DURHAM – No. 20 Duke heads to Louisville, Ky., on Saturday for another top-20 contest with No. 18 Louisville at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN.
This year’s game marks the fourth on the gridiron between the two schools with Louisville leading the series, 3-0, including a 62-22 victory during the teams’ last meeting on Nov. 18, 2021 in Durham. Saturday’s game marks the first time these two programs have met while both nationally ranked.
Louisville is Duke’s fourth nationally-ranked opponent faced in its opening eight games. The last time the Blue Devils faced four ranked opponents in the same season was 2013 against No. 16 Virginia Tech, No. 24 Miami, No. 1 Florida State, and No. 20 Texas A&M. Duke is currently 1-2 on the year against top-25 foes.
Additionally, the Blue Devils are facing back-to-back top-20 opponents during the same season for the first since 2013 (No. 1 Florida State and No. 20 Texas A&M) and for the first time during the regular season since 1994 (No. 9 Florida State and No. 13 Virginia).
Saturday’s ESPN broadcast will feature Sean McDonough, Greg McElroy, and Molly McGrath on the call. The game can also be heard on the Blue Devil Sports Network from LEARFIELD through the Varsity app or goduke.com.
HOW TO FOLLOW
[20] Duke (5-2, 2-1 ACC) at [18] Louisville (6-1, 3-1 ACC)
Saturday, October 28, 2023 • 3:30 PM
Louisville, Ky. • L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium
TELEVISION • ESPN
RADIO • Blue Devils Sports Network from LEARFIELD
GAME NOTES • Duke Notes • Louisville Notes
LIVE STATS • GoCards.com
TWITTER • @DukeFOOTBALL
GAME NOTES
The Blue Devils rank in the top half of the ACC in both scoring offense (29.57 ppg; 7th) and defense (13.86 ppg; 1st). They are the only ACC school averaging 25.0 points per game and allowing less than 15.0 points per outing.
Graduate running back Jordan Waters ranks tied for fourth in the ACC in scoring, averaging 7.71 points per game. The Fairmont, N.C., native has nine rushing scores for 54 points in Duke’s first seven games. He has scored one rushing touchdown in six of Duke’s seven games this season.
Redshirt sophomore linebacker Tre Freeman leads the team and is sixth in the ACC with 56 tackles on the year. The Durham, N.C., native is averaging 8.00 tackles per game and led the Blue Devils in tackles in three contests against No. 9 Clemson, No. 11 Notre Dame and NC State. Over his last three outings, Freeman has compiled 35 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, one interception, and three quarterback pressures.
SCORING BY PERIODS
Since Mike Elko took the reins in 2022, Duke has registered points in every quarter in 11 of its 20 games. Additionally, Duke is outscoring its opponents in every quarter, except overtime.
Score By Periods (since 2022)
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT Total
Duke 144 200 121 169 0 634
Opponents 89 105 68 119 3 384
MARGIN OF DEFEAT
In the two years prior to Mike Elko taking over, Duke lost 18 games by an average of 25.1 points. In 2021 alone, the Blue Devils’ margin of defeat was 28.6 points per outing.
Since then, the Blue Devils have lost just six games in two years by an average of 6.83 points. Its largest loss under Elko was an 18-point defeat at No. 4 Florida State during Duke’s last outing. Prior to that, all of Blue Devils’ losses under Elko were by eight-or-less points.
LOST YARDAGE
The Blue Devils have only lost 83 rushing yards on the year, marking the second-fewest in the ACC. Miami leads the conference with just 82 lost.
MOORE AGAINST THE SEMINOLES
During Duke’s last outing against No. 4 Florida State, Jaquez Moore registered his first career 100-yard rushing outing with a game and career-high 110 yards on 16 carries with one score.
He added a 42-yard touchdown scamper in the first quarter, for his third rushing score of the year.
SACKS AND TACKLES FOR LOSS ALLOWED
Duke’s offensive line finished 2022 ranked first in the ACC in tackles for loss allowed (3.92) and sacks allowed (1.31), while ranking eighth and 27th nationally in those categories, respectively.
Through seven games of 2023, the Blue Devils rank tied for seventh in sacks allowed and tied for 24th in tackles for loss allowed nationally. Duke has relinquished just five sacks on the year, while it’s allowing 4.43 tackles for loss per outing.
The Blue Devil offensive line has not allowed a sack in four games against No. 9 Clemson, Lafayette, Connecticut, and No. 4 Florida State.
SEASON POINTS
In seven games of 2023, Duke has compiled 207 points from 26 touchdowns, eight field goals and one two-point conversion. In the last 10 seasons, the Blue Devils have accumulated 200-plus points during their first seven games on six occasions, missing the mark in 2021 (189), 2020 (181), 2017 (199), and 2016 (161).
SCORING DEFENSE & TOTAL DEFENSE
The year prior to Mike Elko taking over, the Blue Devils finished last in the ACC and 127th nationally in scoring defense (39.8). Last fall, Duke ranked fifth in the ACC and 31st nationally in scoring defense, limiting its opponents to just 22.1 points per game.
In 2023, Duke ranks first in the ACC and fifth nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 13.86 points per contest. The Blue Devils have relinquished just 97 points on the year and only six rushing scores. In ACC play, Duke has allowed just 48 points in three league games with 13 of those points coming off Blue Devil turnovers.
Additionally, the Blue Devils rank third in the ACC and 24th nationally in total defense, allowing just 315.90 yards per game.
FREEMAN FINDING RHYTHM
Against NC State, LB Tre Freeman recorded a career-high 15 tackles, to become the first Duke player to register 15-plus tackles in a game since Shaka Heyward (16) against North Carolina A&T on September 10, 2021.
Over the last three games, Freeman has compiled 35 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, one interception and three quarterback pressures.
STAND YOUR GROUND
Duke has three players with 40-plus tackles on the year in Tre Freeman (56), Dorian Mausi (47), and Jaylen Stinson (44). The Blue Devils are one of four schools in the ACC with at least three players with 40-plus tackles on the year, joining Syracuse, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest.
DEFENSIVE YARDS PER PLAY ALLOWED
The Blue Devils rank second in the ACC and 17th nationally, allowing just 4.69 yards per play. Duke trails Clemson’s mark of 4.31 yards per outing in the conference.
LIMITING PUNT RETURNS
The Blue Devils held opponents to just 74 punt return yards last season. An average of just 5.69 yards per return. The longest return Duke allowed was a 16-yarder against Kansas. Duke’s opponent yards per return ranked 37th nationally, and ranked fifth in the ACC behind Virginia Tech (2.91), Miami (3.80), Pittsburgh (4.83) and Louisville (5.52).
In Duke’s opening seven games of 2023, the Blue Devils have only relinquished 30 yards on 12 returns (2.50). That mark ranks them 17th nationally and second in the ACC.
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