Duke Football Darkest Moments of the Decade: No's 4 and 3

Two embarrassing home losses are next on the countdown

The next two entries on the countdown of Duke’s darkest football moments of the 2010s are a pair of embarrassing home losses.

4. Wake hangs 59 on Duke:

In the closing game of the 2018 regular season, Duke welcomed Wake Forest to Wallace Wade Stadium. The Blue Devils were 7-4 and assured of a second straight bowl bid, while Wake was fighting for its bowl life, needing a sixth win to become eligible.

Wake scored the first three touchdowns of the game and never looked back, running up the score to a 59-7 embarrassment on Duke’s home turf.

Running back Cade Carney had 223 yards and two scores on the ground. Quarterback Jamie Newman threw touchdowns to four different receivers.

Duke lost three fumbles, and Wake scored touchdowns after all of them. The Deacs doubled up Duke on yards gained and had three times as many rushing yards.

3. Duke loses to Richmond … again:

In David Cutcliffe’s second season at Duke, the Blue Devils opened their season at home against Richmond. By scheduling an FCS team, the plan was to start off the year with a win, but the Spiders were able to knock off the Blue Devils in an embarrassing upset, 24-16.

Two years later, Richmond returned for the opener of the 2011 season. As Cutcliffe and the Blue Devils embarked on their fourth season together, it was a chance to show the program’s progress.

Instead, the Spiders knocked off Duke at Wallace Wade again, winning 23-21. Duke outgained Richmond by almost 100 yards, but the Blue Devils were derailed by two fumbles inside their own territory that set up Richmond scores, and Duke was left looking at just how far it still had to go.