What went wrong for Duke against Boston College? A lot, in a lot of areas.
A lot of things had to be flashing through the mind of Duke football coach David Cutcliffe as he walked off the field Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium.
First and foremost: Boston College 26, Duke 6.
Secondly: Five turnovers by the Blue Devils.
Third: So many other mistakes, by so many players, that it might take a corps of graduate assistants to fully break down the game video.
Duke came away from its 27-13 loss at Notre Dame last week feeling generally upbeat about the possibilities of the season. But there were few facets of Saturday’s game worth noting other than the 3.5 sacks by defensive end Victor Dimukeje, Mark Gilbert’s interception, Mataeo Durant’s 49-yard touchdown run and a few nice catches by tight end Noah Gray and wideout Jake Bobo.
“I take full responsibility, I do,” Cutcliffe said in his postgame press conference. “Turnovers, the way our team played, that has to fall on the head coach. We’ve got to be all in, offensively, defensively and in the kicking game for us to be our best.
“That’s two games in, it’s 2020, there’s 10 conference games. Nobody’s going to run from the hard work. We have to stay together in the toughest of times.”
When the ACC first released the 10-game conference schedules, Duke was to have an open date on Sept. 26. The coronavirus and some positive tests at Virginia Tech quickly changed that, reshuffling the ACC schedule.
Duke now plays at Virginia next Saturday. For the third straight time, the Blue Devils will face a team playing its season opener, just as Boston College was on Saturday under new head coach Jeff Hafley.
Cutcliffe said the Blue Devils must quickly reassess nearly everything, from quarterback play to blocking schemes to receiver routes to defensive secondary responsibilities to the kicking game.
“We do have a lot of concerns,” he said. “They’re certainly there. No time to punch the panic button but you have to respond.”
That includes assessing the play-calling. Cutcliffe has decided to take over that game-day duty this year and be the offensive coordinator.
“You kind of have to get in a rhythm and you have to feel comfortable with it,” Cutcliffe said. “I felt good for the most part at South Bend. Today, with some of the things we worked on all week long I had to push it to the side and got to respond better. You have to adjust and change on the run better.
“I’ve got to get better. It’s plain and simple. And it can, and will.”
But Saturday his offensive focus had to be dented with so many problems cropping up in so many areas. And when he did dial up a good offensive play — a deep pass to wide receiver Jalon Calhoun in the third quarter — it ended poorly. Calhoun, open inside the BC 10, had the ball go through his hands.
“I’ve got to look at myself, looking at what we’re calling,” Cutcliffe said. “The belief system is critical in offensive football.”
Quarterback Chase Brice, in his second start, had two passes picked off and fumbled on a late sack in the red zone. BC’s Phil Jurkovec, the transfer from Notre Dame, was 17-of-23 passing for 300 yards and two scores, with one interception.
“Chase, I’ve got to put in better positions,” Cutcliffe said. “The temptation he’s got to resist is to try and force plays. You can make plays and he’s a playmaker, but you can’t force plays. We need to do a better job of having our receivers and our quarterback on the same page.”
But it wasn’t just Brice. Wide receiver Damond Philyaw-Johnson had the ball yanked out of his hands for a turnover. Running back Deon Jackson fumbled inside the BC 5.
Defensively, the Blue Devils made some good plays. But there was a badly blown coverage in the third quarter that allowed BC receiver Zay Flowers to roam free deep for an easy 61-yard touchdown catch as the Eagles took a 23-6 lead. Flowers sauntered into the end zone and did a quick dance.
“A lot of it was self-inflicted,” Brice said after the game. “We have to be better.”
A lot better. And quickly.
SATURDAY’S NCAA SCORES
EAST
Marshall 17, Appalachian St. 7
Pittsburgh 21, Syracuse 10
SOUTH
Boston College 26, Duke 6
Clemson 49, The Citadel 0
Liberty 30, W. Kentucky 24
Louisiana Tech 31, Southern Miss. 30
Louisiana-Lafayette 34, Georgia St. 31, OT
Miami 47, Louisville 34
NC State 45, Wake Forest 42
Navy 27, Tulane 24
Texas State 38, Louisiana-Monroe 17
Troy 47, Middle Tennessee 14
UCF 49, Georgia Tech 21
MIDWEST
Cincinnati 55, Austin Peay 20
Notre Dame 52, South Florida 0
SOUTHWEST
Oklahoma St. 16, Tulsa 7
SMU 65, North Texas 35
UTEP 17, Abilene Christian 13
UTSA 24, Stephen F. Austin 10
This story was originally published September 19, 2020 at 5:26 PM.
