Key Stats from Wake Forest's 34-31 loss to Duke
Wake Forest fell to Duke 34-31 on Saturday, marking their fifth loss of the season and fourth defeat in their last five games. Wake Forest had several chances to pull out the victory but failed to capitalize — the Deacs gave up a late touchdown to surrender the lead and Sam Hartman threw an interception in the game’s final moments.
Here are the stats that stood out in the heartbreaking loss.
QB Showdown
Two of the ACC’s premier talents at the quarterback position were on full display in this regular season finale. Sam Hartman completed 26 of his 42 pass attempts, finishing with 347 yards, 3 TDs and one interception. He’s now tied with Tajh Boyd for the most career touchdown passes in ACC history (107). Hartman spread the wealth in the same way he has all season — six different receivers had at least two catches.
READ: Game Summary - Duke defeats Wake Forest 34-31
For Duke, sophomore Riley Leonard was phenomenal, totaling 391 yards, 4 TDs and one interception on 29/41 passing. He led the Blue Devils on a touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter, finding WR Sahmir Hagans from 20 yards out to put Duke ahead for good. The Duke receivers had a field day against the Wake secondary — Jalon Calhoun snagged 11 catches for 174 yards and 1 TD, while Sahmir Hagans finished with eight grabs for 138 yards and a pair of scores.
Lack of penetration from Wake’s defensive line
The Wake Forest defense totaled just one sack and two 2 TFLs in Saturday’s defeat. The lone sack came from Jasheen Davis on Duke’s first drive of the game, good for a seven-yard loss. Some of this can be attributed to scheme — there were times in the game where the Deacs only sent three rushers to add extra personnel in coverage. Even so, Leonard frequently found himself with all day to throw and his receivers had no trouble getting open. As a result, the sophomore quarterback had an efficient outing, completing 71% of his passes and making a slew of big plays.
Duke didn’t penetrate at an exceptionally high level either, but they got through to the quarterback in one of the game’s most decisive moments. Late in the fourth quarter, Wake led 31-27 and had the ball with just over two minutes remaining and a chance to close out the game. On 3rd-and-2, however, the Blue Devils sacked Hartman for a 7-yard loss and Wake was forced to punt. Duke went on to score a touchdown and win the game. The Blue Devils finished with three total sacks and 4 TFLs.
READ: Live Updates - Wake Forest Football vs Duke
Time of Possession
Duke held the edge in this metric, possessing the ball for 36:50 of game clock compared to Wake’s 23:50. The Blue Devils ripped off several long drives that ended in scores, including a 7:56 field-goal march to open the game and a 5:03 touchdown drive in the third quarter.
This stat is a reflection of the difference in tempo of the two offenses. Wake Forest often hurried to the line and moved the ball quickly down the field — none of their drives lasted longer than four minutes. Duke, on the other hand, took their time and often let the clock run down between plays. This allowed them to control the pace of the game and could have led to some fatigue on the behalf of the Wake Forest defense.
Big plays
As has been the case in several of their losses, big plays were the achilles heel for the Wake Forest defense. Leonard completed seven passes of 20+ yards, two of which came on Duke’s final touchdown drive. There were also several occasions where Wake defenders failed to make open field tackles, resulting in large chunks of yardage after the catch and putting the Deacs even further behind the eight-ball. This clip of Calhoun’s touchdown grab in the second quarter is a perfect example:
READ: Halftime - Duke leads Wake Forest 20-17
Wake Forest was down one of their best defensive backs in Malik Mustapha and it showed. The secondary frequently lost receivers in the middle of the field or near the sideline and Leonard made all the necessary throws to put points on the board. Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson has addressed his team’s play on the perimeter several times this year and spoke on it again after the game:
“Our play on the perimeter all season has been a problem,” Clawson said. “It’s been our achilles heel all year. And now, [in] game 12, against Duke, it's a problem. When it doesn’t get fixed, it’s on me.”
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