— text and picture by Patrick Magoon freelance writer for WIZS
In their first Bowl game since 2018, the Duke Blue Devils’ stout defense prevailed, tallying a Military Bowl-record six sacks and eight tackles for a loss. The unit also deflected four passes and forced three fumbles.
Duke wasted no time putting points on the board. In the first quarter, Duke’s offense, led by Military Bowl MVP Riley Leonard, executed a nine-play, 87-yard scoring drive to take an early lead. Through four quarters, Leonard scored twice with his legs and threw for 173 yards.
Leonard, once again, was the star of the show. When the Blue Devils needed him to scramble to pick up extra yards, he did it. If his coaches needed him to execute a precision pass in tight coverage, it was done.
Despite quickly responding with a one-yard rushing touchdown to tie the game at seven in the first quarter, The Knights failed to compile a consistent rhythm on offense, and they struggled to convert on fourth down in crucial situations.
“It was inconsistent,” said head coach Gus Malzahn. “There is no doubt. We didn’t play good enough offensively to give ourselves a chance to win.”
Duke took advantage of The Knights’ miscues, capitalizing on a fumble and outscoring The Knights 13-0 in the second half. Facing a 16-point deficit at the start of the second half, The Knights had an opportunity to flip the script after a favorable exchange of punts gave them good field position, including the Duke 32. However, the offensive series stalled out after insufficient, minimal gains.
Once Duke orchestrated a comfortable lead, its versatile offensive unit won the possession battle with a run-heavy game plan. Four running backs and Leonard ran 40 times for a combined 177 yards.
“I felt we controlled the game pretty well,” said Leonard. “We executed pretty well on offense, did have a couple of three and outs here and there but throughout the game, we consistently ran the ball, and we were able to find the holes in the defense.”