Huskies Lose Tough One on Road to Duke

UConn entered this ballgame having not won a P4 game on the road in 12 years. It was a question as to who would be under center for the Huskies, and Nick Evers returned from injury getting the start over Joe Fagnano, who had a stellar performance against Merrmack last week. Coach Mora had been consistent in saying Evers is the guy if healthy.  

The Huskies got the ball to start the game, and Evers took off running for a first down with a gain of 23. The drive stalled after that, causing UConn to punt. Duke moved down field expeditiously, a 9 play, 92 yard drive ending in a touchdown. Maalik Murphy hit his top target, Jordan Moore, on a 45 yard dime on his first throw of the ball game. On the ensuing drive, Evers hit Jasaiah Gathings for a 15 yard gain, and Cam Edwards had an 11 yard rush, but again had to punt.

Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

Sep 14, 2024; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Connecticut Huskies quarterback Nick Evers (3) prepares to throw the football during the first half of the game against Duke Blue Devils at Wallace Wade Stadium.

The teams would trade punts, and then Evers took off running and was stripped, giving the ball to the Blue Devils in UConn territory. But the defense would hold them to a FG, a 53 yarder from Todd Pelino, giving Duke a 10-0 lead. UConn would be forced to punt after a dropped pass by Brock Montgomery that would’ve given them a first down. The chemistry between Evers and his receivers, or lack thereof, was on display in the first half, also missing a wide open Louis Hansen over the middle. 

Duke got the ball back, and on 3rd and long, Murphy had all day in the pocket, hitting Moore again over the middle for 20 to keep the drive alive. Murphy would then hit a wide open Eli Pancol for a 36 yard touchdown pass. The Husky offense continued to struggle, but the defense would get UConn on the board when Tui Faumuina-Brown batted a Murphy pass that fell right into Langston Hardy’s hands, who then took it all the way to the house for a 64 yard touchdown. UConn’s defense forced a 4th down, but Chris Hudson was offsides on the punt, extending the drive. Star Thomas was stuffed on a 3rd and 1 at midfield, and Duke punted back to the Huskies, giving them the ball with 1:06 to go in the half starting at their own 15. The drive stalled after a couple of good Edwards runs, and the Huskies punted back. Duke took a knee and went into the half with a 17-7 lead. 

Halftime Stats:

Duke received the ball to start the second half, and the UConn defense forced a three-and-out. Evers came out on the next drive and immediately took off running for a 21 yard gain. Two consecutive passes to Skyler Bell, after only catching two balls in the first half on six targets, got the Huskies deep in Duke territory. An 11 yard pass to TJ Sheffield got them inside the 5, and Evers rushed for seemingly his first UConn touchdown, but the replay showed he was down at the 1. Jelani Stafford came in as fullback, paving the way for an Edwards touchdown, and UConn was within 3 for a 17-14 score. UConn forced another three and out after Murphy overthrew an open Moore down the right side. A big Edwards run got an extra 15 as Duke was called for a late hit. Evers hit Edwards down the sideline, then hit TE Alex Honig in the end zone on play action, and UConn had the lead at 21-17. Huskies forced another punt but were backed up at their own end zone, and Evers was sacked on 3rd down, forcing Stutz to punt from the back of the end zone. 

A decent punt by Stutz was returned to the UConn 43, and Duke had excellent field position with 3:39 left in the third. Duke was able to convert on a 4th and 1 from the 24, keeping the drive alive. On 3rd and long, Jayden McDonald sacked Murphy for the first UConn sack of the game, and Duke was facing 4th and 18 to start the fourth quarter. Pelino hit a 47 yard FG, and Duke was within a point at 21-20. On 3rd and long, Evers tried throwing down the side to Bell facing pressure, but his pass was picked off by Terry Moore. Murphy hit Thomas for a 23 yard gain, and Duke was in UConn territory after just one play. Duke would capitalize on the turnover, as Murphy hit redshirt freshman Que’Sean Brown on the back shoulder for his first collegiate touchdown. The two point conversion was incomplete, and Duke had the lead back at 26-21.

On the next UConn drive, Evers kept it on an option, and took off down the left sideline, but stepped out after a gain of 13 in a play that seemed like it could’ve gone for a touchdown had he stayed in bounds. On 3rd and 8 from their own 43, Evers hit Bell over the middle, but he could not hang on and UConn had to punt, forcing the Blue Devils to start from their own 7. Murphy’s deep ball down the left side to Jontavis Robertson fell incomplete, and Duke punted back to UConn with Connecticut starting at their own 36 after a holding penalty on Hudson. The drive started off poorly with an incomplete pass on a screen to Bell, then Mel Brown rushed for a loss of three, and UConn was facing 3rd and 13. However, this time, Evers was able to hit Bell over the middle for a gain of 18. Edwards then rushed for a gain of 16 to get to the Duke 33. UConn couldn’t convert, and Chris Freeman came out for a 48 yard FG, which he missed, and the Huskies came away with no points. 

Duke started going into chew clock mode, and on 3rd and 7 from their own 44, Murphy came up huge with a 13 yard completion to Brown, causing UConn to use their first timeout with 2:43 remaining. After using their second timeout, Murphy hit Pancol for a gain of 14, aided by a missed tackle by Cam Chadwick, and UConn used their last timeout with 2:29 left and Duke at the UConn 32. The Blue Devils went back to running the ball and chewing clock. Thomas broke away for what would certainly be a game-ending touchdown but went down at the 2 to avoid giving UConn the ball back. Duke took a knee, and that was it for the ball game. A very disappointing end to a game that UConn definitely could have won. 

Final Stats: