Duke Opens Manny Diaz Era With A 26-3 Win Over Elon
A great start for the defense, but the offense needs some work.
The Manny Diaz era got off to a stormy but winning start as Duke knocked off Elon 26-3, after a brief scare due to violent storms that rolled across North Carolina’s Piedmont Friday afternoon and evening.
Diaz’s reputation as a defensive coach showed up as the Blue Devils had eight sacks.
The offense has work to do - the Blue Devils had trouble moving the ball and scored just a field goal in the first quarter and in fact scored just once in each quarter.
While new QB Maalik Murphy finished with 291 passing yards, Duke’s running backs managed just 59 total rushing yards.
It’s certainly not time to panic or anything, but hopefully the offense performs better next weekend at Northwestern.
Still, Duke’s defense showed some real swagger, holding Elon’s and seventh-year quarterback Matthew Downing to 110 yards. Elon didn’t score until it hit a late field goal with just :14 left to play. It’s a game to build on as offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer and his staff sort things out. If Duke can pair an aggressive defense with a fast-paced no huddle offense, things could get really interesting.
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