key role in Saturday’s 29-19 victory over NC State.

Two weeks ago, Duke kicker [autotag]Todd Pelino[/autotag] experienced one of the worst feelings possible for his position.

The Blue Devils lost to a ranked SMU team in overtime after Pelino went 1/4 for the game. The third-year kicker missed an extra point, pulled a field goal attempt in the fourth quarter, and had a 30-yarder blocked on the final play of regulation during a game that needed extra time to decide.

Despite the performance, head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] never sounded anything other than confident in his kicker.

“I believe in Todd Pelino,” Diaz said after the game. “I would feel very comfortable putting him in that situation. I believe he would knock it right through the pipes.”

Well, wish granted and vision fulfilled during Saturday’s victory over the NC State Wolfpack. Pelino made all three of his extra-point efforts and made field goals of 50 and 49 yards during the 10-point win.

The first of those two kicks ensured the Blue Devils would score points after an early fumble, and the second made it a two-score game with 2:06 left to play. A miss would have set the Wolfpack up about 60 yards from the end zone with only seven points to make up, but Pelino instead knocked it through to effectively end the game.

“To play that position, you have to have a short memory,” Diaz said after Saturday’s win. “I’ve got 100% confidence, and our team does, in Todd and his ability, and we needed him tonight.”

Pelino is now 13/18 on the year, giving him a career percentage of 81.3%, with 27 conversions on his 28 extra-point attempts in 2024.

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.

Manny Diaz explains his decision to go for two in overtime against SMU

Read what Duke football coach Manny Diaz had to say about his choice to go for the 2-point conversion in overtime against SMU.

The Blue Devils ultimately came up empty on their potential game-winning 2-point conversion attempt against the SMU Mustangs in overtime on Saturday, but Duke head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] doesn’t have any doubts about the decision to go.

After the loss, Diaz expanded upon his decision to forgo a game-tying extra-point attempt. He explained that, since the offense would get the ball first in the second overtime period with a mandatory 2-point conversion attempt if they reached the end zone, he wanted the chance to walk off into the night with a victory.

“If you’ve got a chance to win the game in the bottom of the first inning, to me, you do it,” Diaz said. “You’re going to have to make a 2-point conversion in the game.”

Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy had thrown for 295 yards and three touchdowns, including a 25-yard strike to wideout Eli Pancol on the Blue Devils’ first play of overtime, and he and Pancol converted a 2-point attempt to tie the game earlier in the fourth quarter. Between that and the team’s three missed kicks in the second half (two field goals and an extra point), the choice still seemed obvious to Diaz.

“We liked the play we had,” Diaz said. “We thought we had a chance to get it and were just a couple inches away.”

The best Duke football photos from Saturday’s overtime loss to SMU

Check out the best photos from Duke’s Saturday night game against the SMU Mustangs.

The Duke Blue Devils came within one play of something exceptional on Saturday night.

After six wins in his first seven games as the Duke head coach, [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] welcomed the No. 22 SMU Mustangs, his former assistant Rhett Lashlee, to Durham for a Week 9 battle set to reshape the conference championship race.

Despite falling behind by 14 points late in the third quarter, the Blue Devils tied the game and took possession across midfield with a chance to take the lead three different times in the final nine minutes. Quarterback [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] threw for a career-high 295 yards, including 11 completions for 138 yards to senior receiver Eli Pancol.

Instead, two empty field goal attempts (one missed and the other blocked) resulted in a trip to overtime, and a failed 2-point conversion kept Diaz from a seventh win in his debut season.

Here are the best photos from the Week 9 battle at Wallace Wade Stadium.

Duke kicker Todd Pelino named to Lou Groza Award Watch List ahead of 2024 season

After making 26 of his 32 field-goal attempts over the last two years, Blue Devils kicker Todd Pelino made the Lou Groza Award watch list.

The 2024 Lou Groza Award watch list came out on Friday, and Duke kicker Todd Pelino finished as one of 30 names to keep an eye on.

The award recognizes the best placekicker in college football every season, and given Pelino’s resume over the last two years, it’s easy to see why he was selected. The junior has made 26 of his 32 field-goal attempts throughout his career, including 18 of his 23 tries last season. He’s also split the uprights on all 61 of his career extra-point attempts, and he’s made two field goals of 50 yards or longer.

Pelino made three field goals in two different games last season, managing that feat against Pittsburgh and in the Birmingham Bowl against Troy.

Six other ACC kickers made the watch list as well, including North Carolina‘s Noah Burnette, Florida State‘s Ryan Fitzgerald, Miami’s Andres Borregales, Georgia Tech’s Aidan Birr, Virginia’s Will Bettridge, and Virginia Tech’s John Love.

Pelino and the Blue Devils get their season underway on August 30 against Elon.