Blue Devils Drop 28-26 Decision to Pittsburgh

Saturday, November 19

Pittsburgh, Pa.

12 p.m.

Duke University

7-4 , 4-3

Pittsburgh

7-4 , 4-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Duke

Pitt

Blue Devils Drop 28-26 Decision to Pittsburgh

11/19/2022 6:10:00 PM | Football

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PITTSBURGH – Duke couldn't complete the comeback on Saturday afternoon, dropping a 28-26 decision to Pittsburgh at Acrisure Stadium.

The Blue Devils scored a touchdown with 47 seconds remaining on 4th-and-18 to pull within 28-26 but couldn't convert the two-point conversion to finish off the rally.

Sophomore quarterback Riley Leonard went 24-of-45 passing for 290 yards with three touchdowns. One of those receiving scores was to sophomore wide receiver Jordan Moore, who accumulated 199 yards on 14 receptions to lead all players.

The Blue Devil defense registered two turnovers in the game, but weren't able to convert them into points. Junior safety Jaylen Stinson and graduate student safety Darius Joiner led Duke with nine and eight tackles, respectively.

How It Happened

The Panthers jumped in front early following a 47-yard field goal by Ben Sauls.
After a Chandler Rivers blocked punt awarded the Blue Devils good field position, Duke drove 42 yards in five plays to take the 7-3 lead. Leonard connected with Jalon Calhoun on a 28-yard catch-and-score for Calhoun's third receiving touchdown of the year.
The Panthers pulled back on top, 10-7, following a muffed Duke punt that the home side recovered at the six-yard line.
The home side added another field goal to extend their advantage to 13-7 with a little over nine minutes to play in the half.
Duke again answered after Leonard muscled his way into the end zone from one yard out to give the Blue Devils a 14-13 edge. The score capped an 11-play, 75-yard drive.
Just before the break, Pitt earned one final score after Kedon Slovis connected with Jared Wayne for the 15-yard touchdown reception to send the Panthers into the locker room with a 20-14 lead.
Early in the fourth quarter, Pitt extended its lead to 28-14 after scooping up a Duke fumble and returning it 30 yards for the score.
The Blue Devils then tried to mount a comeback after scores by Moore and Jaylen Coleman pulled them within 28-26. Leonard found Moore in stride for a 49-yard touchdown reception with 9:28 remaining in the game before Leonard connected with Coleman with 47 seconds left to play. Unfortunately, Duke couldn't convert on the two-point conversion to knot the score.

Notables

With Leonard's rushing score on Saturday, he now has 11 rushing touchdowns on the year which ranks him third all-time on Duke's season chart for rushing scores by a quarterback. He is one shy of matching Mike Dunn for second and three short of tying Brandon Connette's program record.
Moore become the first Duke player with 10-plus receptions since Jake Bobo (11) did so against Northwestern on Sept. 18, 2021.
Moore is also Duke's first player to record 100-plus receiving yards since Calhoun (108) and Eli Pancol (106) did so at Northwestern earlier this season.
Moore's 199 receiving yards are the most since T.J. Rahming recorded 240 yards on 12 receptions against Temple in the 2018 Walk-On's Independence Bowl.
The Leonard to Moore 49-yard touchdown reception was Duke's longest passing score of the year.
Freshman defensive back Rivers blocked Duke's second punt of the season, the first blocked punt of his career.
Graduate student Datrone Young intercepted his first pass of the season, returning it 25 yards
Redshirt senior Shaka Heyward also recorded an interception, marking his second in as many games to become the first Duke player to record an interception in back-to-back games since Jalen Alexander did so against Virginia and North Carolina in 2019

Up Next

The Blue Devils welcome Wake Forest for their regular season finale on Saturday, Nov. 26 for a 3:30 p.m. kick at Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium. The ACC Network will broadcast the game.
Wake Forest hosts Syracuse at 8 p.m. on Saturday on the ACC Network prior to facing Duke.

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