Duke built a big lead in the first half and needed all of it to hold off Northwestern

Steve Wiseman
·4 min read

A Duke defense that failed to force a turnover over the season’s first two games picked up the pace in a big way on Saturday.

The Blue Devils feasted on five Northwestern turnovers, including four by Wildcats quarterback Hunter Johnson, in a 30-23 win at Wallace Wade Stadium.

All four of Johnson’s miscues occurred in the first half when Duke built a 30-7 halftime lead. Johnson threw three interceptions and lost a fumble while being sacked in the red zone. He left the game having completed 6 of 16 passes for 75 yards and didn’t play in the second half.

Duke defensive back Lummie Young forced the fumble while recording a sack in the first quarter when Northwestern had the ball on the Duke 2. He later intercepted a Johnson pass.

Duke’s offense took advantage of the extra opportunities, running up 558 yards of total offense. Running back Mataeo Durant rushed for 102 yards on 22 carries and scored the game’s first two touchdowns.

Duke quarterback Gunnar Holmberg completed 31 of 444 passes for 314 yards with a touchdown.

Northwestern backup quarterback Andrew Marty rallied the Wildcats after replacing Johnson in the second quarter. He completed 11 of 16 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns. His 1-yard touchdown run with 10:21 left in the third quarter cut Duke’s lead to 30-20.

But Marty was injured in the fourth quarter when he lost a fumble in Duke territory for the Wildcats’ fifth turnover.

Ryan Hilinski became the third Northwestern quarterback to play in the game. He drove Northwestern to the Duke 7 before Charlie Kuhbander booted a 25-yard field goal with 2:48 to play slicing Duke’s lead to 30-23.

Northwestern kicked the ball to rather than attempting a onside kick. Duke foiled that when Holmberg completed a third-down pass to Eli Pancol and the Blue Devils ran out the clock.

Duke rolled through the first half, eclipsing the 400-yard mark on total offense to take a 30-7 lead to intermission.

The Blue Devils were on top early as Durant scored two touchdowns in the game’s first four minutes. Durant caught a short pass from Holmberg and ran 11 yards to the end zone for a touchdown giving Duke a 7-0 lead.

With 11:07 to play in the first quarter, Durant’s 21-yard touchdown put Duke up 14-0.

Both teams turned the ball over in their own red zones in the first quarter, with Durant fumbling into the end zone and Johnson fumbling when he was sacked by Lummie Young.

When freshman quarterback Jordan Moore scored on a 9-yard run with 12 seconds left in the first quarter, the Blue Devils had a 21-0 lead.

Charlie Ham’s three second-quarter field goals, including a 50-yarder, extended Duke’s lead to 30-7.

First down

Duke recorded 420 yards of total offense in the first half alone while building its 30-7 lead. For comparison, Duke’s averaged 379.4 yards per game (next to last among the ACC’s 15 teams) last season while going 2-9.

Offsides

As well as Duke played, particularly in the first half, the Blue Devils still showed sloppiness the coaches will certainly want to clean up. Durant’s fumble into the end zone was the second time the Blue Devils have turned the ball over in the red zone this season. Among Duke’s nine penalties were two dead-ball fouls. Defensive lineman Christian Rorie and center Jack Wohlabaugh each were called for unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.

Touchdown

Mataeo Durant’s two touchdowns gave him eight for the season, including seven via the rush. Three games in, he’s got a good start toward the school record for rushing touchdowns in a season (13 by Brandon Connette in 2013 and Winston Seigfried in 1941).

ICYMI

Duke’s defense received a boost when defensive tackle Gary Smith returned to the starting lineup. Smith, a 6-2, 320-pound sophomore, was a projected starter before having arthroscopic knee surgery last month. He didn’t play in Duke’s first two games of the season.

Key numbers

3: Duke turnovers in the game. One week after playing their first turnover-free game since 2019, the Blue Devils lost two fumbles and one interception.

90: Passes Duke’s Gunnar Holmberg threw this season before his first interception.

109: Receiving yards by Duke senior wide receiver Jake Bobo, his first time surpassing 100 receiving yards in his career. Bobo caught 11 passes.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Man sets himself on fire in protest area outside Trump trial

    A man has set himself on fire outside the courthouse in New York where former US President Donald Trump is on trial. The man was in the designated protest area outside the courthouse. It comes after jury selection for Trump's hush money trial concluded with 12 people, and six alternatives, chosen to decide whether the former US president covered up payments to women who alleged they had affairs with him.

  • AI Chip Leader Arm Stock Dives Below A Key Support Level, Is It A Buy Right Now?

    AI chip stock Arm Holdings surged more than 152% past a recent buy point. Following that advance, is Arm stock a buy in today's stock market?

  • Germany coach Nagelsmann extends contract through 2026 World Cup. Bayern left still searching

    BERLIN (AP) — Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann has extended his contract by two years, taking him beyond the upcoming European Championship and through the 2026 World Cup. It also rules out Nagelsmann returning to Bayern Munich, which is looking for a new coach for next season after deciding to part ways with Thomas Tuchel at the end of this season. Nagelsmann was the reported favorite following Xabi Alonso’s decision to stay with Bayer Leverkusen. Bayern has to look elsewhere after two high-prof

  • Trump’s hush money trial jury is set. Here’s why we won’t learn much about them.

    The jury that will decide whether Donald Trump is guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records is made up of seven men and five women who live in Manhattan.

  • Toronto FC, New England looking to turn the tide after disappointing showings

    Toronto FC and the New England Revolution are both looking to climb out of a hole when they meet Saturday at BMO Field. After a promising start under John Herdman, injury-depleted Toronto (3-4-1) has lost three straight while being outscored 10-3. New England (1-5-1) made it as far as the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup but has found league wins hard to come by under new coach Caleb Porter. Porter sees some similarities with Toronto. "There's a transition that their club's going thro

  • Logan Webb keeps spinning, Mike Trout is fully back, Mets city connect uniform released

    Jake Mintz & Jordan Shusterman discuss the rough debut from Jack Leiter, Logan Webb continuing to absolutely spin for the Giants, discuss things they love & hate, give their good, bad and Uggla for the week and react to the new Mets city connect uniforms.

  • Israel’s measured strike on Iran sends a deliberately mixed message to the world

    The message sent by Israel’s limited military strike on Iran depends entirely on where you sit – and that “ambiguity” is very much intentional.

  • Magnificent Seven Stocks To Buy And Watch: Nvidia Stock Dives Below Key Level

    Magnificent Seven stocks, including AI leader Nvidia, are among the best stocks to buy and watch in today's stock market.

  • New trial in Elk Grove police death case ordered over ‘false or misleading’ testimony

    “In this case, false testimony prevented plaintiffs from fully and fairly presenting their case.”

  • Woodstock politicians push to build more homes (just not this many in one spot)

    WOODSTOCK – A proposal to turn a Victorian home into an eight-unit apartment complex has been quashed by city politicians here, despite the community's need for more housing. City council voted unanimously to reject the proposal – delighting neighbours vehemently opposed to the prospect overhaul at 329 Buller St. The house is around the corner from a historic neigbourhood with an abundance of heritage homes and within a kilometre of the city’s downtown. “I'm really happy that our voices were hea

  • Even IBD 50 Medical Products Stocks Don't All Look Healthy In This Sick Market

    Dexcom stock reversed on Friday and fell below a buy point. But one of these medical stocks is still in a buy zone.

  • Man Sets Himself on Fire Outside Trump Trial, Reports Say

    Ambulances rushed to the scene where a man set himself on fire outside the Manhattan courthouse where former President Donald Trump’s “hush money” trial was taking place on Friday, April 19, according to local reports.Video from Liam Quigley shows several firetrucks and members of the New York Police Department near Collect Pond Park, across the street from the courthouse, where the person appeared to have self-immolated. Bystanders said they saw the person pour liquid over his head before setting himself on fire, CBS News reported, citing witnesses.The person was receiving medical treatment but his condition was unclear, Quigley said.This is a developing story. Credit: Liam Quigley via Storyful

  • C$ notches weekly gain as market works off oversold position

    The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart on Friday as oil prices rose and the market took stock of recent losses for the currency, but the move was limited following the recent move in yield spreads in favor of the greenback. "The Canadian dollar coming back somewhat is simply technical from an oversold market," said Michael Goshko, senior market analyst at Convera Canada. The slowdown in Canadian inflation has contrasted with the recent heating up of U.S. price pressures, raising bets the Bank of Canada would begin easing interest rates before the Federal Reserve.

  • Commissioner Gramaglia provides update on two missing Buffalo children

    Commissioner Gramaglia provided an update on the search for two missing Buffalo children on Friday afternoon

  • Jon Bon Jovi, supermodel Leomie Anderson and more party in London this week

    Celebrities were spotted across a string of events in the capital this week

  • US STOCKS-Nasdaq, S&P stumble as Netflix, chip stocks drag; AmEx boosts Dow

    The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 fell on Friday, as Netflix weighed but American Express kept the Dow on the plus side after quarterly earnings from each, while growing pessimism that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates soon also dented sentiment. Netflix slumped 8.77% as one of the bigger drags on the benchmark S&P index and Nasdaq after the video streaming company's second-quarter revenue view fell short of analysts' expectations while the company also unexpectedly said it would no longer provide subscriber counts.

  • CANADA FX DEBT-C$ notches weekly gain as market works off oversold position

    The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart on Friday as oil prices rose and the market took stock of recent losses for the currency, but the move was limited following the recent move in yield spreads in favor of the greenback. "The Canadian dollar coming back somewhat is simply technical from an oversold market," said Michael Goshko, senior market analyst at Convera Canada. The slowdown in Canadian inflation has contrasted with the recent heating up of U.S. price pressures, raising bets the Bank of Canada would begin easing interest rates before the Federal Reserve.

  • Major zoning shift would axe minimum parking, allow denser housing, save trees

    The City of Ottawa is looking to eliminate minimum parking rules, save space for trees and allow more neighbourhood-based businesses through a major rewrite of its zoning bylaw.It's only a first draft that must now go through about a year and a half of public consultation, redrafting and voting at council and its committees, but Coun. Jeff Leiper said it goes a long way to meeting the city's development goals."This zoning bylaw obviously allows considerably more density right across the city," s

  • Watch for Lyrid fireballs to light up the sky Sunday night

    One of the oldest known meteor showers peaks Sunday night. Check your weather forecast and find somewhere dark to watch for fireballs streaking across the sky.

  • Biden administration moves to make conservation an equal to industry on US lands

    BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration on Thursday finalized a new rule for public land management that's meant to put conservation on more equal footing with oil drilling, grazing and other extractive industries on vast government-owned properties. Officials pushed past strong opposition from private industry and Republican governors to adopt the proposal. GOP members of Congress said in response that they will seek to invalidate it. The rule from the Interior Department's Bureau of La