5 observations and more from Duke football’s first half against Elon

Duke kicks off the Manny Diaz period by welcoming FCS foe Elon to Wallace Wade Stadium. The Blue Devils enter the halftime locker room in a low-scoring struggle with the Phoenix, main 10-0: 

5 observations

Murphy’s debut in Duke blue: After months of anticipation, switch quarterback Maalik Murphy lastly took his first official snaps in a Duke soccer uniform, yielding combined ends in the opening half-hour of play. On the Blue Devils opening drive, Murphy went 5-for-7 for 50 yards as Duke drove down the sphere earlier than settling for an early Todd Pelino discipline purpose. The Inglewood, Calif., native started to wrestle a bit because the half progressed, lacking some throws down the sphere and failing to maneuver the chains. The previous Longhorn made up for his struggles simply because the half was about to finish in the course of the Blue Devils’ solely landing drive, the place Murphy linked with receiver Eli Pancol on a 55-yard go to set Duke up within the pink zone. The Blue Satan quarterback racked up 149 complete yards within the air. 

New defensive identification: Head coach Manny Diaz’s new-look, high-energy protection additionally debuted within the first half. The Blue Devils defensive position was the star of the present, because the unit collected sacks on every of Elon’s first 4 possessions. Duke instantly held the Phoenix to a three-and-out after an enormous sack from redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Wesley Williams, and adopted that show up with one other two sacks on Elon’s second possession. Whereas Diaz’s males did enable the Phoenix to drive down the sphere late within the half, they finally racked up a staggering 5 sacks and gave up no factors in only one half of play. 

Working rapidly: Duke’s offense appears to be like significantly totally different from what followers have grow to be accustomed to. New offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer’s pass-happy offensive scheme was placed on full show within the first half. The Blue Devils employed a particularly fast-paced, no-huddle offense, prioritizing brief passes to the staff’s weapons on the skin. Whereas the scheme was extraordinarily profitable on Duke’s opening drive, the staff’s offensive momentum stalled because the half progressed, save for the ultimate possession. Particularly, the Blue Devils struggled to get drives going and convert on third-down conditions, although Pancol’s catch and run late within the half finally salvaged a mediocre show.

Rebuilt offensive line: The departures of linemen Graham Barton and Jacob Monk to the NFL have raised questions on how Duke’s new-look offensive line will carry out. Within the first half, the unit yielded combined outcomes, blocking fantastically within the passive recreation however struggling to create working lanes for star again Jaquez Moore. Murphy was not sacked within the first half and was not pressured on most passing makes an attempt, however Moore solely mustered 21 yards on the bottom in half-hour of play.  

Forcing the Phoenix into third-and-long conditions: Duke’s dominant protection usually made massive stops on early downs, placing Elon in troublesome conditions on third down. Massive sacks performed a task in slowing down the Phoenix, however a powerful displaying in opposition to the run additionally was essential. Elon usually opted to concede and run the ball on third-and-long fairly than risking a turnover by going for the conversion.

By the numbers

Duke’s offense lastly got here to life late within the half, as Murphy linked with Pancol at midfield, earlier than the graduate large receiver broke a couple of tackles and took the ball for a 55-yard catch-and-run. The Blue Devils instantly capitalized as Moore took the ball into the top zone for a 7-yard rating to provide Duke a 10-0 lead into the locker room.