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Duke football: Blue Devils bowl eligible after win over Boston College

By Del Barris

CHESTNUT HILL, MA - NOVEMBER 04: Riley Leonard #13 of the Duke Blue Devils reacts with teammates after scoring a touchdown during the first half of a game against the Boston College Eagles at Alumni Stadium on November 4, 2022 in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Getty Images)
CHESTNUT HILL, MA - NOVEMBER 04: Riley Leonard #13 of the Duke Blue Devils reacts with teammates after scoring a touchdown during the first half of a game against the Boston College Eagles at Alumni Stadium on November 4, 2022 in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Getty Images) /
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Duke football is going bowl-ing. Thanks to a more-difficult-than-expected win over Boston College Friday night, the Blue Devils will be playing in a bowl game for the first time since 2018 when they appeared in the Independence Bowl.

“For us to come from where we were ten months ago to here, bowl eligible with three to go, it is just a testament to everybody in our university and program,” said first-year head coach Mike Elko in his postgame press conference.

Quality doesn’t matter, quantity does

When it comes to getting bowl eligible, the NCAA doesn’t ask how; they ask how many. A team needs six wins and it doesn’t matter if they blow out all of their opponents or squeak by. So, it makes no difference that the Blue Devils won by just seven against a team they were favored to beat by eleven and gave up 330 yards passing. It doesn’t matter if the defense didn’t play well for three quarters and gave up thirty-one points to a team that had scored just twenty-one in their last three games combined. It might be frustrating, but it doesn’t matter when it comes to determining if the Blue Devils get to play in a bowl. It is the amount of wins, not the quality.

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Much better than the score

Simply because the game was closer than anticipated, it doesn’t mean the Blue Devils have anything to hang their heads over. The defense bounced back in the fourth quarter and registered two key sacks (they had five in all) to change the momentum of the game. Riley Leonard threw for just 158 yards, but ran for a team-leading ninety-six yards. The offensive line cleared the way for a rushing attack that ground out 232 yards-the sixth time the Blue Devils have rushed for over 200 yards in a game.

Leonard said, “The run game, like every week, the offensive line continues to dominate. They are a real smart crew and we had answers to everything they (BC) brought us.”

Jaquez Moore chipped in eighty-two yards and two touchdowns as he continues to impress and sophomore receiver Samhir Hagans, who entered the game with just nine catches, had five against the Eagles, including his third for a touchdown.

This latest win by the Blue Devils is a much better one than the final score indicates.

Not yet satisfied

Simply because they’ve attained bowl eligibility, don’t think this team is going to sit back and take it easy. The Blue Devils have three games remaining in the regular season (Virginia Tech, Pitt, and Wake Forest) and have no intention taking their foot off the gas. Leonard explains, “Six was the bare minimum, and it’s great to be bowl eligible, but we want to win out from here.”

The Blue Devils return to the friendly confines of Wallace Wade Stadium next week for the first time in nearly a month when they take on Virginia Tech at noon.

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