courtesy ncataggies.com
A&T STATISTICAL LEADERS: QB Kingsley Ifedi (10-for-19, 53 yards; 15 rush att. 83 yards, 2 TDs); RB Bhayshul Tuten (7 rush att., 54 yards); FS Najee Reams (9 tackles, 5 solos, 0.5 TFLs); LB Jacob Roberts (8 tackles, 2 solos); CB Miles Simon (5 tackles, 4 solos, 2 pass breakups).
DUKE STATISTICAL LEADERS: QB Gunnar Holmberg (20-for-27, 270 yards; 5 rush att., 30 yards, 2 TDs); WR Jake Bobo (10 rec., 90 yards); WR Jalon Calhoun (5 rec., 98 yards); RB Mataeo Durant (15 rush att., 41 yards, 3 TDs); LB Shaka Heyward (16 tackles, 2 solos, 1 TFL, 1 QBH); FS Lummie Young IV (8 tackles, 3 solos, 2 pass breakups).
WHY DUKE GOT THE “W”: Duke gambled when they decided to try to run another play with five seconds remaining in the first half instead of kicking the field goal. If the Aggies get a stop there, they go into the locker room with momentum and a tied 14-14 ballgame. Not only did the Blue Devils run a play, but it was also a running play where Mataeo Durant barely got the ball over the goal line to score. After the replay officials reviewed it, the Blue Devils went into the half with a 21-14 .lead. They forced the Aggies to a three-and-out on the first possession of the second half and then scored quickly to go up 14. The Aggies never recovered.
WHY A&T DIDN’T GET THE “W”: Duke’s fast pace, no-huddle offense kept the commonly tenacious A&T pass rush at a distance on Friday night. It allowed quarterback Gunnar Holmberg to be effective on third down, and the Blue Devils were able to run the ball effectively in the red zone.
CRUCIAL: A&T’s opening drive went 86 yards on 20 plays before Kingsley Ifedi scored on a 1-yard touchdown run. Duke tied the game on a nine-play drive and then decided strategically not to put their defense back on the field. Instead, they attempted a successful onside kick and halted the Aggies offensive momentum with another scoring drive.
THE STORY: DURHAM – Sam Washington ain’t changing. He has had a top-15 defense 12 out of the past 18 years; he has been a head coach or a defensive coordinator on the Division I-FCS level. He admits the Aggies need some fine-tuning in tackling and technique, but the philosophy and principles are solid.
For the second straight week, an Aggies opponent has compiled more than 400 yards of offense. However, once the Devils got into the red zone, the running game became tough to handle as they scored six rushing touchdowns.
“I’ve always said the most effective pass defense is a pass rush,” said Washington, the Aggies fourth-year head coach. “We’re getting no pressure on the quarterback. If you let me sit back there and pat it, I can complete those passes. We’re not going to change our philosophy. We’re not going to change what we do. It is what it is.”
The Aggies defense looked just fine to open the game. They forced Duke to a three-and-out, moving the Blue Devils back 10 yards in the process. A&T then took the ball over at their 14-yard line and surprised many in the media when they walked out with Kingsley Ifedi (6-foot-1, R-JR, Charlotte, N.C.) as their starting quarterback instead of Jalen Fowler (6-4, JR, Spartanburg, S.C.), who started last week at Furman.
Ifedi helped the Aggies go 4-for-4 on third downs on A&T’s first possession as the Aggies put together a 20-play, 86-yard drive that ended with an Ifedi 1-yard touchdown. Ifedi was 4-for-4 on the drive for 30 yards as the Aggies took a 7-0 lead.
Duke answered with a 9-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 19-yard Mataeo Durant touchdown to tie the game at 7 in the second quarter.
The Blue Devils then changed the entire complexity of the game on the ensuing kickoff. First, the Blue Devils attempted and successfully executed an onside kick they recovered at the Duke 48. Then, six plays later, the Devils were back in the end zone on a 1-yard Durant touchdown.
According to Duke head coach David Cutcliffe, the onside kick was planned all week after looking at special teams film.
“They caught us flat-footed,” said Washington. “It was one of the biggest plays of the game. We didn’t see it coming.”
Ifedi and the Aggies offense remained effective, however. Ifedi led A&T on another long drive; this time, the Aggies went 14 plays, converted three third downs and scored on a 5-yard Ifedi touchdown run to tie the game at 14.
It appeared the Aggies would walk into the locker room tied with a Power Five at halftime with a chance to earn the program’s first-ever Power Five win.
But another Duke gamble paid off. The Blue Devils had the ball 1st-and-goal at the A&T 2, but they only had five seconds remaining on the clock. So instead of kicking a field goal, the Blue Devils decided to run the ball, risking the chance of the clock expiring at the end of the half.
Durant barely got the ball over the goal line. But after a review from the replay booth, the officials determined that he scored, giving the Blue Devils a 21-14 halftime lead.
A mishap on the opening kickoff of the second half put the Aggies deep into Duke territory. A three-and-out by A&T gave the Blue Devils good field position at the A&T 29. Duke quarterback Gunnar Holmberg completed a 28-yard pass to Nicky Dalmolin on first down. Three plays, Holmberg scored on a 1-yard touchdown.
After a 26-yard Andrew Brown (5-10, FR, PK, Lexington, N.C.) field goal, the Blue Devils scored 21 unanswered points to put the game away. A&T dropped to 0-2 on the season, while the Blue Devils improved to 1-1.
The Aggies will take next week off before coming home to Truist Stadium for the home opener against arch-rival N.C. Central on Saturday, Sept. 25 at 6 p.m.
“Technique is probably our biggest enemy right now,” said Washington. “But I think we’re headed in the right direction. We’re definitely not there yet, but I’m pleased with where we are. We’ll see where we end up. We’re off to a slow beginning, but I’m expecting a strong finish.”
QUOTABLE: “The first part of the week, Jalen was complaining about the lick he took last Saturday at Furman. It seemed to have gotten worse. We didn’t know until Tuesday that he wouldn’t be able to play. I thought (Kingsley) came and did exactly what we thought he is capable of doing.”
A&T Head Coach Sam Washinton on the Kingsley Ifedi getting the start at quarterback
GAME NOTES
A&T is off to its worst start in 11 years. The last time the Aggies started a season 0-2 came in 2010. They finished the season 1-10.
Duke scored six rushing touchdowns. The last time A&T gave up six or more rushing touchdowns was on Oct. 28, 2010, when Bethune-Cookman scored eight rushing touchdowns.
The last time the Aggies lost two straight games came in 2016 when they lost the season-finale at N.C. Central and they lost their first-round playoff game at Richmond.
The last time the Aggies started two different quarterbacks in back-to-back games was in 2016 when Lamar Raynard started at home against S.C. State but missed the following week against Delaware State after a rib injury in practice.
A&T dropped to 0-4 against Power Fives all-time. All four losses have come to ACC schools.
Kingsley Ifedi led the Aggies with 83 yards rushing. The last time an Aggies quarterback led the team in rushing was on Nov. 2, 2019, when Kylil Carter had 73 yards in a 22-20 win over S.C. State.
The last time the Aggies gave up 100 yards rushing in back-to-back games came in 2017 when they gave up 110 to Florida A&M on Oct. 14 and 105 to Bethune-Cookman on Oct. 21.
In two games, against A&T, Duke receiver Jalon Calhoun has 13 receptions for 203 yards and two touchdowns.
