Devils' defense squishes Terrapins

DURHAM

Don't look now, but the Duke Blue Devils are making waves in the ACC.

And they made quite a few waves in a steady downpour at soggy Wallace Wade Stadium yesterday, beating Maryland 17-13.

The Blue Devils, winning their second straight ACC game for the first time since 1994, also the last time they were in a bowl game, moved to 2-1 in the ACC and 4-3 overall.

"Defense loves the rain," said linebacker Damian Thornton. "The offense hates the rain, so we knew it was going to be a grimy game with the weather conditions, and it was about manning up and doing what we had to do."

Except for one mistake in the third quarter, when Maryland quarterback Chris Turner hit Davin Meggett on a screen pass that turned into a 67-yard touchdown, the Blue Devils made all the right plays on defense and special teams to secure the win.

"Everybody is trying to get to that next level where we can get to a bowl," Thornton said of the Blue Devils, who need seven victories to qualify. "It's a week-by-week thing, and if we can do those things it will take care of itself."

The Blue Devils rode the hot hand of quarterback Thaddeus Lewis early to build a 7-0 lead. Lewis hit Donovan Varner for a 24-yard touchdown pass on their second possession of the game.

Lewis, who wasn't as sharp as he was two weeks ago in a rout of N.C. State, managed the game well despite a fumble and his first interception in 130 pass attempts. He completed 30 of 43 passes for 371 yards.

Lewis threw his second touchdown pass, this time a 1-yarder to Danny Parker, the third-string tight end, on a third-and-goal in the third quarter.

The touchdown made the score 17-6, and it gave the Blue Devils enough breathing room and a chance for the defense to make key plays.

Wide receiver Austin Kelly of Duke said: "Our defense came up with big plays, and Vinny (Rey) came up with that big interception at the end and it pretty much sealed the deal. We expect them to play that way, and they expect us to put the ball in the end zone."

The Terps cut the margin to 17-13 with Meggett's touchdown, but that's as close as they came.

Rey made the biggest play for the defense with 4:09 left when he stepped in front of a Turner pass, his ninth interception of the season, at the Maryland 36.

The Blue Devils were forced to punt, but Tony Logan muffed the punt and Duke recovered with 1:42 left and ran out the clock.

Rey, a senior linebacker who made his second career interception, read the play perfectly as he backpedaled while reading Turner's eyes.

"My body kind of took me to the window where he usually throws it," Rey said. "I don't know if I was thinking about that at the time, but after practicing that all week he threw it right to the window where I was going to be, and I was able to hang on."

Coach David Cutcliffe said that with about seven minutes left in the game there was a feeling on the Blue Devils' sideline that they were going to win.

"That's a change," he said of the team's attitude. "I don't know what it means long term."

One of the telltale signs that the Blue Devils might have arrived was the way they celebrated after the victory. There wasn't a lot of hoopla or shouting about beating the Terps (2-6, 1-3) and halting a five-game losing streak to them.

The Blue Devils had three turnovers and a season-high 12 penalties.

"We made some mistakes," Lewis said, "but in the end we were fortunate enough to come out on top. Maryland has a good football team. … Our defense came through when we needed them."

jdell@wsjournal.com.


727-4081

Maryland 3 3 7 0 -- 13


Duke 7 3 7 0 -- 17

First Quarter

Duke--Varner 24 pass from Lewis (Snyderwine kick), 7:24.

Md--FG Ferrara 25, 1:37.

Second Quarter

Md--FG Ferrara 40, 8:34.

Duke--FG Snyderwine 35, 3:31.

Third Quarter

Duke--Parker 1 pass from Lewis (Snyderwine kick), 5:35.

Md--Meggett 67 pass from Turner (Ferrara kick), 4:30.

A--24,650.

TEAM STATISTICS

Md Duke

First downs 11 19

Rushes-yards 31-67 28-23

Passing 182 371

Comp-Att-Int 16-23-1 30-43-1

Return Yards 13 6

Punts-Avg. 5-40.4 4-37.0

Fumbles-Lost 2-1 3-2

Penalties-Yards 3-25 12-101

Time of Possession 27:55 32:05

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Maryland, Meggett 9-38, Porzel 15-28, Turner 6-2, Smith 1-(minus 1). Duke, Lewis 14-14, Hollingsworth 6-10, Kurunwune 2-8, B.King 1-1, D.Scott 1-1, Team 4-(minus 11).

PASSING--Maryland, Turner 16-23-1-182. Duke, Lewis 30-43-1-371.

RECEIVING--Maryland, Cannon 6-66, Porzel 3-24, Meggett 2-68, Smith 2-13, Tyler 2-8, Dorsey 1-3. Duke, Kelly 9-67, Varner 8-120, Vernon 5-102, Williams 4-47, Hollingsworth 3-34, Parker 1-1.