ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Duke’s first football season under Mike Elko, already decorated by his ACC coach of the year award, gained one final important bit of history on Wednesday.
Duke’s resounding 30-13 win over UCF in the Military Bowl at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium gave the Blue Devils a nine-win season, just the seventh time in school history that’s been achieved, and just the third time since 1941.
Playing in their first bowl game since 2018, the Blue Devils (9-4) used a sold running game and stout defense to carry a 16-point lead into the fourth quarter and hold off the Knights (9-5).
The Blue Devils sacked UCF quarterback John Rhys Plumlee a Military Bowl-record six times, with linebacker Cam Dillon recording two of them. Duke’s defensive linemen batted down three of Plumlee’s passes, two by defensive tackle DeWayne Carter.
The Knights finished with 264 yards of offense, the second-fewest allowed by Duke this season, as Plumlee completed 21 of 34 passes for 182 yards.
While playing a turnover-free game, Duke rushed for 177 yards. That’s the most rushing yards in a game for the Blue Devils since gaining 232 yards in a 38-21 win at Boston College on Nov. 7. It’s also a sign of them getting healthy again along the offensive line and at running back over the four weeks since the end of the regular season.
Quarterback Riley Leonard ran for two Duke touchdowns and Jaquez Moore added one while freshman kicker Todd Pelino added three field goals for the Blue Devils. That included a 48-yard field goal Pelino booted as the first half expired giving Duke a 20-7 halftime lead.
Named Military Bowl MVP, Leonard completed 19 of 28 passes for 173 yards while rushing 10 times for 63 yards to lead the Blue Devils.
Duke never trailed while collecting its fourth consecutive win in a bowl game, dating back to 2015.
The Blue Devils started to take control of the game in the final minutes of the first half when they scored 10 points over the final two minutes to take a 20-7 halftime lead.
With the Blue Devils leading 10-7, safety Brandon Johnson’s hit on Plumlee jarred the ball loose after the quarterback had gained 15 yards on a run. Duke’s Darius Joiner fell on the ball to give the Blue Devils possession at their 42.
Duke needed six plays, and a bit of trickery, to score a touchdown. Leonard’s 12-yard pass to tight end Cole Finney moved the Blue Devils into UCF territory at the 44. Two plays later, Duke faced third-and-5 from the Knights 39.
Leonard lined up in shotgun and clapped his hands in a fake snap call. He then looked to the Duke bench and faced the coaches as if he was getting a new play. Instead, center Jack Burns snapped the ball directly to running back Jaquez Moore, who gained six yards for a first down against a confused UCF defense.
Moore gained 32 yards on a pass on the next play and Leonard scored on a 1-yard run with 1:54 left until halftime giving Duke a 17-7 lead.
Duke’s defense stopped UCF for a three-and-out series with freshman cornerback Chandler Rivers making a key shoe-string tackle on third down. The Knights punted and Duke took over at its 31 with 1:14 left until halftime.
Leonard completed four consecutive short passes over the middle, and also gained 11 yards on a run, moving Duke to the Knights 32. Todd Pelino, a walk-on kicker, booted a 48-yard field goal as the half expired giving Duke a 20-7 lead.
Earlier, the Blue Devils began the scoring on Jaquez Moore’s 14-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. It capped an 87-yard drive where Duke gained 70 yards via the rush.
UCF tied the game on Isaiah Bowser’s 1-yard run with 2:10 left in the first quarter.
Duke put itself in position to regain the lead when Jalon Calhoun caught a Leonard pass and scampered down the sideline inside the UCF 30. But he lost the ball and the Knights recovered the fumble. However, replay review showed Calhoun stepped out of bounds at the UCF 48 prior to his fumble.
That break, plus a Knights roughing the passer penalty on a third-down play where Leonard threw an incomplete pass, helped Duke on a drive that reached the Knights 4 before Pelino’s 22-yard field goal gave the Blue Devils a 10-7 lead.
