Chase Brice on Duke's Run Game: Turn, Hand Off, Let Your Guy Go Work

Quarterback had support from run game in win over Charlotte

Chase Brice threw for one touchdown in Duke’s 53-19 win over Charlotte, but with two Blue Devil running backs topping 100 yards on the ground, Brice didn’t need a big passing day.

Duke set the tone when Deon Jackson ran 65 yards for a touchdown on the second snap of the day.

“The way we ran the ball on that first drive, obviously it took two plays, but the back’s seeing the hole, it’s always good to do that,” he said. “You turn, hand the ball off and let your guy go work. It’s always great to open up a series and open up the game with a touchdown. It was awesome.”

Duke was coming off of a week off, which gave players a chance to refresh themselves physically and mentally.

“For me, I took advantage of using both,” Brice said. “I let my body rest. Coach let us have a few days off to let our bodies rest. Also mentally, to take a break. Going six weeks of Power Five football, ACC football, is not easy. We went through the thick right there. Having that bye week kind of got our feet under us. Offensively, it showed at times tonight. We took full advantage.”

Brice hopes to build off the offense’s success against Charlotte.

“We’ve taken the games in the past and each week, have built off something. This week, with the bye, we took advantage of getting better at things we know we need to get better at—playing faster, being more confident. We talk all the time—it’s hard to come out of the gate, six games in a row, without a summer, without a spring, a lot of those things that help you become a great football team. I think the goal is to continue these next few games and build off of what we did tonight.”