Maalik Murphy Late-Game Heroics Earn Duke Football Second Win

Duke football proved they are true contenders in the ACC last night after its thrilling 26-20 double overtime victory at Northwestern to improve to 2-0 on the season. It was an absolute brawl between strong defensive units, but Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy and the rest of the offense were able to secure a win after trailing for most of the second half.

Murphy has certainly shown some growing pains adapting to Manny Diaz's system through his first two games in Durham, yet was able to deliver in the final minutes and through the overtime periods to put the Blue Devils on top.

Duke was playing on Northwestern's practice field as they deal with renovations on their main stadium, which happens to be right by the water. It was talked about all week whether the winds would be any trouble for Jonathan Brewer's offensive scheme that likes to move early in the play clock and throw the ball downfield quick, and these winds certainly provided issues for Duke's air-raid.

Murphy struggled to get much offense going in the first quarter through the air, as Duke was down 3-0 with under five minutes to go. Then, junior safety Terry Moore picked off Northwestern signal-caller Mike Wright to put Duke inside the Wildcats 30-yard line and in a great position to score. Murphy was able to take advantage, connecting with Eli Pancol on a slant route from sixteen yards out to put Duke up 7-3 heading towards the end of the first quarter.

Duke had trouble getting anything going on the offensive side for the rest of the first half, with only one first down secured through the rest of it. Northwestern's solid run defense mixed with Duke's mistakes, such as a muffed catch off of a punt that Northwestern recovered to take over deep in Duke's territory, kept Duke out of the scoring column. Murphy exited the first half 7-for-14 from the field with 52 yards and a touchdown, and Duke was down 10-7.

Murphy sat cold coming into the second half. The first possession for Duke ended with Murphy getting sacked for the first time this season, and the second ended with an interception right around mid-field.

The rest of the third saw little offensive rhythm for Duke, as the run game was shut down and mistakes piled on in the air, such as a dropped pass on an out-route to Nicky Dalmolin on a 4th-and-2 play that would've kept the possession alive.

Heading into the fourth, Murphy was still looking to get going, and the offense finally showed some signs of life inside seven minutes to go. After an eight play drive where Murphy connected with Jordan Moore a couple times then found Dalmolin for a 21-yard gain, Duke was finally in position to put some points on the board in a 13-10 deficit. Todd Pelino then missed the 33-yard attempt after hitting a near-career best 50-yarder earlier in the game, killing any momentum the Blue Devils had.

The Blue Devils got the ball back with just under two minutes to go for one last chance to tie it, and Murphy was finally getting comfortable. Murphy was able to drive the offense down the field from its own 45-yard line inside the Northwestern 25 to set Todd Pelino up for a 22-yard chip shot to tie the game and sent it into overtime. The possession was almost lost as Murphy lost control of the football and fumbled it after being sacked with just under two minutes to go, but his knee was ruled down and Duke kept possession.

After Northwestern scored on its first overtime possession to go up 20-13, the cold-blooded Murphy was able to deliver right back on just one play. On the first play of Duke's overtime possession from the NU 25-yard line, Murphy lofted a beautifully placed ball to Jordan Moore over the middle to tie the game up.

Duke then got the ball right back for the second overtime period and Murphy picked up right where he left off. After he found Jordan Moore for a 22-yard gain to put Duke on the Wildcats 3-yard line, he found Pancol in the left corner of the end zone for the receiver's second touchdown of the game to put Duke up 26-20. After a defensive stand from Manny Diaz's defense, Duke won the game.

Maalik Murphy wil definitely take some time to get acclimated to this system and being comfortable in the pocket will be something he will need to improve on as the season progresses, but it was a great sign for Duke fans to see him be able to come up clutch late in the game after finding little rhythm throughout it. This was a massive victory for the Blue Devils to take down a great defense that Northwestern is on its home field, especially in a game that saw many errors on the offensive side of the ball. Murphy finished 24-for-39 passing for 242 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception.

Blue Devil footbal now sits at 2-0 and will face UConn next week back at Wallace Wade.