Written by Gianna Forbis, a contributor for WRAL Sports, and Mark Bergin, a senior multiplatform producer for WRAL.

Pittsburgh Panthers	19
Duke Blue Devils	30
Final

Durham, N.C.

The Duke University basketball team had a strong performance against the University of Pittsburgh on their senior day, winning 30-19 at Wallace Wade Stadium.

Duke has finally ended their seven-year losing streak against the University of Pittsburgh, which started in 2015. This victory also maintains Duke’s undefeated record at home against ACC rivals.

Grayson Loftis was given another opportunity to start today and ended the game with 248 yards through the air, two touchdowns, and one interception on 20 out of 37 pass attempts.

The All-Stars

The victory for the Blue Devils was made possible by players such as Jordan Moore, Jaquez Moore, and Jalen Calhoun.

Jordan Moore caught 8 passes for a total of 106 yards and scored 1 touchdown. In the second quarter, he made a 10-yard pass to Loftis that resulted in a tied game.

In the third quarter, Calhoun scored a 10 yard touchdown off a pass from Loftis, giving Duke the lead for the rest of the game after breaking a 13-13 tie.

Calhoun achieved the milestone of becoming the fourth player in Duke’s history to surpass 3,000 receiving yards in their career.

In the fourth quarter, Jaquez Moore secured the victory for the Blue Devils by using his physical prowess to power through the defense and score a 3-yard rushing touchdown.

Love for Loftis

Loftis has made progress each day and has seen improvements in his statistics. Additionally, he utilized a variety of receivers and running backs to successfully complete the task at hand.

Loftis was certainly aware of the pressure from the Panthers’ defense, but he managed to evade it for the most part. He also gained yardage by passing to receivers such as Jalon Calhoun and Jordan Moore.

Although he was sacked four times and threw an interception, he was able to evade pressure by using his own mobility a few times. Loftis was particularly successful in the red zone.

Reworded: Punting Errors and the Defense of Duke University

At the beginning of the match, a punt of 15 yards by Pitt gave Duke a favorable starting position at the 25-yard line and allowed them to score a touchdown.

Pitt quarterback Nate Yarnell faced a highly aggressive Duke defense, although it cannot be said that he made any mistakes.

Yarnell completed 265 yards in offense, however he also threw an interception in the fourth quarter to Duke’s Jeremiah Lewis, allowing Duke’s offense to secure the victory.

Finishing with a victory

Duke had a strong start to the season, winning all four of their first four games before ultimately being defeated by Notre Dame.

Despite the devastating nature of Riley Leonard’s injury, Duke managed to persevere and demonstrate their prowess on both defense and offense under the leadership of head coach Mike Elko.

Scoring Summaries

In the fourth quarter, Duke’s Jaquez Moore scored a 3 yard rushing touchdown, followed by a successful kick by T. Pelino at 11:54. Later on, Pelino scored a 48 yard field goal at 2:04. Pitt’s Bub Means then scored a 14 yard receiving touchdown, but the two point conversion was unsuccessful at 5:17. The final score was Duke 30, Pitt 19.

In the third quarter, Duke’s T. Pelino scored a 25 yard field goal at 10:28. Pitt’s B. Sauls followed with a 47 yard field goal at 7:06. Then, Jalon Calhoun scored a 15 yard touchdown from a receiving play, with T. Pelino successfully kicking the extra point, at 3:44. The score was Duke 20, Pitt 13.

In the second quarter, Pitt scored a 21-yard receiving touchdown by Karter Johnson (with a successful kick by B. Sauls) at 9:13. Duke responded with a 10-yard receiving touchdown by Jordan Moore (with a successful kick by T. Pelino) at 1:11. This brought the score to a tie of 10-10 between Duke and Pitt.

In the first quarter of the game, Duke’s T. Pelino scored a 47 yard field goal at 8:48. Pitt’s B. Sauls also scored a 35 yard field goal at 2:41. The score was tied at 3-3 for Duke and Pitt.

Preview

The Duke football team aims to end the season on a high note this weekend as they welcome the Pitt Panthers to their home field.

Saturday is the designated Senior Day for Duke, as stated by head coach Mike Elko. During the pregame events, 37 players from the team will participate in the walk.

“There’s a lot of really special kids that are going to be out on that field getting recognized for Senior Day, and a lot of kids who have meant an awful lot to Duke football and certainly meant a lot of to this two-year resurgence of Duke football,” Elko said. “From that perspective, it’s going to be a really emotional, special day.”

The match between Duke and Pitt will begin at noon on Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham. The game will be broadcasted on the ACC Network.

Elko stated that in order for our program to reach its goals, it is essential for Duke fans to consistently show their support, regardless of weekends or circumstances. It is our responsibility to make this happen.

I am not singling anyone out. Our goal is to develop this program into a desirable product that garners support and viewership. This must be done consistently. We have discussed various methods of building community involvement, but I will not accept the idea that people should not be attending Wallace Wade Stadium on a Saturday afternoon. They should be there.

Duke’s record is currently 6 wins and 5 losses overall, with 3 wins and 4 losses in the ACC conference. They have not been performing well in their recent games, losing four out of their last five. Their most recent loss was a close 30-27 defeat on the road against Virginia. The only time they have lost at home this season was on September 30th when they were beaten 21-14 by Notre Dame.

“Making excuses is not the solution,” Elko stated. “Our schedule has been challenging, and in those situations, there may be a physical toll that we must learn to overcome.”

I believe that’s essentially what we’ve discussed with the boys. It seems like there have been some ups and downs this year that may be new for these young individuals to go through.

The Duke vs. Notre Dame home game was the first instance in Duke’s history where ESPN’s “College GameDay” broadcasted their football pregame show at the university’s campus.

Becoming a team ranked in the Top 25 and then falling out of that ranking, and then transitioning from a major competition to a smaller one while still facing tough opponents at every turn, is a new experience for us. It’s all part of our journey to develop into a program that can win championships.

Elko described the season as being physically demanding, mentioning the injuries that Duke has experienced. This includes the absence of their starting quarterback Riley Leonard, who has been dealing with ankle and toe injuries.

Freshman quarterback Grayson Loftis is expected to start again with Leonard out and backup Henry Belin IV dealing with an upper-body injury.

Loftis threw 26 completions out of 46 pass attempts for 270 yards and two touchdowns in the game against Virginia. He also had one interception.

Elko commented on Loftis’ performance, stating that it remains positive and he is progressing in the right direction both in his actions and on the field.

Source: wralsportsfan.com