Blue Devils Set Home Wins Record with 30-19 Victory

Saturday, November 25

Durham, N.C.

12 p.m.

Duke University

Pittsburgh

Blue Devils Set Home Wins Record with 30-19 Victory

11/25/2023 6:11:00 PM | Football

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DURHAM – Duke closed out the regular season on Saturday afternoon with its program-record sixth home victory of the year following its 30-19 win over Pittsburgh at Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium.

Additionally, Duke (7-5, 4-4 ACC) finished undefeated at home in ACC play for the first time since 1989 and halted the Panthers' seven-game winning streak over the Blue Devils.

With the game knotted at 10-10 at the break, Duke outscored Pittsburgh (3-9, 2-6 ACC), 20-9, in the second half and limited the visitors to just minus-10 yards rushing in the final two periods to secure the win.

Wide receivers Jordan Moore and Jalon Calhoun led the Duke offense with 106 and 71 receiving yards, respectively, with one touchdown each. Moore earned his second consecutive game with 100-plus receiving yards, while Calhoun surpassed the 3,000-yard receiving mark in his career.

Freshman Grayson Loftis finished the day 20-of-37 passing for 248 yards with two touchdowns. Jordan Waters and Jaylen Coleman posted 31 and 30 rushing yards on nine and 11 carries, respectively, while Jaquez Moore recorded Duke's lone rushing score from three yards out in the fourth quarter.

Linebacker Nick Morris Jr. recorded a career-best 12 tackles on Saturday to lead all players. Defensive end R.J. Oben added a game-high 2.5 tackles for loss to match his career high first achieved against Charlotte in 2021.

How It Happened

Both teams opened the scoring with a field goal in the opening frame. Duke's Todd Pelino converted on a 47-yarder, while Pittsburgh' Ben Sauls booted a 35-yard field goal to knot the score at 3-3.
The Panthers then broke the deadlock with a 21-yard touchdown reception by Kenny Johnson to jump in front 10-3 with 9:13 remaining in the half.
Just before the break, Loftis found Jordan Moore in the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown reception to pull even at 10-10.
Both teams exchanged field goals again in the third quarter before Loftis connected with Calhoun for a 15-yard touchdown pass to give the Blue Devils a 20-13 edge late in the third quarter.
Duke extended its lead to 27-13 with a little under 12 minutes remaining in the game when Jaquez Moore found pay dirt from three yards out.
Pittsburgh cut into the advantage at 27-19 a few minutes later after Nate Yarnell found Bub Means for a 14-yard touchdown reception.
Pelino then secured the win for the Blue Devils when he converted on a 48-yard field goal with 1:59 left to play.

Notables

The Blue Devils achieved seven wins on the year for the sixth time in the last 10 seasons.
Duke tallied seven-plus wins in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2017 and 2018.
Duke's victory over Pittsburgh was its first win over the Panthers since 2014 and the first over Pittsburgh at Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium since 1965.
The Blue Devils improved to 12-1 overall under head coach Mike Elko when scoring first and 5-1 this season.
Jordan Moore became the first player with back-to-back 100-plus yard receiving games since Jake Bobo did so against Northwestern (11-109) and Kansas (7-105) in 2021.
Loftis registered his third consecutive game with two-plus passing scores and his second consecutive game with 240-plus yards passing.
Morris Jr. tallied the second double-digit tackle performance of his career (11 vs. Wake Forest, 2023).
Graduate safety Jeremiah Lewis recorded his fifth career interception, and added six tackles, 1.0 tackles for loss and two pass breakups.
The Blue Devils held Pittsburgh to just 43 rushing yards, marking the fewest Duke has given up since allowing only 48 to Miami on Oct. 22, 2022.
Duke's defense set a season-high with 10.0 tackles for loss.
Pelino finished a perfect 3-of-3 on field goal attempts (47, 25 and 48-yards) and extended his consecutive PAT streak to 62 consecutive to move into a tie with Sims Lenhardt (1996-99) for the fourth longest streak in program history.
Graduate punter Porter Wilson booted three punts a total of 149 yards with a long of 59-yards, two inside the 20 and two kicks of 50-plus yards.