Second Half Surge Pushes Pittsburgh Past Duke, 54-29

DURHAM – Pittsburgh used a powerful second half to push past Duke on Saturday afternoon, 54-29, at Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium.

The Blue Devils held a 12-7 edge after the first quarter but saw their opponent register 30 points, including 23 unanswered, over the next 17 minutes, to create a 37-19 gap between the teams. Despite recording a field goal and a touchdown to cut into the lead, Duke couldn’t overcome the deficit.

Mataeo Durant scampered for a 15-yard rush late in the first quarter to surpass the season 1,000-yard rushing mark. He became just the fifth Blue Devil to achieve the feat and is the first player since Chris Douglas did so in 2003. Durant finished with 89 yards on 24 carries and added four receptions for 39 yards and a touchdown.

Riley Leonard stepped in for an injured Gunnar Holmberg and went 6-of-13 for 63 yards and one score. Before leaving the game in the second quarter, Holmberg was 16-of-23 passing for 174 yards with one touchdown.

Junior wide receiver Jalon Calhoun led the receiving corps with 78 yards on three catches with one touchdown. Senior Jake Bobo and junior Eli Pancol chipped in with 43 and 42 yards, respectively.

Defensively, redshirt junior Shaka Heyward recorded a team-best nine tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss. Heyward also helped Duke register its first safety of the year when he and Caleb Oppan took down Pittsburgh’s running back Vincent Davis in the end zone.

Kickoff return specialist Jaylen Stinson found paydirt for Duke on special teams when he returned a kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown. That score was the Blue Devils’ first kickoff return for a touchdown since Damond Philyaw-Johnson achieved the mark twice against Wake Forest in 2019. Stinson finished with a season-best 195 yards on seven returns.

The Blue Devils travel to Blacksburg, Va., for their final road regular season game of the year at Virginia Tech. Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m.