Key play breakdown: Jalon Calhoun's near touchdown

An inside look at what may have been the turning point in Duke's opener

It's tough to say that anything in a 42-3 blowout loss could qualify as a turning point, but in a scoreless first quarter, Duke could have made things far more interesting by jumping out to an early lead.

It nearly happened. After getting an Alabama fumble on the Tide 23, Duke moved to the 14 and ran an inspired play that came within a inches and split seconds of giving the Blue Devils the first touchdown of the game.

Quentin Harris threw over the middle to the end zone, where true freshman Jalon Calhoun was, for a moment, wide open between two defenders.

From the press box seats in the opposite end zone, the window Harris was given to throw through was large and obvious ... and gone in an instant.

What happened? How did Calhoun get open, and why didn't Duke get six points? We'll take a look inside the play to see everything that was going on for the six or so seconds that helped seal Duke's fate.

The Set-up: Duke took over after the fumble and lined up in the triple option, a surprise to Alabama and most of the rest of the 70,000 plus in the building. The Calhoun pass was the fifth of the drive. The first four had all been runs, with belly-play runs up the middle twice gaining five yards.

The Formation: Duke lined up again in the triple option. There was a receiver on each side, a slotback tight to the line on each side and a fullback. Calhoun, normally a receiver, was lined up tight to the line in the right slotback spot.

This would give him the chance to run against either a safety or linebacker, with the corners occupied by the outside guys.

The Snap: This play required a complex dance at and behind the line to get Calhoun open. The entire right side of the line--tackle Jacob Monk and guard Rak Chambers--pulled to the left, while the left side slotback, Brittain Brown, looped around to the right for a possible pitch play around right end. He'd done this twice before as a decoy, but, obviously, is not  a player the Bama D can ignore.

Harris performed not one but two Oscar-worthy play  fakes in quick succession.

Here's the first fake. Harris (18, center of pic) turns to his right and fakes a handoff to fullback Mateo Durant--the play that's worked twice before. to Harris' left, you can see the linemen (63, 67) pulling in one direction. To his right, you see Brown (8) looping in the other. Just behind the linemen, you see Calhoun, releasing from the line to run his route, while the defender right in front of him, LB Anfernee Jennings, stands flat footed. He has a step on him. It's going to be up to the guy at the next level, Patrick Surtain, to cover him.

Immediately after that, Harris turns and takes a hard step to his left, faking as if he's going to run around left end, following the two blockers, who are selling that. Harris has gone around end twice on this drive already.

It works. Surtain takes a step forward to crash the line and defend the run, as Calhoun turns and heads upfield.

Surtain recovers quickly, but that's all it takes to create a window 12 yards downfield.

That allows a window to open at about the two-yard line, where Calhoun has a one-yard cushion between Surtain and the safety help, coming from the left side. Harris needs to hum the ball through the window and Duke has the first touchdown of the game on a brilliantly designed play with all the many working parts clicking in unison.

So, what happened?

Just as it took just one step to set the play up, it took a step to send it off kilter.

Remember the two linemen pulling from left to right? The guard, Rak Chambers, sealed off his man, but the tackle, Jacob Monk didn't quite get to the right edge. He's about a step shy as he engages the pass rusher. Ideally, he'd be outside the hash to give Harris a full pocket.

The rusher manages to take advantage of the position and get to Harris, who has to adjust and throw off of his back foot. That caused the ball to float, giving Surtain the chance to recover his step.

Had the block gone well and Harris thrown off his front foot, the ball would be hitting Calhoun's hands at that point. Instead, by the time the ball arrives, Calhoun is draped with both defenders.

He still almost came down with the ball, but Alabama was able to bat it away. Duke would gain seven yards on the next play--a run, then got stopped on fourth-and-one to come away with no points.

Even in a game where 39 points separated the two teams, it comes down to a step here, a step there and a dance where the timing is measured in split seconds.