What’s Held Duke Back This Season

It has been a few days since the Duke Blue Devils suffered a season-altering loss to the Virginia Cavaliers. However, the wounds and disappointing emotions will remain for quite some time, as the Blue Devils had a legitimate opportunity to reach their lofty goals that they had set out for themselves.

Sep 30, 2023; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke helmet of Duke Blue Devils cornerback Chandler Rivers (0) with its slogan during the second half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Although the performance was underwhelming in multiple areas, those problems had been evident throughout the course of the season, especially over the last month.

Here are a couple of factors that have held Duke back this season, and need to be addressed prior to next season if the Blue Devils want to be considered legitimate contenders in the ACC.

Defensive Struggles in Key Spots

Nov 15, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Virginia Cavaliers running back J'Mari Taylor (3) runs the ball past the Duke Blue Devils defense for a touchdown during the third quarter at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

Heading into the last three matchups, the re-occurring message from coaches and players was the defense needs to force the opposing offense off the field on third downs. Defensive coordinator Jonathan Patke stated that consistently during last week's press conference leading up to the game against Virginia.

"Inconsistency. Our pass defense has to improve right now," Patke said. "We went into the last game against UCONN, and obviously, knew they wanted to run the outside zone stretch play, and felt like we handled that pretty well. We got them into some passing situations and let them off the hook. It comes back to our technique and fundamentals."

Nov 15, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Virginia Cavaliers quarter back Chandler Morris (4) looks for an opening against Duke Blue Devils defensive tackle Aaron Hall (99) during the first quarter at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

Those problems reared their ugly head against the Cavaliers, who went 12-for-19 on third down conversions, which was unacceptable in any contest, let alone the biggest game of the season.

Chandler Morris was pivotal in those moments, as he evaded pressure on multiple accounts, creating chunk gains outside the pocket time and time again.

Not Involving the Run Game Enough

Nov 15, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils quarter back Darian Mensah (10) hands the ball to Duke Blue Devils running back Nate Sheppard (20) against the Virginia Cavaliers during the first quarter at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

One way to minimize and cover up your defense is to keep that unit off the field as long as possible by running the football and controlling the clock.

However, Duke's offensive identity has been Darian Mensah and the passing attack. That has proven to be an elite feature of the offense, but when a defense cannot stop a nosebleed, the margins for error shrink and every mistake is magnified.

Nate Sheppard is one of the best freshmen running backs in the country, but he has only been averaging 14 rush attempts per game over the last month.

Nov 15, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Virginia Cavaliers linebacker Landon Danley (32) tackles Duke Blue Devils running back Nate Sheppard (20) during the first quarter at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

For a running back with 700 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on the season, that volume has to see an uptick. Against Connecticut, Sheppard had two carries on the first drive but finished the first half with three attempts.

His involvement in the offense has been a specific issue in the first half, when Duke should be looking to control the game along the offensive line.

Nov 15, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils quarter back Darian Mensah (10) drops back for a pass against Virginia Cavaliers defensive lineman Jacob Holmes (23) during the first quarter at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

We have seen the Blue Devils force-feed Sheppard the ball to begin the second halves of games, but by then, Duke has already found itself in a back-and-forth affair.

Establishing the run game sooner would have benefitted the Blue Devils in all three phases by controlling the clock, keeping Duke's struggling defense off the field, and maintaining an advantage in field position.

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