Vernon hauled in 12 passes for 134 yards, but Duke falls short at home against Boston College - Lance Images for BDN
DURHAM - The long out stretched arm of Boston College DE Max Holloway batted down a Sean Renfree pass intended for Conner Vernon on 4th down and the play sealed a 21-16 win for the Eagles. It was a heartbreaking defeat for the Blue Devils who were energized by a 95 yard fumble return by true freshman August Campbell for a score.
That play now stands alone in the record books as the longest fumble return for a touchdown in Duke Football History. Duke then held Boston College twice after that on defense and got the ball back on their 37 yard line and started a 12 play 59 yard drive, but it ended at the four yard line where Duke turned the ball over on downs and that allowed the Eagles to come out with a close win.
Chase Retting threw two touchdown passes for the Eagles while Sean Renfree went 35 of 49 for 285 yards. , but no scores. The Eagles defense held Duke to just 4 yards rushing but nine Duke wideouts caught passes led by Conner Vernon who had 12 catches for 134 yards.
They scored again on another Retting pass to Ifeanyi Momah putting them ahead 21-6 and the game suddenly seemed out of reach until August Campbell's big play. After all, the Eagles were about to score again before that play but Duke swung the momentum back their way but just couldn't close the deal.
The loss knocks Duke out of bowl contention and they next travel to Atlanta to play Georgia Tech before finishing the season against North Carolina in Durham. Duke dropped to 3-7 on the season while Boston College climbed even at 5-5.
Cutcliffe post game comments (just press play) -
We'll have more on the game and a look ahead in our weekly Sunday Quarterback article.
On Saturday, Boston College will make their first trip to Wallace Wade Stadium to face the Blue Devils. With both teams riding two game winning streaks, Blue Devil Nation and Boston College Interruption exchanged questions to get reacquainted. Our answers can be found at the BC Interruption blog.
BDN: Many predicted Boston College to finish near the top of a seemingly wide-open Atlantic division this season. What were your expectations heading into this season for Frank Spaziani's 2nd year, and how would you evaluate the season thus far? What went wrong during the 5 game losing streak, and what has been the difference the last two weeks?
BCI: Many predicted BC to finish near the top of the Atlantic Division this year, true. And because we are homers, we figured BC would actually win the Atlantic Division heading into the season. Things seemed to line up perfectly for the Eagles. We got back our All-American ACC Defensive Player of the Year Mark Herzlich, who missed the entire 2009 season battling Ewing’s Sarcoma. We had four home games to start the season, and an extra week to prepare for our Coastal Division rivals Virginia Tech. From the Coastal Division, BC drew both Duke and Virginia. The pieces seemed to be in place to have a run at the Division title with a record of 9-3 or 10-2.
This season has been a big disappointment. While BC can still eke out 3 more wins to finish the season 7-5, I don’t think anyone really expected us to have that record when the season began. Certainly we didn’t expect to go through a five-game losing streak in the middle of the season as recent history has certainly been kind to the Eagles.
The difference the last two weeks was a combination of things. One is the schedule lightened up a bit. The other is that BC finally settled on a quarterback after giving Dave Shinskie the keys to the offense for the first three games of the season.
BDN: After helping Boston College to 8 wins in his first year, Dave Shinskie has been replaced by freshman Chase Rettig. Can you elaborate on the quarterback situation and give us a brief scouting report on Rettig's college career so far?
BCI: The short of it is that the BC coaching staff thought Dave Shinskie would at least be serviceable this year and that they could save Chase Rettig, arguably the future of the program, for another year by redshirting him. Through the first three games of the season, it became very clear the neither Shinskie nor Mike Marscovetra was the long-term answer for BC.
BC started Chase Rettig after the 19-0 loss to Virginia Tech, against Notre Dame on Saturday night in primetime. Basically, the coaching staff through Rettig to the fire on a week where we had a non-conference game before we entered into a stretch of five ACC Atlantic Division games that would quickly decide whether the Eagles would compete again for an Atlantic Division title. We liked what we saw from Rettig in the Notre Dame game. That is, the few snaps he took before leaving that game with an ankle injury.
Rettig didn’t play the following week at N.C. State, but did get his next start at Florida State. Rettig has played well and is slowly progressing as the week’s go by. It also helps that the competition has lessened as the Eagles have progressed through the season.
As Rettig gets more and more in-game experience, he’ll continue to develop with the offensive line and our very young, inexperienced receiving corps. He’s shown some progress and glimpses of brilliance at QB, but other times he’s certainly played like a kid who was playing high school ball last fall.
BDN: Montel Harris is obviously having an All-ACC caliber year, leading the conference in rushing yards. His workload has seemingly increased as the season has progressed, with over 30 carries in each of his last two games. How much of the offensive load is he carrying and how can anyone slow him down?
BCI: Montel Harris is indeed carrying a bulk of the offensive load. I think the combination of very tall offensive linemen and a small, shifty running back has been very successful for BC. By the time opposing linebackers spot Montel, he’s usually already broken through the defensive line, allowing him to gain 4-5 yards a run. Harris has good football instincts and can find the gaps in the line, though BC has been less effective spreading the field and running around the corner and much more effective running north-south.
Early in the season, the Boston College offensive line struggled to establish the run (or the pass, for that matter). They’ve just started to put things together. When the O-line is on their A-game, it becomes very difficult to stop Montel. The only hope opposing defenses have is to stack the box, try to take away the run and ask Rettig to beat you through the air.
BDN: Boston College is seemingly always among the defensive leaders in the ACC and the country. With talented and physical players like Albright, Kuechly, and Herzlich, how much of the success to you attribute to personnel and how much is scheme? How would you characterize the general defensive philosophy these Boston College teams seem to embrace?
BCI: There are two things that I think has made the BC defense so successful over the years. One thing is consistency. Spaziani is a great defensive mind and has been on the Heights for 13 seasons now. While he’s now HC, he still very much has his hands on the defensive side of the ball, and our new defensive coordinator Billy McGovern has been afforded the opportunity to work with Spaz for many seasons now.
Spaz has been able to build up one of the best defenses in the country over the past decade and I think that brand equity has been huge on the recruiting trail. There are clearly some inherent disadvantages to college football recruiting at a school like BC or Duke, and I think the fact that Spaz has established BC as a very strong defensive team has been huge for the program in recruiting.
The other thing I would point to is BC’s recruiting pipelines. Like I said, a BC or a Duke isn’t going to recruit the best athletes on the defensive side of the ball, but BC has been able to establish some very nice pipelines that continue to bring in very good defensive players. The Cincinnati / Ohio pipeline is one that Tom O’Brien worked to establish in the early 2000s that is still paying off to this day. (That’s where BC found tackling machine and sophomore LB Luke Kuechly). I think BC’s annual game against a MAC opponent and the ties to Catholic high schools in the area have helped develop this pipeline, too.
As for whether or not the success is a result of personnel or scheme, I think it’s a bit of both. Spaz and the Eagles D employs a ‘bend-but-don’t-break’ mentality. They give up the short-yardage plays but rarely give up the HR play. Eventually, the offense is going to get tripped up on third downs and be forced to punt. It’s been successful for over a decade now, and has been the most successful against the run. The Eagles defenses continue to rank in the Top 25 (and Top 10 this year and the past few years) in rushing defense.
BDN: Duke and Boston College last met in 2006, which is the only time the teams have played since the 1920s, so these teams do not know each other well. What do you expect to see on Saturday from Duke and Boston College?
BCI: I pretty much expect a repeat of last Saturday’s BC performance. Establish the run and control the tempo of the game on offense with a heavy dose of Montel Harris. I don’t think OC Gary Tranquill will ask Chase Rettig to do too, too much, daring the Duke front seven to stop the run first.
I think BC will get a couple of touchdowns on the ground with Montel and will probably score some points on defense too (BC is tied with Florida for a nation-best 17 interceptions on the season). I think Duke will put up more points than Wake Forest did, but I don’t think it will come anywhere close to the point total you guys have put up against the bottom tier of the ACC (read: Wake Forest and Virginia). If pressed for a final score, I’ll say BC wins 31-20.
I remain convinced a team must successfully run the ball to consistently compete to win. After rushing 45 times for 142 yards in the win at Navy, Duke followed up by rushing for 230 yards on 45 attempts with six rushing touchdowns in Saturday’s 55-48 victory over the Virginia Cavaliers. So far in 2010, through nine games, Duke is averaging 132.8 yards per game on the ground, which ranks 85th out of 120 Football Bowl Series teams. Last season, Duke finished 120th in rushing.
On Saturday, Desmond Scott rushed for 97 yards on 17 carries including the decisive 35 yard touchdown scamper on a toss sweep. Brandon Connette was Duke’s second leading rusher gaining 78 yards on 12 carries, followed by Sean Renfree who gained 22 yards on 10 carries. Connette and Renfree each scored two rushing touchdowns.
Wide Receiver Donovan Varner was the fourth Blue Devil to score a rushing touchdown when he went in motion out of the slot, received an inside hand-off from Connette on a QB option, and darted off tackle for nine yards into the end zone. Varner gained 14 yards on two carries.
Improvement in the ground attack is a positive indicator Duke continues to progress toward turning the football program into an ACC contender.
It is no coincidence Duke has a plus five (+5) turnover margin in their three victories while being minus 14 (-14) during the six losses. Turnovers kill a team’s ability to win games. Duke remains last in the ACC in turnover margin at minus nine (-9) so if they are to extend their current two game winning streak they must value the football.
With all the success Duke has had running the ball recently, make no mistake, the Blue Devils remain a pass oriented offense. Duke is third in the ACC in passing offense averaging 261.3 yards per game. Sean Renfree has passed for 2270 yards and 12 touchdowns this season.
Conner Vernon (5.4), Donovan Varner (5.2) and Austin Kelly (4.4) are first, third and eighth in the ACC respectively, in receptions per game. With Austin Kelly out for the game and Conner Vernon injured returning a kick-off, tight end Cooper Helfet stepped up and caught seven passes for 126 yards against the Cavaliers. Helfet has 20 catches in eight games this season for a 2.5 receptions per game average. He was named one of the ACC players of the week for the second consecutive week.
On Duke’s game winning drive, Donovan Varner converted the critical first down when he caught a 26 yard pass on fourth and 18.
The kicking game is another phase of the game where Duke is excelling. Will Snyderwine is ranked number three in the ACC in scoring (kick) with 72 points. He has made 15 field goals out of 16 attempts plus all 27 extra points attempted.
Duke has attempted six onsides kicks this season and been successful four times.
Lee Butler averages 9.5 yards per punt return, which is fifth in the ACC. His longest return this season is 33 yards and he returned one punt for 26 yards in this week’s victory.
Desmond Scott is sixth in the ACC in all purpose yards with 957. Scott has rushed for 489 yards, gained 260 on kick returns, and caught 22 passes for 208 yards this season.
On the defensive side of the ball, Abraham Kromah ranks second in the ACC in tackles per game at 10.1. Kelby Brown is eighth with 7.6 and Matt Daniels is tied for eleventh with 6.9.
Injuries are starting to mount and could become an issue over the last three weeks of the season so I’m awaiting Thursday’s injury report with trepidation. Duke seeks to extend their winning streak to three games when the Boston College Eagles visit Wallace Wade Stadium on Saturday.
Sean Renfree (right) and Conner Vernon (left) were key performers in Duke's win over Navy.Duke beat Navy 34-31 on the strength of a record setting performance by Sean Renfree and a strong first half by the entire offense; however, the defense played great and acknowledging true freshman linebacker Kelby Brown's 12 tackles, along with Abraham Kromah's 11 tackles, and Matt Daniel's huge tackle on 4th down is appropriate. The defense dominated Navy for three quarters and provided many key performances in the victory.
The Top 8 Statistics in Duke's Win over Navy:
1. Sean Renfree set a single game pass completion percentage record with his 28-30 (93.3%) performance. Renfree didn't set just a new Duke record or an ACC record, he set a new NCAA record, for games with a minimum of 30 passes thrown, by besting Steve Sarkisian's 31-34 (91.2%) performance for BYU against Fresno State on November 25, 1995.
2. Zero turnovers for the Blue Devils. Multiple turnovers doomed Duke in losses against Wake Forest (four), Army (Five) and Miami (seven). The importance of not turning the ball over cannot be overstated. Entering the game, Navy was ranked tied for fourth nationally in turnover margin, while Duke was ranked 119th.
3. Two for two on onside kick recoveries. Navy attempted two onside kicks in the 4th quarter but first Conner Vernon and then Cooper Helfet foiled Navy's attempts by successfully catching the ball for the Blue Devils. Navy's offense was hitting on all eight cylinders in the 4th quarter and these two key plays by Vernon and Helfet prevented the Midshipmen from gaining extra possessions.
4. Duke's vaunted receiving corps earned their accolades: five receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown by Conner Vernon, seven receptions for 69 yards by Cooper Helfet, five receptions for 57 yards by Donovan Varner, five receptions for 49 yards by Desmond Scott, four receptions for 23 yards by Austin Kelly and two receptions for 26 yards by Brandon Braxton. Fifteen of Duke’s 21 first downs were achieved on pass receptions.
5. The defense dominated Navy’s triple option offense until the 4th quarter. Kelby Brown recorded 12 tackles including three solo and Abraham Kromah had 11 tackles with five being solo. Patrick Egboh was credited with 1.5 sacks.
6. Time of possession. Duke mounted multiple long drives and controlled the ball for 36 minutes and 57 seconds. The drives included: 10 plays for 68 yards resulting in a field goal, 14 plays for 76 yards resulting in a touchdown, 10 plays for 45 yards resulting in a touchdown, eight plays for 64 yards resulting in a touchdown, 10 plays for 70 yards resulting in a touchdown, and 12 plays for 60 yards resulting in a field goal.
7. Conversions on 3rd and 4th down. Duke was two for three on 4th down and 8 for 15 on 3rd down. Converting on these plays allowed the offense to mount multiple sustained drives, which kept Navy's offense off the field.
8. Duke rushed 45 times for 142 yards and six first downs. Desmond Scott was the leading rusher with 42 yards including a key 17 yard run during Duke’s opening drive. Quarterbacks Sean Renfree and Brandon Connette combined to rush for 61 yards and three touchdowns.
BLACKSBURG, Va.– The Duke football team fell to 23rd-ranked Virginia Tech, 44-7, Saturday afternoon in front of 66,233 sun-splashed fans at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Va.
The Hokies improve to 6-2 overall and 4-0 in ACC action while the Blue Devils fall to 1-6 overall and 0-4 in the league.
Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor completed 13-of-17 pass attempts for 280 yards and 280 touchdowns to lead the Hokies, who claimed a 7-0 lead just over seven minutes into the first period when Taylor found tight end Andre Smith for a 14-yard scoring toss to cap a five-play, 57-yard drive. Following Duke’s next possession, Virginia Tech’s Jayron Hosley returned a Duke punt 61 yards to set up a one-yard touchdown run by Ryan Williams to give the Hokies a 14-0 advantage with 1:30 remaining in the opening quarter.
After Holsey intercepted a pass by Duke quarterback Brandon Connette, the Hokies marched 24 yards in six plays to take a 21-0 lead on a two-yard touchdown plunge by Darren Evans. The teams went to intermission with the score 27-0 after Chris Hazley booted a pair of field goals in the final 2:37 of the half.
Taylor threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to flanker Dyrell Roberts on Virginia Tech’s first possession of the third quarter, extending the home team’s lead to 34-0. Duke responded with a nine-play, 56-yard drive that resulted in a six-yard touchdown run by running back Jay Hollingsworth. The drive, which was set up by Desmond Scott’s 36-yard kickoff return, was keyed by Connette’s 19-yard run that gave Duke a first-and-goal from the Hokie six yard line.
On the Hokies’ next possession, Taylor found David Wilson down the sideline for a 65-yard touchdown pass to make the score 41-7 with 5:08 left in the third quarter. Hazley’s third field goal of the day – this one from 22 yards away – pushed the margin to 37 points late in the third period.
Virginia Tech scored on eight of its first nine offensive possessions to secure its sixth consecutive victory of the season.
For the Blue Devils, quarterback Sean Renfree hit on 12-of-32 passes for 116 yards while Connette paced the ground attack with 43 yards on eight carries. Wideout Conner Vernon finished with six receptions for 44 yards.
Duke steps out of conference action next week by travelling to Annapolis, Md., to meet the U.S. Naval Academy. Kick-off is set for 3:30 p.m. and the game will be televised live by CBS College Sports.
Sean Renfree hopes to get back on track against the Hokies - Lance Images/BDN
In preparation for this weekend’s matchup in Blacksburg, BDN exchanged a Q&A with the folks at Gobbler Country. Our responses can be viewed over at their website. Riding a 5-game winning streak, the Hokies’ are confident heading into Saturday. The Blue Devils will have a great challenge and opportunity in Lane Stadium.
BDN: Heading into the week 1 matchup with Boise State, expectations were obviously high for the Hokies, but they ended up starting the season 0-2. With the recent losses at the top of the BCS, how disappointed are Virginia Tech fans? With Taylor graduating, was this a missed opportunity?
GC: I'm not sure if disappointed is the right word. For a lot of fans, there was a meltdown of epic proportions after the loss to JMU. Me, I just drank (and drank, and drank, and drank ...) but at the end of the day, there was still the chance to win the ACC if they got their act together.
And that was the expectation all along for me. I figured our best case scenario was winning the ACC and anything else would just be icing. I don't know if I'd go as far as to say it was a missed opportunity because I didn't think the defense would be good enough at the start of the season for us to actually go unbeaten and have a shot at the title.
I'm definitely not among the fans who feel like every year is National Title or Bust. But eventually, I'd like to see us at least be in the discussion in November. But with the way we tend to play in September that will never happen.
BDN: What, in your opinion, went wrong in weeks 1 and 2, and what has been the difference in the current 5-game winning streak?
GC: The defense was young and missed tackles and assignments and the offensive line was terrible. Both sides of the ball have gotten their act together, especially the offensive line. You look at how it played in those first four games compared to the last three and it's completely night and day. On defense, we've had some younger guys start to make plays like Bruce Taylor at mike linebacker and Antone Exum in the secondary. They're still young and giving up big plays, but more often than not they make the play they're supposed to make.
BDN: It sounds like Ryan Williams will be back this week. How do you expect that to affect the offense, which seems to be hitting its stride?
GC: It looks like he'll only be in for a couple of series, and I imagine he'll get around five carries. I really don't know what to expect. When he was in there, the offensive line wasn't opening holes and he was getting bottled up in the backfield. I like to think that he'll be able to fit right in and eventually get back to his 2009 form, but I fear that we'll try to rely on him too much when he gets back to 100 percent.
BDN: Duke has played Virginia Tech tough the past two years. Why do you think that is, and do you expect that to continue this year with what you've seen of both teams in 2010?
GC: If Thad Lewis had played in 2008, there's a good chance you guys would have beaten us. We were awful on offense that game and couldn't stop turning the ball over. The last two years Duke has tried to take away Virginia Tech's run game and was especially effective last season. However, Tyrod Taylor was able to burn them last year. What killed Duke a season ago was the inability to finish drives in the red zone. The Devils settled for field goals while the Hokies scored touchdowns.
This year, I really expect the Hokies to come out and dominate. Duke had some talent on defense last year, but it just isn't there this season. Hopefully they'll be able to put up big points like they did last week against Wake Forest and at the same time not give up the big plays that plagued them last week against Wake and last year against the Devils.
BDN: I don't know that Virginia Tech needs anyone off the Duke roster to significantly improve their chance of winning this one game, so I'll ask you a slightly different question. If you could draft a player or two from Duke's roster to have for future games and seasons, who would you choose and why?
GC: I'm going to cheat and take David Cutcliffe to be our quarterbacks coach. No offense to Mike O'Cain, but he hasn't exactly produced any Peyton Mannings in his time in Blacksburg. Tyrod Taylor has steadily improved his passing abilities, but I can only imagine what having a guy like Cutcliffe around could do for him. Heck, Cut could have probably made Sean Glennon All-ACC.
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