Bowling with the Blue Devils
An unconventional trip through Duke bowl history with a look at some postseason Blue Devil superlatives
GoDuke The Magazine
This story originally appeared in the 14.5 Issue of GoDuke The Magazine -- December 2022
DRAMATIC ENDINGS
- In Duke’s first bowl adventure, the original Iron Dukes were undefeated and unscored upon entering the 1939 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, only to see both marks of distinction fall when Southern Cal posted a touchdown with 40 seconds left to win 7-3.
- Alabama led Duke 26-20 in the 1945 Sugar Bowl, and intentionally took a safety with 2:50 left to make it 26-22. But Duke’s George Clark foiled that strategy by returning the ensuing free kick into Alabama territory, then scored the game-winning TD on a 20-yard run with 2:00 remaining for a 29-26 victory.
- What could be more dramatic than claiming the 1961 Cotton Bowl, 7-6 over Arkansas, by scoring the game-winning TD on a flea-flicker pass to Tee Moorman with only 2:45 left?
- What could be more gut-wrenching than fumbling the ball at the six-yard line with 1:20 to go in the 2012 Belk Bowl? Instead of breaking a 34-34 tie with Cincinnati, the Blue Devils saw the Bearcats hit an 82-yard TD pass with 44 seconds left to take the lead, and the win.
- The 2013 Chick-fil-A Bowl and the 2014 Hyundai Sun Bowl also were decided deep in the fourth quarter, by four and five points, respectively — just not in Duke’s favor.
- Duke’s first postseason win since the Cotton Bowl didn’t lack for drama: A wild fourth quarter at Yankee Stadium in 2015 featured Blue Devil QB Thomas Sirk scoring a game-tying touchdown with 41 seconds left. Ross Martin kicked a field goal in overtime to give Duke the lead, then Indiana missed a field goal to tie, leaving the Blue Devils with a cathartic 44-41 Pinstripe Bowl triumph.
Passing Fancy
QB Anthony Boone registered Duke’s best bowl passing ledger in the 2013 Chick-fil-A when he threw for 427 yards on 29 completions. He connected on nine passes of 20 or more yards, and he put two receivers over 100 yards, Jamison Crowder (163) and Braxton Deaver (116). QB Daniel Jones completed one more pass (30) in the 2018 Independence, for slightly less yardage (423), but he helped put receiver TJ Rahming in the record books. Rahming had 12 catches for 240 yards and the longest TD catch in Duke bowl history at 85 yards.
Running Wild
Shaun Wilson’s co-MVP production in the 2015 Pinstripe featured a 98-yard kickoff return as well as an 85-yard scoring run from scrimmage. The latter matched the longest run in Duke football history, Charlie Smith’s 85-yard gallop at Virginia Tech in 1951. Wilson’s four career TDs (in three games) are the most by one player in Duke bowl history.
DOUBLE CENTURY CLUB
Blue Devils with multiple 100-yard bowl outbursts…
- QB Thomas Sirk delivered the ultimate run-pass option in the 2015 Pinstripe Bowl with 155 rushing yards and 163 passing yards to claim co-MVP honors. Three Blue Devils rushed for over 100 yards in the game, as Sirk was joined by Jela Duncan (109) and Shaun Wilson (103).
- RB Josh Snead is the only Blue Devil to rush for over 100 yards in two bowls, getting 107 in the 2012 Belk and 104 in the 2013 Chick-fil-A.
- WR Jamison Crowder had a pair of 100-yard receiving games in the postseason, with 163 in the 2013 Chick-fil-A and 102 in the 2014 Sun.
- At the 1945 Sugar, George Clark (122) and Tom Davis (105) both went over 100 yards rushing, and scored all four of Duke’s TDs (two apiece) in the win over Bama.
BEST QUARTERS
- Duke trailed Alabama 19-13 at halftime of the 1945 Sugar. The Devils began the third quarter with a long march in which Tom Davis carried the ball on 11 of the first 12 snaps and eventually scored from one yard out to give his team the 20-19 lead. Time of possession for Duke in the quarter: 13 minutes, 40 seconds.
- The second quarter in Atlanta was Duke fireworks at its best, with the Blue Devils racking up 24 points and 218 yards on Texas A&M to take a 38-17 halftime lead in the 2013 Chick-fil-A. And it might have been even more, with Duke opting for a chip shot field goal on the final play of the half instead of trying to punch in another TD from the one-yard line. The Devils were at their aggressive best late in the quarter, converting two fourth-and-one plays on a scoring drive, then recovering an onside kick to get the ball back for the last possession.
- At the 2012 Belk, QB Sean Renfree halted a 27-0 run by Cincinnati with pinpoint passing precision in the third quarter, hitting 11-of-12 throws for 154 yards, one touchdown and a two-point conversion.
- Duke trailed Temple 27-14 in the second quarter of the 2018 Independence, then went on a spree with touchdowns on seven consecutive drives to win 56-27. The 21-0 third quarter was particularly potent, with QB Daniel Jones throwing for 180 yards, best total ever for a Blue Devil in a bowl quarter.
TIP OF THE CAP
Highlighting the best performances by Duke opponents in bowl action…
- Heisman winner Johnny Manziel, playing his last college game against Duke in the 2013 Chick-fil-A, passed for 382 yards and four scores, rushed for 73 yards and one score, and led Texas A&M back from a 38-17 deficit to win 52-48 on New Year’s Eve, in the highest-rated non-BCS bowl game in ESPN broadcast history.
- Texas Tech running back James Gray spoiled coach Steve Spurrier’s final Duke game by rushing for 280 yards and four scores to spearhead a 49-21 Red Raiders win in the 1989 All American Bowl.
- But perhaps the all-time Blue Devil heartbreaker was Southern Cal’s Doyle Nave, a fourth-string QB, who came off the bench at the end of the 1939 Rose and completed four straight passes to left end “Antelope” Al Krueger, the last coming with 40 seconds left in the corner of the end zone, to halt the Iron Dukes’ unscored upon season. Nave had played only 28 minutes all season. When Nave later ran into Duke center Dan “Tiger” Hill on an aircraft carrier in the South Pacific during World War II, he asked the Blue Devil captain if Duke expected to see all those passes when Nave entered the game. “We didn’t even know who you were,” Hill responded.
DUKE ALL-TIME BOWL RECORD
Rose Bowl
January 2, 1939
Southern California 7, Duke 3
Rose Bowl
January 1, 1942
Oregon State 20, Duke 16
Sugar Bowl
January 1, 1945
Duke 29, Alabama 26
Orange Bowl
January 1, 1955
Duke 34, Nebraska 7
Cotton Bowl
January 2, 1961
Duke 7, Arkansas 6
All American Bowl
December 28, 1989
Texas Tech 49, Duke 21
Hall of Fame
January 2, 1995
Wisconsin 34, Duke 20
Belk Bowl
December 27, 2012
Cincinnati 48, Duke 32
Chick-fil-A Bowl
December 31, 2013
Texas A&M 52, Duke 48
Hyundai Sun Bowl
December 27, 2014
Arizona State 36, Duke 31
Pinstripe Bowl
December 26, 2015
Duke 44, Indiana 41 (4OT)
Quick Lane Bowl
December 26, 2017
Duke 26, Northern Illinois 14
Walk-On's Independence Bowl
December 27, 2018
Duke 56, Temple 27
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