Three takeaways from No. 18 Louisville’s win over the No. 20 Duke football
No. 20 Duke had no answers for Louisville on Saturday as the No. 18 Cardinals rolled to a 23-0 ACC football win over the Blue Devils at L&N Stadium.
The loss is the second in a row for Duke (5-3, 2-2 ACC) while Louisville (7-1, 4-1 ACC) remains in strong position to gain a spot in the Dec. 2 ACC championship game at Charlotte.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
Woeful offense for Duke
Duke’s medical staff was able to get quarterback Riley Leonard’s sprained right ankle well enough for him to play but it really didn’t do the Blue Devils much good in the end.
Duke failed to get its usually potent running game going, which led to too many failures on first- and second-down plays.
Duke finished with a season-low 51 rushing yards, averaging just 2.4 yards per carry. The Blue Devils 202 total yards also marked a season low.
The Blue Devils played at less than full strength along the offensive line. Graham Barton, Duke’s preseason all-ACC left tackle, was not in uniform due to a lower-body injury. It’s the second game Barton has missed this season. An upper body injury kept him out of the 21-14 loss to Notre Dame on Sept. 30.
During the first quarter, interior lineman Jacob Monk received medical attention for a lower body injury. He returned to the game but was injured again and this time he didn’t return. The injuries robbed Duke of its two most experienced offensive linemen and hurt the Blue Devils at three positions since Monk regularly alternates between center and guard during games.
In addition to the struggles running the ball, Duke allowed quarterback Riley Leonard to absorb four sacks. Entering the game, Duke’s quarterbacks had only been sacked five times all season. That was the fewest among any ACC team.
Duke also hurt itself with nine offensive penalties as every offensive lineman was called for at least one penalty.
Center Scott Elliott and left tackle Brian Parker both being called for false starts. Elliott also picked up a holding call as well as an illegal procedure for snap infraction. Right tackle Jake Hornibrook was also called for holding as was Elliott. Guard Justin Pickett was called for a personal foul for unnecessary roughness and the offense was also called for a delay of game. Guard Maurice McIntyre also picked up an unnecessary roughness penalty
Louisville runs all over Duke’s defense
Led by running back Jahwar Jordan, the Cardinals established the run on their first drive and were rarely stopped. Before the fourth quarter started, Louisville had more rushing yards against Duke than any other team this season.
The Cardinals finished with 234 rushing yards, averaging 4.9 yards per carry.
Jordan, who had been hobbled by a hamstring injury in recent weeks, scored rushing touchdowns on Louisville’s first two drives. He finished with a career-high 163 yards on 21 carries.
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Resiliency lacking for Duke
For just the second time in Mike Elko’s tenure as Duke’s coach, the Blue Devils have lost consecutive games.
It must be noted that both have come on the road against ranked teams. But, regardless, after not losing by more than eight points in the first 19 games under Elko, Duke has lost 38-20 at Florida State and 23-0 at Louisville over the last two Saturdays.
With Florida State scoring the final 21 points of its game with Duke, the Blue Devils allowed 44 consecutive points without providing an answer.
Now the Blue Devils face a short week to prepare for another ACC game, this one against Wake Forest, on Thursday night at Wallace Wade Stadium.
This story was originally published October 28, 2023 at 2:58 PM.