What Went Wrong: Missed Opportunities Doom Duke
Duke was plagued by missed opportunities throughout the Blue Devils’ 26-6 loss to Boston College in its home opener.
The Blue Devils had five turnovers and missed two kicks, leaving plenty of points on the field, while the defense suffered breakdowns at key moments, allowing the Eagles to pull away in an empty Wallace Wade Stadium.
Of Duke’s 351 yards of total offense, 247 came on drives that ended in missed field goals or turnovers deep in Boston College territory.
In the first half, Chase Brice threw an interception on the B.C. 27. On the next drive, Duke reached the three before running back Deon Jackson lost a fumble.
The second half was worse, as receiver Damond Philyaw-Johnson had the ball stripped from his hands at the Duke 12, setting up a B.C. field goal. Charlie Ham missed a field goal from the Boston College 17. Chase Brice was sacked and fumbled at the 14, and he threw an interception at the 33.
Ham, a freshman, also missed an extra point on Duke’s only touchdown, a 49-yard Mateo Durant run.
Duke’s defense was able to pressure Boston College consistently, but missed tackles and breakdowns in the secondary plagued the Blue Devils.
Defensive end Victor Dimukeje just missed a school record for a single game with 3.5 sacks. Despite six sacks and nine tackles for loss, however, Duke’s defense gave up 300 passing yards on 17-of-23 accuracy to Eagles quarterback Phil Jurkovec, including 162 receiving yards by Zay Flowers, who got behind the Duke secondary for a 61-yard touchdown to put the game out of reach.
