To beat Charlotte, the Duke defense needed one final stop. It couldn’t get it done
The year Charlotte fielded its initial football team, Duke played in the ACC championship game and posted its lone 10-win season.
Eight years later, the 49ers caught up to the Blue Devils and finally surpassed them on the field with a scintillating 31-28 win that wasn’t decided until the game’s final seconds.
While Charlotte played in its first bowl game in 2019, Duke began a descent that has now seen them lose 17 of 24 games since they won the Independence Bowl in 2018.
Where a bumbling, turnover-prone offense doomed Duke to a 2-9 record last season, the Blue Devils defense also played a role in that debacle by allowing 38.1 points per game.
On Friday night before 14,125 spectators at Charlotte’s Jerry Richardson Stadium, that defense bears the brunt of the blame in Duke’s latest loss.
Long drives doom Devils
Charlotte’s four touchdown drives covered 80, 75, 92 and 75 yards. The final two came on the 49ers last two possessions, erasing Duke leads both times.
“Did we tackle well enough? Did we cover well enough on defense?” Duke coach David Cutcliffe said. “The answer is no.”
Charlotte quarterback Chris Reynolds rarely faced pressure as Duke sacked him just once in the game. That sack came early in what became the 75-yard, game-winning scoring drive. Reynolds fumbled on the play but the 49ers recovered.
That proved large since the play occurred with 1:19 to play. Just 36 seconds later, Reynolds fired a 12-yard touchdown pass to Shadrick Byrd that put Charlotte in front 31-28.
Reynolds looked poised as he made play after play, throw after throw, to move the 49ers through Duke’s defense. He completed 19 of 30 passes, throwing for 324 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for a score.
On the final two drives, Reynolds completed 9 of 10 passes for 161 yards.
That he was able to do so raises alarm bells about Duke’s defense that would be ringing even if the 49ers had failed to score that last touchdown and win the game.
Open space on defense
Duke spent the offseason rebuilding a defensive front that absorbed a massive loss of experienced talent.
Defensive ends Chris Rumph II and Victor Dimukeje were selected in the NFL Draft. Another defensive end, Drew Jordan, transferred to Michigan State for his super senior year. Defensive tackle Derrick Tangelo did the same with his move to Penn State.
The new-look defensive front features a senior in defensive end Ben Frye but a host of sophomores along the remainder of the front four. One of those sophomores, projected starter Gary Smith, missed the game as he’s still recovering from August arthroscopic knee surgery.
RJ Oben had 2.5 tackles for loss and Frye added two to help Duke slow Charlotte’s rushing game at times.
Still, when it came time to make a defensive play to seal the win, Duke failed to do so.
The Blue Devils secondary, reshuffled due to injury and illness, left far too many open spaces for Charlotte’s receivers to roam.
It started early when Grant DuBose, whose only previous college experience was 10 games at Division II Miles (Ala.) College in 2019, beat Duke cornerback Jeremiah Lewis in single coverage to catch a pass over the middle that turned into a 56-yard touchdown play.
Before the game, Duke announced Nate Thompson, a starting safety, would miss the game due to COVID-19 protocols.
That meant starting cornerback Josh Blackwell moved to safety, leaving Lewis to start at cornerback opposite Leonard Johnson.
When safety Jalen Alexander left the game with an ankle injury, Blackwell moved back to cornerback. Duke used Lummie Young and J’Marick Woods at safeties with freshman Da’Quan Johnson and sophomore Jaylen Stinson also getting reps.
It all added up to Charlotte being too comfortable in its passing game, particularly in the fourth quarter with the game on the line.
The 49ers converted 10 third-down plays into first downs on 18 such situations.
Special day for Durant
All those defensive breakdowns ruined a special performance turned in by Duke running back Mataeo Durant, who set the school single-game rushing record with 255 yards while scoring three touchdowns.
His last two scoring runs covered 59 and 53 yards. Both came in the fourth quarter to put Duke in front.
Both times, though, Charlotte marched down the field to score and move back in front.
The trajectory of both programs over the last eight years is stark, with Charlotte’s program being born the same year Duke played for the ACC championship.
But also remember that, even while Duke struggled last season, the Blue Devils still dominated Charlotte, 53-19, at Wallace Wade Stadium for one of their two wins.
Not so this time.
Cutcliffe said his team’s “spirit isn’t broken” by this loss. He said the 49ers `played well. They are a good football team. Certainly wouldn’t call us one yet.’
He praised Durant’s fierceness.
But he loathed that although his team had just one turnover, Duke’s defense didn’t force any.
That one turnover, it should be noted, was a Gunnar Holmberg fumble into the end zone when he was on the verge of scoring a touchdown.
Still the defense needed one stop in the fourth quarter and couldn’t get it done.
So, in the end, Duke’s hopes of returning to a bowl game for the first time since 2018 took a major hit.
Games against experienced ACC quarterbacks like UNC’s Sam Howell, Pitt’s Kenny Pickett and Virginia Tech’s Braxton Burmeister are still ahead on Duke’s schedule.
Finding six wins means the defense has to get a whole lot better, and that may be asking too much.
This story was originally published September 4, 2021 at 7:30 AM with the headline "To beat Charlotte, the Duke defense needed one final stop. It couldn’t get it done."