Duke Football: Blue Devils Punctuate Surprising Season
Wednesday's Military Bowl at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md., was only the 15th Duke football postseason game in history. Under first-year head coach Mike Elko, the Blue Devils (9-4, 5-3 ACC) pulled off only their seventh bowl victory all time with a 30-13 win over the UCF Knights (9-5, 6-2 AAC).
Once again, Duke delivered a balanced attack, racking up 177 yards on the ground and 173 yards through the air.
Meanwhile, the defense consistently kept UCF's playmakers in check. In the process, the Blue Devils corralled their FBS-leading 16th fumble recovery this season and set a Military Bowl record with six sacks.
Following a 7-7 tie at the end of the first quarter, Duke kicked into another gear with a 13-0 advantage in the second quarter to enter halftime with all the momentum and a 20-7 lead.
As one can see from the final score, despite a UCF touchdown and failed two-point conversion six minutes into the fourth quarter to pull within 10, the Blue Devils' momentum survived the second half.
Yes, there's no doubt that Elko, the 2022 ACC Coach of the Year, has succeeded in reinvigorating the program with complete buy-in from players on both sides of the ball.
Outside of the David Cutcliffe era (2008-21), when Duke went 3-3 in bowl games (all six appearances came between 2012-18), the Blue Devils hadn't won a bowl game since 1960.
Duke compiled more ACC wins than the program's previous three teams combined. And the 2022 Blue Devils became the seventh Duke football squad in history with at least nine victories — the first since 2014 and only the third since the end of World War II.
Furthermore, this is the first time since 1954 that the Blue Devils enter a postseason after both winning five of their past six games and coming out on top in their bowl game.
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