Upcoming Event: Football at Syracuse on September 27, 2025 at 12 p.m.
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12 p.m.
Football
at Syracuse
Game Notes: Syracuse
10/5/2020 2:00:00 PM | Football
DURHAM, N.C. – Duke heads back on the road when it travels to Syracuse on Saturday for its fifth game of the 2020 season.
Kickoff between the Blue Devils and Orange is set for 12:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on RSN.
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The two programs have a short history, having played just four times prior to Saturday's contest ... the Blue Devils hold the 3-1 edge on the all-time series but the Orange claimed the last meeting just a season ago in Durham.
Saturday's RSN broadcast will feature Tom Werme, James Bates, and Abby Labar on the call. The game can also be heard on the Blue Devils IMG Sports Network through the TuneIn app or goduke.com
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HOW TO FOLLOW
Duke (0-4, 0-4 ACC) vs. Syracuse (1-2, 1-2 ACC)
Saturday, October 10, 2020 • 12:30 PM
Syracuse, N.Y. • Carrier Dome
TELEVISION • RSN
RADIO • Blue Devils IMG Sports Network
GAME NOTES • Duke Notes (PDF) •  Syracuse Notes
LIVE STATS • Cuse.com
TWITTER • @DukeFOOTBALL
GAME NOTES
Duke is searching for its first win of the 2020 season, having dropped its most recent outing to Virginia Tech, 38-31 ... QB Chase Brice threw for 271 yards while RB Deon Jackson scored twice on the ground to lead the Blue Devils.
After having struggled with turnovers in its previous two outings (12 total), Duke limited its number to just one against Virginia Tech (INT) ... the Hokies used that turnover, however, to score seven points ... over Duke's last three games, its opponents have converted 34 points off of Blue Devil giveaways ... Duke has used four opponent turnovers to register 23 points.
Two Blue Devils -- senior TE Noah Gray and senior DE Victor Dimukeje -- are nearing program records ... Gray is four catches away from breaking Stan Crisson's career mark for pass receptions by a TE (98), while Dimukeje is 4.5 career sacks away from eclipsing Charles Bowser's all-time school standard (22.0).
INSIDE THE SERIES
This year's game will mark the fifth on the gridiron between the two schools with Duke leading the all-time series, 3-1 ... the Blue Devils won the opening three games of the series from 1938-2014 but Syracuse earned its first win against Duke last season when it recorded a 49-6 victory in Durham.
CUTCLIFFE, DUKE IN OCTOBER
Duke is 19-25 in the month of October under Cutcliffe ... on the road, the Blue Devils are 11-12 ... against ACC opponents Duke is 13-25.Â
UNCHARTERED TERRITORY
The Blue Devils have started the year 0-4 for the first time since 2006 when they finished the season 0-12 ... this is the first time Duke has started 0-4 against ACC teams since 2016, when it dropped contests to Wake Forest, Virginia, Louisville and Georgia Tech.Â
GRAY FINDING HIS GROOVE
This season, senior TE Noah Gray has picked up right where he left off in 2019 ... through Duke's opening four games of 2020, Gray has led or tied for the Blue Devils for the lead in receptions ... he has compiled 203 yards on 19 catches so far this year and currently ranks second in the ACC and nationally among tight ends in receptions, trailing only Boston College's Hunter Long (25).
Gray's career numbers have shifted to 95 receptions for 866 yards and eight TDs ... the 95 catches rank second all-time in Duke's career receptions by a tight end ... Gray is three grabs shy of matching Stan Crisson's school record of 98.
Gray is also chasing two more schools records in most TDs and most receiving yards by a TE ... currently his 866 yards are 504 yards shy of matching Mike Hart's career reception yards by a TE (1,370; 1998-01) ... he is 242 yards away from breaking into the top four in that category ... with his pair of scoring receptions in 2020, the Leominister, Mass., native has moved into fourth place on Duke's all-time chart for touchdown catches by a TE with eight, trailing Davis Koppenhaver (12; 2014-18), Stan Crisson (10; 1961-63) and Dave Dunaway (9; 1964-66).
Finally, Gray has recorded 20+ receiving yards in 19 games throughout his career, and last Saturday recorded his 16th consecutive game with 2+ receptions.Â
TOUCHDOWN NOTABLES
With his pair of ground scores last week against Virginia Tech, RB Deon Jackson moved into a tie for 24th on Duke's career list for rushing touchdowns with 15 … he also has become the 17th player in Blue Devil history to rush for 1,500+ yards while registering multiple rushing TDs in three consecutive seasons.
FULL CIRCLE
Redshirt junior TE Jake Marwede and redshirt sophomore WR Jarett Garner have both rebounded from significant knee injuries suffered earlier in their respective careers ... Marwede scored his first career touchdown at Virginia, while Garner has put together an impressive two-game stretch with five receptions for 124 yards against Virginia and Virginia Tech ... Marwede overcame a torn right ACL suffered during Duke's 2018 game at Clemson ... Garner has recovered from a torn left ACL suffered during Duke's 2019 game against Pittsburgh.
TD RUN
Junior RB Mataeo Durant broke free for a 49-yard touchdown run against Boston College earlier this season ... that score was his second career rushing TD and third overall ... the 49-yard scamper was Duke's longest rushing touchdown since fellow RB Deon Jackson scored on a 75-yard jaunt at Miami in 2018.
Among ACC running backs with 25+ rushing attempts on the season, Durant ranks fourth in average yards per attempt (6.34), trailing Virginia Tech's Khalil Herbert (12.00), Miami's Cam'Ron Harris (8.18) and N.C. State's Zonovan Knight (6.88) … last week against Virginia Tech, Durant rushed for a career-high 86 yards on 11 carries, good for a per attempt average of 7.82 yards.
TACKLES FOR LOSS
In 2019, Duke had five players register six or more tackles for loss, led by DE Chris Rumph II who recorded a team-best 13.5 ... DE Victor Dimukeje and LB Shaka Heyward are the other two returning players on the list with 9.5 and 6.5 TFL, respectively, last season ... Rumph II ranked eighth in the ACC with his 13.5 TFL.Â
In 2020, Dimukeje, Heyward and Rumph II have already recorded multiple TFL with 5.0, 3.0 and 2.0, respectively ... Marquis Waters (3.0 TFL), Rocky Shelton II (2.5 TFL), Drew Jordan (1.5 TFL) and Ben Frye (1.5 TFL) round out the remaining Blue Devils with 1+ TFL on the year. Â
YOUTH AT LINEBACKER
Duke's depth chart at linebacker is a youthful one as the unit is comprised of two redshirt sophomores, one redshirt freshman and two true freshmen.
Redshirt sophomore Shaka Heyward, who started six games last season, is the most experienced returning LB for the Blue Devils ... in four games so far in 2020, Heyward leads the ACC with 34 tackles ... he has also led or tied for a team-lead in tackles in three of Duke's opening four games ... during the Blue Devils' game against Boston College, Heyward posted a game-high 10 tackles, marking the fourth double digit tackle game of his career ...Â
The Hoschton, Ga., native has posted six+ tackles in  nine straight contests, with four of those games being double-digit tackle performances ... for his career (20 games), Heyward has 102 tackles, 9.5 TFL, 4.5 sacks, one INT, two fumble recoveries and five QB pressures.
NO FLY ZONE
Duke accumulated nine interceptions last season and the Blue Devils are looking to continue that trend in 2020 ... so far this year, Duke has registered 1+ pick in each of its opening four games, marking the first time it has done so since recording INTs in seven straight games to open the 2017 season.
In seven of the last eight seasons, Duke has earned at least 9+ INTs, with its lone blip on the radar being the 2018 season (4) ... during that stretch, the Blue Devils recorded six years with double digit picks, including an impressive 18 in 2013.Â
Duke has five INTs in 2020 with five different Blue Devils recording a pick: Mark Gilbert, Leonard Johnson, Rocky Shelton II, Lummie Young IV and Jeremiah Lewis ... against Virginia, the Blue Devils tallied two picks for their first multi-INT game since earning two against Notre Dame last season.
DIMUKEJE LEAVING HIS MARK
Senior Victor Dimukeje, who's played 2,323 career snaps, owns 27 games with 3+ tackles and 10 outings with 5+ stops, including a career-high eight tackles against Wake Forest in 2019 ... in Duke's game against Boston College, the Baltimore, Md., native tallied 3.5 sacks to match Chris Rumph II for the second-most in program history for a single game.Â
Dimukeje continues to lead the ACC in sacks per game (1.00), tied with Pittsburgh's Patrick Jones … the last Blue Devil to lead the league in sacks was Shawn Johnson in 2002 … in addition, Dimukeje is aiming to become just the third player in Duke history to pace the team in sacks three consecutive seasons, joining Chris Combs (1996-97-98) and Kenny Anunike (2011-12-13)
For his career, Dimukeje has four games with 2.0+ sacks and currently sits third all-time with 18.0 ... he is 4.0 sacks away from tying Charles Bowser's all-time school record of 22.0.
The defensive end also sits 2.5 TFL shy of cracking into Duke's career top-10 list as he currently has 29.5 to his name ... his 5.0 season TFL number ranks fifth in the ACC as well.
THE KICKINGÂ GAME
Redshirt freshman Porter Wilson has taken over Duke's punting duties and so far this season has punted 23 times for 1,002 yards for an average of 43.57 yards ... his first career punt against Notre Dame went 60 yards while nine of his boots have been downed inside 20 yard line against zero touchbacks.
Last week against Virginia Tech, Wilson punted nine times for 409 yards (45.44) with four boots of 50+ yards, including a season-long 63 yard kick … the 63-yard effort resulted in a Duke TD as the punt was muffed and eventually the ball was recovered by Duke's Jaylen Stinson in the end zone … Wilson had two punts downed inside the Hokie 10 yard line (1 & 6 yard line, respectively) and had just two punts returned for a combined total of minus-18 yards.
Wilson leads the ACC in punts of 50+ yards with nine, and is the only punter ranking among the league's top 10 in punting average with nine-plus boots against zero touchbacks.
Fellow classmate Charlie Ham has been the replacement on both placement kicks and kickoffs ... in six career games, Ham has registered 21 kickoffs for 1,296 yards (61.71) with eight touchbacks.
Ham has also converted on five of his six field goal attempts in 2020, with his lone miss a 35-yarder against Boston College ... against Virginia, Ham booted a season-best 47-yarder ... he is tied with two others in the ACC with the second-most made FGs this season.
#GoDuke
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Kickoff between the Blue Devils and Orange is set for 12:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on RSN.
Â
The two programs have a short history, having played just four times prior to Saturday's contest ... the Blue Devils hold the 3-1 edge on the all-time series but the Orange claimed the last meeting just a season ago in Durham.
Saturday's RSN broadcast will feature Tom Werme, James Bates, and Abby Labar on the call. The game can also be heard on the Blue Devils IMG Sports Network through the TuneIn app or goduke.com
Â
HOW TO FOLLOW
Duke (0-4, 0-4 ACC) vs. Syracuse (1-2, 1-2 ACC)
Saturday, October 10, 2020 • 12:30 PM
Syracuse, N.Y. • Carrier Dome
TELEVISION • RSN
RADIO • Blue Devils IMG Sports Network
GAME NOTES • Duke Notes (PDF) •  Syracuse Notes
LIVE STATS • Cuse.com
TWITTER • @DukeFOOTBALL
GAME NOTES
Duke is searching for its first win of the 2020 season, having dropped its most recent outing to Virginia Tech, 38-31 ... QB Chase Brice threw for 271 yards while RB Deon Jackson scored twice on the ground to lead the Blue Devils.
After having struggled with turnovers in its previous two outings (12 total), Duke limited its number to just one against Virginia Tech (INT) ... the Hokies used that turnover, however, to score seven points ... over Duke's last three games, its opponents have converted 34 points off of Blue Devil giveaways ... Duke has used four opponent turnovers to register 23 points.
Two Blue Devils -- senior TE Noah Gray and senior DE Victor Dimukeje -- are nearing program records ... Gray is four catches away from breaking Stan Crisson's career mark for pass receptions by a TE (98), while Dimukeje is 4.5 career sacks away from eclipsing Charles Bowser's all-time school standard (22.0).
INSIDE THE SERIES
This year's game will mark the fifth on the gridiron between the two schools with Duke leading the all-time series, 3-1 ... the Blue Devils won the opening three games of the series from 1938-2014 but Syracuse earned its first win against Duke last season when it recorded a 49-6 victory in Durham.
CUTCLIFFE, DUKE IN OCTOBER
Duke is 19-25 in the month of October under Cutcliffe ... on the road, the Blue Devils are 11-12 ... against ACC opponents Duke is 13-25.Â
UNCHARTERED TERRITORY
The Blue Devils have started the year 0-4 for the first time since 2006 when they finished the season 0-12 ... this is the first time Duke has started 0-4 against ACC teams since 2016, when it dropped contests to Wake Forest, Virginia, Louisville and Georgia Tech.Â
GRAY FINDING HIS GROOVE
This season, senior TE Noah Gray has picked up right where he left off in 2019 ... through Duke's opening four games of 2020, Gray has led or tied for the Blue Devils for the lead in receptions ... he has compiled 203 yards on 19 catches so far this year and currently ranks second in the ACC and nationally among tight ends in receptions, trailing only Boston College's Hunter Long (25).
Gray's career numbers have shifted to 95 receptions for 866 yards and eight TDs ... the 95 catches rank second all-time in Duke's career receptions by a tight end ... Gray is three grabs shy of matching Stan Crisson's school record of 98.
Gray is also chasing two more schools records in most TDs and most receiving yards by a TE ... currently his 866 yards are 504 yards shy of matching Mike Hart's career reception yards by a TE (1,370; 1998-01) ... he is 242 yards away from breaking into the top four in that category ... with his pair of scoring receptions in 2020, the Leominister, Mass., native has moved into fourth place on Duke's all-time chart for touchdown catches by a TE with eight, trailing Davis Koppenhaver (12; 2014-18), Stan Crisson (10; 1961-63) and Dave Dunaway (9; 1964-66).
Finally, Gray has recorded 20+ receiving yards in 19 games throughout his career, and last Saturday recorded his 16th consecutive game with 2+ receptions.Â
TOUCHDOWN NOTABLES
With his pair of ground scores last week against Virginia Tech, RB Deon Jackson moved into a tie for 24th on Duke's career list for rushing touchdowns with 15 … he also has become the 17th player in Blue Devil history to rush for 1,500+ yards while registering multiple rushing TDs in three consecutive seasons.
FULL CIRCLE
Redshirt junior TE Jake Marwede and redshirt sophomore WR Jarett Garner have both rebounded from significant knee injuries suffered earlier in their respective careers ... Marwede scored his first career touchdown at Virginia, while Garner has put together an impressive two-game stretch with five receptions for 124 yards against Virginia and Virginia Tech ... Marwede overcame a torn right ACL suffered during Duke's 2018 game at Clemson ... Garner has recovered from a torn left ACL suffered during Duke's 2019 game against Pittsburgh.
TD RUN
Junior RB Mataeo Durant broke free for a 49-yard touchdown run against Boston College earlier this season ... that score was his second career rushing TD and third overall ... the 49-yard scamper was Duke's longest rushing touchdown since fellow RB Deon Jackson scored on a 75-yard jaunt at Miami in 2018.
Among ACC running backs with 25+ rushing attempts on the season, Durant ranks fourth in average yards per attempt (6.34), trailing Virginia Tech's Khalil Herbert (12.00), Miami's Cam'Ron Harris (8.18) and N.C. State's Zonovan Knight (6.88) … last week against Virginia Tech, Durant rushed for a career-high 86 yards on 11 carries, good for a per attempt average of 7.82 yards.
TACKLES FOR LOSS
In 2019, Duke had five players register six or more tackles for loss, led by DE Chris Rumph II who recorded a team-best 13.5 ... DE Victor Dimukeje and LB Shaka Heyward are the other two returning players on the list with 9.5 and 6.5 TFL, respectively, last season ... Rumph II ranked eighth in the ACC with his 13.5 TFL.Â
In 2020, Dimukeje, Heyward and Rumph II have already recorded multiple TFL with 5.0, 3.0 and 2.0, respectively ... Marquis Waters (3.0 TFL), Rocky Shelton II (2.5 TFL), Drew Jordan (1.5 TFL) and Ben Frye (1.5 TFL) round out the remaining Blue Devils with 1+ TFL on the year. Â
YOUTH AT LINEBACKER
Duke's depth chart at linebacker is a youthful one as the unit is comprised of two redshirt sophomores, one redshirt freshman and two true freshmen.
Redshirt sophomore Shaka Heyward, who started six games last season, is the most experienced returning LB for the Blue Devils ... in four games so far in 2020, Heyward leads the ACC with 34 tackles ... he has also led or tied for a team-lead in tackles in three of Duke's opening four games ... during the Blue Devils' game against Boston College, Heyward posted a game-high 10 tackles, marking the fourth double digit tackle game of his career ...Â
The Hoschton, Ga., native has posted six+ tackles in  nine straight contests, with four of those games being double-digit tackle performances ... for his career (20 games), Heyward has 102 tackles, 9.5 TFL, 4.5 sacks, one INT, two fumble recoveries and five QB pressures.
NO FLY ZONE
Duke accumulated nine interceptions last season and the Blue Devils are looking to continue that trend in 2020 ... so far this year, Duke has registered 1+ pick in each of its opening four games, marking the first time it has done so since recording INTs in seven straight games to open the 2017 season.
In seven of the last eight seasons, Duke has earned at least 9+ INTs, with its lone blip on the radar being the 2018 season (4) ... during that stretch, the Blue Devils recorded six years with double digit picks, including an impressive 18 in 2013.Â
Duke has five INTs in 2020 with five different Blue Devils recording a pick: Mark Gilbert, Leonard Johnson, Rocky Shelton II, Lummie Young IV and Jeremiah Lewis ... against Virginia, the Blue Devils tallied two picks for their first multi-INT game since earning two against Notre Dame last season.
DIMUKEJE LEAVING HIS MARK
Senior Victor Dimukeje, who's played 2,323 career snaps, owns 27 games with 3+ tackles and 10 outings with 5+ stops, including a career-high eight tackles against Wake Forest in 2019 ... in Duke's game against Boston College, the Baltimore, Md., native tallied 3.5 sacks to match Chris Rumph II for the second-most in program history for a single game.Â
Dimukeje continues to lead the ACC in sacks per game (1.00), tied with Pittsburgh's Patrick Jones … the last Blue Devil to lead the league in sacks was Shawn Johnson in 2002 … in addition, Dimukeje is aiming to become just the third player in Duke history to pace the team in sacks three consecutive seasons, joining Chris Combs (1996-97-98) and Kenny Anunike (2011-12-13)
For his career, Dimukeje has four games with 2.0+ sacks and currently sits third all-time with 18.0 ... he is 4.0 sacks away from tying Charles Bowser's all-time school record of 22.0.
The defensive end also sits 2.5 TFL shy of cracking into Duke's career top-10 list as he currently has 29.5 to his name ... his 5.0 season TFL number ranks fifth in the ACC as well.
THE KICKINGÂ GAME
Redshirt freshman Porter Wilson has taken over Duke's punting duties and so far this season has punted 23 times for 1,002 yards for an average of 43.57 yards ... his first career punt against Notre Dame went 60 yards while nine of his boots have been downed inside 20 yard line against zero touchbacks.
Last week against Virginia Tech, Wilson punted nine times for 409 yards (45.44) with four boots of 50+ yards, including a season-long 63 yard kick … the 63-yard effort resulted in a Duke TD as the punt was muffed and eventually the ball was recovered by Duke's Jaylen Stinson in the end zone … Wilson had two punts downed inside the Hokie 10 yard line (1 & 6 yard line, respectively) and had just two punts returned for a combined total of minus-18 yards.
Wilson leads the ACC in punts of 50+ yards with nine, and is the only punter ranking among the league's top 10 in punting average with nine-plus boots against zero touchbacks.
Fellow classmate Charlie Ham has been the replacement on both placement kicks and kickoffs ... in six career games, Ham has registered 21 kickoffs for 1,296 yards (61.71) with eight touchbacks.
Ham has also converted on five of his six field goal attempts in 2020, with his lone miss a 35-yarder against Boston College ... against Virginia, Ham booted a season-best 47-yarder ... he is tied with two others in the ACC with the second-most made FGs this season.
#GoDuke
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