Chasing ACC football title, Duke seeks ‘joy and passion’ in playing defense
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Duke defense refocuses on tackling, pursuit and physicality after lapses this week.
- Coaching staff urges celebration of small wins to rebuild passion and intensity.
- Injuries force freshmen into secondary; Duke must stop long drives on third downs.
After giving up 82 points and a combined 1,027 yards in the past two games, Duke had a new directive for its defense this week in preparing for No. 20 Virginia.
In short, fly around, hit people, pursue the ball, make sure tackles … all those routine things. But also, simply put, have some fun doing it, again.
“What I told our staff is we’ve got to bring it,” Duke defensive coordinator Jonathan Patke said this week. “At the end of practice, we should be dripping with sweat.
“We’re going to celebrate. We’re going to celebrate the small victories. We’re going to get back to our habits of having fun at practice and chasing the ball and whooping and hollering.”
The Blue Devils (5-4, 4-1 ACC) scored enough points – including a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Sahmir Hagans – to beat Clemson, 46-45. That offset, to a degree, Duke’s defense allowing 560 yards in total offense.
“After the Clemson game, spirits were high and guys were hyped,” Duke defensive tackle Josiah Green said Tuesday.
Not so after the loss to Connecticut last week. The Huskies had 467 yards in offense in their 37-34 victory. More importantly, they protected the ball and did not turn it over while Duke had three turnovers.
While it was not an ACC loss, losing to UConn in the road game left a sour taste for the Devils.
“UConn played really hard but we need to reestablish the joy and passion we’ve had, just as a team,” Green said, echoing Patke. “In a general sense in college football and professional football, as the season goes on and guys get worn down, it feels like you’re stuck in some kind of loop. Sometimes, with some people, some of the joy and passion starts to (be lost).”
Blue Devils coach Manny Diaz pointed out this week that Duke’s defense faced two outstanding quarterbacks in Clemson’s Cade Klubnik and UConn’s Joe Fagnano. Both were efficient, and Patke said Fagnano could be NFL-caliber with his pocket presence and accurate throws.
Fagnano passed for 311 yards and three touchdowns, the third a 19-yarder to dangerous wideout Skyler Bell with 1:58 left in the fourth quarter that gave the Huskies the winning points.
Duke defense poor on third downs
But a persistent problem for Duke in both games came on possession downs. Duke is 14th in the ACC in third-down conversion defense at 41.2 percent
The Huskies were just 3-for-12 on third-down conversions but 2-for-2 on fourth-down plays. They pulled off a fake punt from their 34-yard line early in the fourth quarter, picking up 26 yards to keep a TD drive in motion.
On UConn’s last scoring drive, the Huskies had a fourth-and-5 situation at the Duke 31 with 2:30 remaining in the game. Fagnano, not pressured, hit tight end Juice Vereen over the middle for 12 yards and a first down, and Bell soon scored the go-ahead TD to end a 75-yard drive.
“Long drives are not our friend. Keeping guys on the field 10 plays is not our friend, but our undoing,” Patke said. “When we get to third down, we’ve got to get off the field.”
Injuries mean freshmen get playing time
The Blue Devils have had to deal with injuries at linebacker, losing Nick Morris Jr. and later Elliott Schaper for the season. Safety Terry Moore, selected a preseason All-America and All-ACC, has not played a game as he recovers from ACL surgery.
Diaz said he looked on the field Saturday to see three true freshmen in the secondary at times. Safeties Ma’khi Jones and Andrew Pellicciotta are getting more snaps, and Kaleb Weaver getting playing time at cornerback along with Landan Callahan, a redshirt freshman.
“I’m proud of the way the young guys are battling,” Diaz said Wednesday.
Patke said Jones, listed at 5-10 and 190 pounds, received the team’s ‘Hammer” award the past two games for jarring hits.
“That shows how fearless he is,” Patke said. “He takes pride in how physical he is.”
Diaz said the week’s practices have been spirited. Virginia, like Duke, is trying to rebound from a close loss to Wake Forest that had starting quarterback Chandler Morris leave the game with an injury.
Diaz said the Devils expected to see Morris on the field Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium, saying his “toughness is unquestioned.” He said Virginia (8-2, 5-1) would be “highly motivated to win” as the two teams seek to remain viable in the fight to get to the ACC championship game.
As for the joy and passion part of Duke’s preparation, Diaz said: “The word ‘joy’ is used sometimes mistakenly. The word ‘passion’ is used mistakenly. In this program, we describe passion as what are you willing to suffer for?”
Some answers could come Saturday.
Duke-Virginia game info
Who: Duke (5-4, 4-1 ACC) vs Virginia (8-2, 5-1)
When: Saturday, Nov. 15, 3:30 p.m.
Where: Wallace Wade Stadium, Durham.
TV: ESPN2. Stream: fubo TV, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV Stream, Sling TV.
Series history: The Cavaliers have won eight of the last nine games – Duke won in 2022 – and have a 41-33 overall lead in the series. Duke and UVa did not face off last season, marking the first year since 1962 the Devils and ‘Hoos did not play.
This story was originally published November 13, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Chasing ACC football title, Duke seeks ‘joy and passion’ in playing defense."
