A game of wasted opportunities: Duke football's crushing loss to #22 SMU

Duke football went into its biggest game of the season hosting #22 SMU last night with a chip on its shoulder. The defense again led the way, and the Blue Devils were given so many opportunities to come away with the victory. But in the end, missed opportunities and risky play calls towards the end costed the Blue Devils a gut-wrenching 28-27 loss in overtime.

Duke forced an astounding six turnovers on the night with three in each half. The defense was getting to the quarterback and giving the Duke offense every opportunity to come back and take the victory.

The defense forced a fumble on the opening SMU drive, which resulted in no points for the Blue Devils.

The Blue Devils got on the board first after quarterback Maalik Murphy connected with wide receiver Que'Sean Brown for a 43-yard score, but the Mustangs answered right back to make the contest 7-7.

It was a familiar night for the offense, really struggling to get much going with a solid SMU defense. After Duke's touchdown, it then punted on its next two possessions followed by a turnover on downs. SMU scored again to make the game 14-7 heading towards halftime.

The Duke defense would force turnovers on back-to-back possessions late in the first half, but Duke still just couldn't find the end zone. An interception by Cameron Bergeron was followed by a turnover on downs for Duke, then a fumble on the next SMU possession recovered by Tre Freeman right around midfield gave Duke one last chance with ten seconds on the clock. The Blue Devils came up empty, making the score 14-7 at half in favor of SMU.

It was a frustrating half as the Duke defense was doing all it could to give the offense chances to score. The turnovers continued to come for SMU as the second half rolled on as well.

SMU got on the board again with just over five minutes to go in the third after a slow start for both teams. Quarterback Kevin Jennings connected with Roderick Daniels Jr. for an 81-yard touchdown, sucking the life out of Wallace Wade.

But, this was a similar script to what fans have seen from Duke football in several games this season: late comebacks to secure miraculous wins. And it looked like we were in for another last night.

Towards the end of the third quarter, Brown brought life back into Wallace Wade taking a punt back for a score to make the game 21-13. Duke then scored on its next possession and converted the two-point attempt to tie it up at 21-21.

It looked like Duke was going to close this one out. The defense was strong and the offense was rolling. Then, heartbreak set in.

On SMU's last three possessions of the fourth quarter, the Blue Devils forced a turnover each of the three times. It was all there for Duke to close it out, but the Blue Devils just couldn't get it done.

Freeman picked off Jennings to give the Blue Devils position on the SMU 37-yard line, but Duke was stopped and a missed 42-yard field goal by Todd Pelino kept the game tied.

Then on the next possession, Chandler Rivers picked off Jennings again to give Duke position inside the SMU 40. Duke responded with a three-and-out of its own.

As it looked like overtime was in store, Duke forced a fumble and recovered it inside the SMU twenty-yard line with less than two minutes to go. That was it, the game was in Duke's hands.

After a few plays to run down the clock, Pelino stepped out for a chip shot to win the game. With Wallace Wade in a frenzy, it was blocked. We head to overtime.

It was all in the Blue Devils's hands. The game was theirs. Now, it had to fight in extras.

SMU scored early in the first overtime period to take a 28-21 lead. Again, Wallace Wade was quiet until Duke responded by scoring on the first play of their possession, as Murphy dropped a beautiful ball to Eli Pancol to potentially tie it up.

And in a play call that will live in infamy for the rest of Duke's season, Manny Diaz decided to go for two and win the game. Duke didn't convert, and Duke lost in heartbreak fashion.

"If you got a chance to win the game in the bottom of the first inning, you do it." Diaz said. "Beyond that, we missed three straight kicks, including a PAT. I think that factors into, as well."

The Blue Devil defense forced six turnovers altogether, and Duke scored off of none of them. In a game this important, the defense did all it could. It's the offense's job to respond, and Duke looked out of sync all night.

Murphy was missing throws, there was miscommunication. Not a formula for success.

There were some positives offensively. Duke went 8-for-16 on third down after consistently being one of the worst teams nationally on third down, and Pancol lit it up with eleven catches for 138 yards and a score.

At the end of the day, the offense couldn't get it done. The run worked somewhat, but it just wasn't sharp enough all-around. Duke's College Football Playoff hopes are likely over, but it still has a chance for a statement win at #6 Miami next weekend.