Durham, NC – In a sloppy but intense meeting between long-time ACC foes, Duke (6-1, 2-1) ended Florida State’s dominance over them at Wallace Wade Stadium, 23-16. Duke’s defense dominated the FSU offense on University Family Night. Blue Devil fans I met on the shuttle from the H Lot before the game raised concerns over the performance of their former QB transfer from Texas, Maalik Murphy. We wondered if he’d shown improvement since the Duke opener against Elon. Evidently, not to their fan-base satisfaction. However, despite his preference to only throw short passes and not long ones, the Duke defense proved to be thriving under new HC Manny Diaz and his staff.
Florida State starts new QB
The Blue Devils defense kept the Seminoles offense out of the end zone this evening no matter who quarterbacked. QB Brock Glenn started in place of ailing starter DJ Uiagalelei sitting out with an injury. The FSU Faithful didn’t seem to be in a hurry to see the former Clemson Tiger return any time soon.
Glenn started the ‘Noles with a 46-yard drive to get a 23-yard FG from Ryan Fitzgerald. Duke’s offense ran only 13 plays for 22 yards on its first four possessions. At the 1:38 mark before the first quarter expired, the Blue Devils put seven on the scoreboard with Chandler Rivers’ pick for a 36-yard TD return and a 7-3 lead.
Mirror images of offenses
The Seminole and Blue Devil offensive play calling seemed to mimic each other in futility from one series to the next. Duke fan and James Madison U. grad, Aaron, and I sitting next to one another among 30,375, noted the eerily, similar play-calling strategies and silly mistakes for both teams throughout the game. Maalik Murphy couldn’t throw long passes. FSU couldn’t sustain drives whether Glenn or Luke Kromenhoek played QB. Duke’s defense kept the Blue Devils in the game. We joked that both defenses would have to lead their respective teams in scoring. On cue, FSU turned the ball over again with Glenn’s fumble on their 36 recovered by Devil DE Ryan Smith.
Duke drove to the two, and Star Thomas took it in for a 14-3 Duke lead. The Blue Devils had already met their defensive TD allotment evidently. Florida State’s next series ended with LB Ossie Nicholas’s INT to put the Devils at the Seminole 11. However, the Duke offense could gain only one yard. As expected, they settled for Todd Pelino’s 27-yard FG. FSU HC Mike Norvell saw enough of Glenn and brought in Freshman Kromenhoek much to the satisfaction of Seminole Nation in the visitors’ stands. During his second series under center, a hand to the face penalty gave his unit some yardage, but a sack by Duke put the Noles at their 35. Ryan Fitzgerald answered his calling once again, good for three with 1:46 remaining in the first half. That’s the way the half ended before the visitors took their long trek back to the detached locker room far from Wallace Wade Stadium.
Still not an offensive score for the Seminoles
As Duke fan Aaron and I agreed to earlier, both defenses needed to score in this contest. We forgot about special teams, however. To start the second half, Samuel Singleton fielded the Duke kickoff and returned it 95 yards for a TD to close the scoring gap, 17-13. Despite sloppiness and offensive ineptitude on display tonight, we still witnessed an entertaining, competitive game.
Duke started its next series from their 27. Murphy (12 for 24, 70 yards, no TDS, no INTs) continued his out passes and incompletions. One just can’t picture him competing with Quin Ewers nor Arch Manning to play QB at Texas. He got the Blue Devils into FG range, however, and Pelino converted from 44 yards out to regain their seven-point margin. Duke added to its defensive repertoire with a new weapon against Florida State, the squib kick. No way Singleton would fly downfield once again. Plus, they directed it away from his side of the field. Punts rained on the field at Wallace Wade going into the final period.
Pulling out the FSU stops?
Glenn surprisingly returned under center for Florida State. On a third and 27, he motored 14 yards to the Duke 19. Again, the Noles settled for Fitgerald adding only three points once again from 38 to climb closer, 20-16. 11:33 remained in this game. Could either team score a touchdown again? On Duke’s next series, Star Thomas (21 carries for 88 yards, one TD already) raced 44 yards to the FSU 21. The Blue Devil drive stalled there. Pelino drilled it once again from 39 to go up by seven once again. It was as if Duke tempted Florida State to score a touchdown to see if they could make two. Aaron and I agreed the field goal would be good enough as long as State got only one more possession. Couldn’t imagine them getting into the end zone for six today. Maybe another three, but that was about it.
Duke Football celebrates Good Time
Duke squibbed the ball strategically down field again. A Roughness penalty by the Noles helped even more, spotting the ball on their 17. We turned out to be right. Duke punched the ball out of Kam Davis’s hands. DT Preston Watson recovered at the Duke 31. Of course, Duke eventually punted the ball away on a fourth and 18 back on its 23. FSU started from their 41. Eight plays later, they turned to ball over on downs at their 48. The Florida State offense is so inept. They totaled 281 yards in total offense, 95 yards on a kickoff return. Duke totaled only 180 yards of offense, but one offensive TD. It only took their defense 36 yards to score on an interception return. Duke fans still had significant reason to celebrate – overcoming 22 seasons of FSU Seminole domination. It marked our Game 698 as a historical milestone in the history of Collegefootballfan.com.
Back to a Bowl. Back to Reality?
Not only that, but Duke officially became bowl eligible at 6-1. They still won’t make the Top 25. If they want it bad enough, they have their work cut out for them over the rest of their season, especially the next tow weeks. FSU falls to 1-6 and calls now stir to terminate HC Mike Norvell. In his defense, we’ll say that the disrespect for his 13-0 run last season was a cold shot. Players left because the selection committee decided they couldn’t compete with their injured star QB Jordan Travis. On top of that, ten players he recruited for the Noles got drafted by NFL teams last season.
The transfer portal isn’t what it’s all cracked up to be. People tend to think only the best players bidding for movement to other schools. Basically, most players that don’t start do now seeking “greener” pastures. Realistically, most of them show up as unproven entities. Teams still need to be built from within, not by hiring a bunch of wandering mercenaries. This isn’t Fantasy football. FSU fans probably don’t want to hear this, but Norvell did his job to get the Seminoles to the top in 2023. The problem was that other folks in the NCAA refused to recognize this last season. Hate to say it, but it’s back to the drawing board for Florida State University if they allow him to.
Next up for the Blue Devils and Noles!
Here’s the work the Blue Devils have immediately in front of them: No. 22 SMU comes calling at Wallace Wade next week. They average 40 points per game. Their only loss is to No. 11 BYU, 18-15. Things get tougher the following week. They head to Miami to face No. 6 Hurricanes averaging 48 point per game! Duke’s defense has led the way, but until now, they’ve only faced UConn (4-3) and Georgia Tech (5-3) with winning records. Tech defeated them, 24-14. The Blue Devil defense will be looking to pitch shutouts in both. Hard to imagine. Maybe the Duke offense has been holding back? Shoot-out? Doubt it, but what do I know?
As for FSU, they have to win all five remaining games to meet bowl eligibility. No. 6 Miami meets on their slate next, and two weeks later, they visit No. 12 Notre Dame. Of course, the Florida Gators await them to meet in their traditional season finale.
Game 699 next for Collegefootballfan.com
One more game before our Big 700 milestone celebration on October 26! Tomorrow (Saturday, Oct. 19) we step down to attend a conveniently located FCS game. For the first time, we will attend a game at Davidson College in North Carolina. We don’t know what to expect from these two members of The Pioneer Football Leage spread out across the country from New York State to San Diego, California. At this game, we will add two new teams for the first time. The Davidson Wildcats (4-2, 3-2) will host the Hatters of Stetson (3-3, 2-3) located in Florida. Then, on to surprising No. 24 Navy (6-0, 4-0) vs. No. 12 Notre Dame (6-1) at MetLife Stadium back in the NJ Meadowlands. If Northern Illinois could beat the Irish, why not the Mids? They combine an offense that is clicking and a defense that is hitting. Go Navy! Can’t wait.
-ed. by Steve Koreivo Member of Football Writers Association of America and author of Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly. Click on the title to get your copy today and please submit a review. Thanks!