Duke dominates Pitt on senior day, 30-19

The Blue Devils dominated the Pitt Panthers on senior day, 30-19, at Wallace Wade Stadium.

This win breaks the seven-year losing streak that Duke has been on against the University of Pittsburgh since 2015. The win also gave the Blue Devils an unbeaten record at home against ACC opponents in

Grayson Loftis got another start today, finishing the game with 248 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception on 20-of-37 pass attempts.

The All-Stars

Players like Jordan Moore, Jaquez Moore, and Jalen Calhoun made the win possible for the Blue Devils today.

Jordan Moore had 8 receptions for 106 yards with 1 touchdown. He helped tie the game up in the second quarter with a connection with Loftis for 10 yards to the end zone.

Calhoun also broke a 13-13 tie in the third with a 10 yard receiving touchdown from Loftis, to send Duke into the lead for the remainder of the game.

Calhoun also became the fourth player in Duke history to pass 3,000 career receiving yards.

Jaquez Moore sealed the deal for the Blue Devils in the fourth, using his legs to bulldoze his way into the end zone for a 3-yard rushing touchdown.

Love for Loftis

While Loftis has continued to improve every day along with his statistics, he also used multiple receivers and running backs to get the job done today.

Loftis definitely felt the Panthers pressure on defense, but was able to escape it most of the time, along with gaining yardage by throwing to receivers like Jalon Calhoun and Jordan Moore.

He did take four sacks throughout the game, and had one interception, but was also to use his own legs to escape pressure a couple of times as well. Loftis dominated when it came to the red zone.

Shanked Punts and Duke's Defense

Early in the game, a 15 yard punt by Pitt put Duke in great field position to start on the 25 yard line and sent them into the end zone.

While Pitt did not necessarily make "mistakes," the sea of blue named Duke's defense was incredibly aggressive for Pitt quarterback Nate Yarnell.

Yarnell threw 265 yards of offense, but also threw an open field interception to Duke's Jeremiah Lewis in the fourth - sending Duke's offense out to seal the win.

Ending on a Win

The first half of the season was incredibly promising for Duke, going 4-0 in their first 4 games before losing to Notre Dame.

As heartbreaking as Riley Leonard's injury was, Duke was able to pull through and showed what a dominant defense and offense they were capable of having under head coach Mike Elko.

Scoring Summaries

Quarter 4: Duke: Jaquez Moore 3 yard rushing touchdown, (T. Pelino kick), 11:54. Todd Pelino 48 yard field goal, 2:04. Pitt: Bub Means 14 yard receiving touchdown, two point conversion no good, 5:17. Duke 30, Pitt 19.

Quarter 3: Duke: T. Pelino 25 yard field goal, 10:28. Pitt: B. Sauls 47 yard field goal, 7:06. Jalon Calhoun 15 yard receiving touchdown, (T. Pelino kick), 3:44. Duke 20, Pitt 13.

Quarter 2: Pitt: Karter Johnson 21 yard receiving touchdown, (B. Sauls kick), 9:13. Duke: Jordan Moore 10 yard receiving touchdown, (T. Pelino kick), 1:11. Duke 10, Pitt 10.

Quarter 1: Duke: T. Pelino 47 yard field goal, 8:48. Pitt: B. Sauls 35 yard field goal, 2:41. Duke 3, Pitt 3

Preview

Duke football is looking to finish the season strong this weekend when the Blue Devils host the Pitt Panthers.

Saturday marks Senior Day for Duke. Head coach Mike Elko said his team would have 37 players walk in the pregame festivities.

“There’s a lot of really special kids that are going to be out on that field getting recognized for Senior Day, and a lot of kids who have meant an awful lot to Duke football and certainly meant a lot of to this two-year resurgence of Duke football,” Elko said. “From that perspective, it’s going to be a really emotional, special day.”

Kickoff between Duke and Pitt is set for noon Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham. The game airs on the ACC Network.

“I think if we want to become the program we want to become, regardless of weekend, regardless of circumstance, we need Duke fans to show up, and that’s ultimately where we have to get to,” Elko said. “And, it’s our job to do that.

“It’s not calling anybody out. We’ve got to build this program, and we’ve got to make it a product that people want to come out and support and watch, and we’ve got to do that consistently. And, we’ve talked about all the ways we’ve got to build community engagement and all of those things, but [I’m] certainly not going to accept that on a Saturday afternoon, people shouldn’t be at Wallace Wade Stadium. They should be.”

Duke (6-5, 3-4 ACC) has lost four of its last five games, including Saturday’s 30-27 road loss to Virginia. The Blue Devils’ only home loss this season came on Sept. 30 in the 21-14 loss to Notre Dame.

“You don’t want to make excuses,” Elko said. “It has been a gauntlet of a schedule, and when that happens, I think sometimes there’s a wear and tear that you have to learn how to play through.

“I think that’s kind of what we’ve talked to the guys about. Like, I think there’s been some emotional rollercoasters this year that maybe these kids are having to experience for the first time.”

The home game against Notre Dame marked the first time in Duke history that ESPN’s “College GameDay” aired its football pregame show at the school’s campus.

“To be a team that’s a Top 25 and then not a Top 25 team, and then to go from a big stage to a lesser stage and still getting everyone’s best every step along the way, all of that is new. And, all of that is a piece of us having to learn how to become a championship-level program.”

Elko called the season “physically taxing,” citing the injuries Duke has sustained, including the loss of starting quarterback Riley Leonard, who has battled ankle and toe injuries.

Freshman quarterback Grayson Loftis is expected to start again with Leonard out and backup Henry Belin IV dealing with an upper-body injury.

Loftis completed 26 of 46 passes against Virginia for 270 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw an interception.

“I think it still continues to be encouraging and [the] arrow trending in the right direction for him in the way he’s operating and the way he’s playing,” Elko said of Loftis.