Duke Comes Up Short As They Drop Their Fourth Straight To Pittsburgh
After having a great start to the season the last four games for Duke have resulted in losses including Saturday when they hosted Pittsburgh at Brooks Field@ Wallace Wade.
Pittsburgh outscored Duke 10-0 in the fourth quarter and held off a late Blue Devil drive to come away with the 24-17 victory this afternoon at Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium. The Blue Devils held a 17-14 lead going into the final session, but couldn’t hold off the Panthers in the final period. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211674173&DB_OEM_ID=4200
Duke falls to 4-4 overall and 1-4 in ACC play, while Pittsburgh improves to 3-5 overall and 1-3 against conference foes. The Blue Devils hit the road to Virginia Tech before their bye week Nov. 4."according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211674173&DB_OEM_ID=4200
Blue Devil quarterback Daniel Jones finished the afternoon 15-of-33 for 272 yards and two touchdowns. Shaun Wilson led the running game with 42 yards on 11 carries and had one touchdown reception. Duke struggled offensively at times and amassed 359 yards of offense, 216 of which came in the second half. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211674173&DB_OEM_ID=4200
The Blue Devils put together an outstanding final drive in efforts to tie the game before Pittsburgh’s defense took advantage of a tipped pass and intercepted the ball to ice the victory with 45 seconds remaining. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211674173&DB_OEM_ID=4200
Darrin Hall was the story of the game for the Panthers, running 24 times for 254 yards, 171 of which came on two of his touchdown runs. He scored all three touchdowns for Pittsburgh. Quarterback Ben DiNucci threw just 18 times, completing eight for 149 yards. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211674173&DB_OEM_ID=4200
The first half was a defensive battle with the two teams combining for only 10 points despite the 351 yards of combined offense. Pittsburgh opened the scoring on the first play of its second drive as Darrin Hall raced 79 yards up the middle for the 7-0 lead. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211674173&DB_OEM_ID=4200
Duke, after making its way to the 6-yard line, on the ensuing drive ended up settling for a 25-yard Austin Parkerfield goal to head into the locker room trailing 7-3. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211674173&DB_OEM_ID=4200
The Blue Devil defense was outstanding after Pitt’s initial score, forcing a pair of missed field goals and keeping the Panthers off the scoreboard. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211674173&DB_OEM_ID=4200
Ben Humphrey’s led the defensive charge overall in the game with 11 tackles, eight solo efforts and one sack. Jeremy McDuffie and Joe Giles -Harrisall had eight apiece. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211674173&DB_OEM_ID=4200
The second half was a different story offensively with the Blue Devils and Panthers combining for 268 yards and 21 points in third quarter alone and 493 yards and 31 points in the second half overall. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211674173&DB_OEM_ID=4200
Duke used a 59-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Wilson and a 39-yard strike by Jones to Rahming to jump in front of Pittsburgh 17-7 late in the third quarter. The touchdown was Rahming’s first of the season, while the 59-yard catch and run was the longest of Wilson’s career. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211674173&DB_OEM_ID=4200
Duke’s defense continued to come up with crucial plays, one of which was a Giles-Harris fourth-down stop to give the Blue Devils the ball back on offense at their own 43-yard line and set up the Rahming touchdown for the 17-7 lead. Giles-Harris was credited with eight tackles, four solo stops and three tackles for loss. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211674173&DB_OEM_ID=4200
Pittsburgh’s Hall answered right away with a 92-yard run up the right sideline to make it 17-14 after three quarters. Hall put the Panthers in front for good in the fourth quarter with a four-yard scamper into the end zone after a 49-yard simultaneous catch went to Pittsburgh and set up a first down from the 11-yard line. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211674173&DB_OEM_ID=4200
The Panthers, holding Duke to just 84 yards in the fourth quarter, tacked on a 45-yard field goal from Alex Kessmann with 1:41 remaining to make it a 24-17 game and force the Blue Devils to travel the length of the field to tie the game, which ultimately ended in an interception. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211674173&DB_OEM_ID=4200
Duke will next travel to Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech Saturday.
Kick-off is set for 7:20pm. The game will be televised on the ACC Network. "according to http://www.goduke.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=4200&SPID=1843&SPSID=22666