Devils can't overtake Northwestern

Staff photo by Chuck Liddy 

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DURHAM — Last weekend, new Duke coach David Cutcliffe told the student section to leave the goalposts at Wallace Wade Stadium intact until a bigger victory.

They’ll have to wait a while longer, thanks to a 24-20 loss to Northwestern on Saturday.

Trailing by four points with 2:20 left, the Blue Devils got a break when Northwestern had to re-punt because of an illegal procedure penalty.

On the re-do, junior Leon Wright returned it to the Northwestern 29. But on a 4th-and-5, a holding penalty brought back 24-yard touchdown completion. And on that re-do, quarterback Thaddeus Lewis’ sideline pass was incomplete.

As a result, Duke failed to start a season 2-0 for the first time since 1998, still hasn’t won consecutive home games since 1997, and lost the opportunity to win back-to-back contests for the first time since 2003.

Wide receiver Johnny Williams finished with 11 catches for 135 yards, the most by a Duke freshman since 2005.

Trailing 17-13 in the fourth quarter, Duke converted a fourth-and-4, then scored a go-ahead touchdown on a 16-yard run during which quarterback Thaddeus Lewis ran around the right side and got up-ended on his way to the end zone.

The ball appeared to touch the ground before Lewis broke the plane of the goal line, but Lewis was credited with the touchdown. (And even if it had been ruled a fumble, a Blue Devil recovered it.) That gave Duke a 20-17 lead.

But on Northwestern’s next possession, the Wildcats drove 72 yards, capped by a 2-yard run by senior tailback Omar Conteh. Duke allowed Northwestern to convert two third-and-10s on the drive, and also committed pass interferance in the end zone to help set up the scoring rush that made it 24-20.

The Blue Devils, as they had all game, had another chance. But on a 4th-and-5 at the Northwestern’s 37-yard line, a well-covered Williams couldn’t grab a pass from Lewis, turning over the ball on downs.

The end was a far cry from last year’s game at Northwestern, when the Blue Devils stopped the Wildcats on four straight plays from the Duke 7-yard line with 38 seconds remaining, winning to halt their 22-game losing streak. After that game, Duke students did tear down a Wallace Wade goalpost – even though the game was played in Illinois.

The first turning point came in the second quarter. The score was tied 7-7, and the Blue Devils had been doing a decent job defensively, forcing a total of three three-and-outs. But after a three-and-out of its own on offense, Duke long snapper Chris Shannon, a redshirt freshman, heaved the ball over punter Kevin Jones head.

Jones went after the ball and, under pressure, eventually kicked it out of bounds at the 29 yard line — 22 yards behind the original line of scrimmage.

On the next play, the Wildcats took their first lead on a flea-flicker when wide receiver Eric Peterman found quarterback  C.J. Bacher on a 29-yard touchdown pass. That gave Northwestern a 14-7 advantage, and it took a 17-10 lead into halftime.