Duke vs. Louisville: Live Score, Highlights for Blue Devils vs. Cardinals
Louisville 24, Duke 14. Game Over.
It was not pretty, but the Louisville Cardinals were able to rebound from their first loss of the college football season Friday against a middling Duke team on ESPN.
Duke came in with the intention of controlling the ball with long, draining drives to keep Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson off of the field. The Blue Devils executed this nearly to perfection, as they dominated possession with 37 minutes, 12 seconds to Louisville's 22 minutes, 48 seconds.
Louisville missed a 46-yard field goal with two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to give Duke a chance to drive in for the win down 17-14, but a roughing penalty doomed the Blue Devils. This allowed Jackson to score on a short run, and ultimately proved to be the turning point of the contest.
The Cardinals came into the game with the nation's top scoring offense, but Duke was able to stifle Louisville with strong interior play and tight pass coverage. Still, Jackson was able to find space on scrambles, which was the only deficiency for the Blue Devils. Jackson finished with 181 yards and a touchdown passing to go with 144 rushing yards and a score.
Jeremy Smith was the only other Cardinal to have any substantial impact on offense, as his 80-yard touchdown rush turned out to be a critical score in the third quarter.
Although it was out-gained in yardage 469 to 239, Duke was efficient with the ball. The Blue Devils avoided turnovers and established a solid rushing attack. Freshman quarterback Daniel Jones completed 14-of-21 passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns, while running backs Jela Duncan and Shaun Wilson combined for 81 rushing yards.
Duke's ability to win on third down was crucial to its near upset bid. The team was 8-of-16 on third down, as it was able to keep drives alive while limiting Jackson's touches.
Louisville will look to put together a stronger outing next week when it hosts North Carolina State, while Duke will go on a bye week before trying to keep its bowl hopes alive at Georgia Tech.
