Duke football defense leads way in team's first ever win over Florida State

Duke football is now bowl-eligible with a 6-1 record after its win over the Florida State Seminoles tonight. This is the first win all-time for the Blue Devils against the Seminoles as Duke sat with an 0-22 record against FSU before tonight's win.

It was another contest where the offense seemed to really struggle to get going, but the Blue Devils' defense was able to propel it to another victory.

Facing a freshman quarterback in Brock Glenn after FSU starter DJ Uiagalelei went down with a throwing-hand injury a couple weeks ago, Duke limited Glenn to just 110 yards passing with no touchdowns and two interceptions. The Blue Devils' blitz was extremely effective against the Seminoles, limiting the team to no offensive touchdowns all night.

The contest was close as it was a pure defensive battle. The Duke offense struggled to get anything going against the talented Seminoles' defensive line.

After the Duke defense held FSU to a field goal on its first possession, the Blue Devil offense couldn't get anything going, punting on its first four offensive drives.

The first Blue Devil score came thanks to the defense after Chandler Rivers picked off Allen and took the interception back to the house for six, putting Duke up 7-3 and lighting Wallace Wade Stadium on fire.

Duke got on the board again after Ryan Smith recovered a fumble after the defense forced an Allen fumble. The pass attack for Duke wasn't there for the entirety of the first half, but Star Thomas and Peyton Jones led the way and were able to drive the offense downfield. The drive ended with a Thomas two-yard rush for a score, putting the Blue Devils up 14-3.

Getting a rush attack going was one of the biggest keys for Duke tonight, and they were able to do so even with the lack of a passing attack. The Duke offensive line set up the backs for north-to-south runs all night, leading to success.

The rest of the first half was led mainly by both defenses as both squads were able to notch a field goal making the tally 17-6 with less than a minute to go in the half.

The Blue Devils let up a kickoff return on the Seminoles opening drive of the third quarter to make the contest interesting at 17-13, but the Blue Devil defense held FSU from there on out.

Duke forced two straight punts and a fumble to take FSU out of the equation, giving leeway to the offense when it was struggling.

Overall, it was a long day for the Duke offense only finishing with 180 total yards on the night. It was a similar script that we've seen from the Blue Devils this season where its suffocating defense shut down the opponent to pave the way for Duke to secure the win, and the same happened tonight.

This was a massive win for the Blue Devils to take down FSU at home for the first time in history, but the constant struggles with the offense make it concerning to see success down the road. The Blue Devils will have to find ways to put points on the board themselves to ensure victories down the road as the season rolls on. But, Duke is now 6-1 and 2-1 in the ACC.