Updated as of 6:48 p.m. on Sept. 3 to include additional video.
In a game dominated by defense, Elon University football lost its regular season opener against Duke 26-3.
Despite the gaping difference between the two programs — Duke was in a Power Four conference in Football Bowl Subdivision football and Elon in the Football Championship Subdivision — the Phoenix came into the game with a fighting chance. They faced a Blue Devils squad that reeked of inexperience due to a brand new head coach and quarterback debuting against Elon. Additionally, Elon has been on a good run as of late. They were a game out from making the FCS Playoffs last year and beat two top five FCS opponents last year.
Elon started the game with a belief in their offense, winning the coin toss and choosing to receive to start the game.
However, this belief likely didn’t last long, as Elon’s offense began to be bombarded with pass rush. The Blue Devils’ stalwart defense that only allowed 19 points per game last season came out in full force and sacked Elon quarterback Matthew Downing five times in the first half. Elon’s offensive line looked lost amid the roars of early season excitement from Duke fans and the raucous clinking of cowbells.
The Blue Devils got on the board halfway through the first quarter with a field goal, going up 3-0. After the early lead, Duke was held largely in check during the first half thanks to DJ Hamilton’s—who made his first career start—five tackles and transfer portal addition Khalil Baker’s three tackles. Baker ended up with 10 tackles, proving to be a valuable transfer portal addition.
Throughout the game, Elon’s defense played well. They held the Blue Devils to just 59 rushing yards — Duke’s fewest rushing yards against a non-conference opponent since 2011. FCS pre-season Defensive Player of the Year Caleb Curtain said that the defense was fully prepared for this game.
The Phoenix had a chance to tie the game up with a 49-yard field goal toward the end of the second quarter, but Jack Berkowitz’ attempt came up short and the ball ricocheted off the crossbar.
The missed field goal led to a fast, three-play Blue Devils drive, aided by a 55-yard catch by Eli Pancol and a 7-yard rushing touchdown by Jaquez Moore. Going into the half, The Blue Devils led 10-0. Downing entered the break with only 56 passing yards and the team’s leader in yards was Chandler Brayboy who only had 33 yards.
The third quarter was a disastrous set of events for the Phoenix. Elon would only manage to get two total yards in the third quarter — punting multiple times — and the offensive line continued to let up a multitude of sacks.
Elon head coach Tony Trisciani said that the team was overwhelmed defensively by Duke.
“Duke overwhelmed us a little bit defensively,” Trisciani said in the postgame press conference. “The edge rushers, sacks on the quarterback made it difficult for us and put us off schedule.”
Additionally, Elon’s defense let up a field goal and a 1-yard touchdown pass thanks to a Jordan Moore 47-yard catch. Moore was an electric force throughout the game, finishing the day with 112 yards.
Curtain attempted to give Elon a spark with an interception early in the fourth quarter, but the deficit proved to be too great.
Maalik Murphy’s debut as Duke’s starting quarterback after Riley Leonard’s departure was a promising start for Duke as Murphy threw for 291 yards and added two touchdowns. Elon’s defense put up a good fight, stalling the Blue Devils for long stretches at a time, but Duke’s ferocious pass rush proved to be too aggressive for Elon’s offensive line. Duke’s defense had 16 tackles and a whopping eight sacks.
Trisciani said that their offensive plan wasn’t the problem; Duke’s stalwart defense was.
“I don't feel like we came into this game with a bad plan offensively,” Trisciani said. “We had trouble blocking an ACC defensive line. I'll be interested to see how well they play in the coming weeks, I think they're pretty talented, especially on the edge.”
Elon’s offense could never get it going, managing only 140 total yards, and Downing threw for a meager 72 yards before being taken out late in the game for Jack Salopek. Downing and the rest of Elon’s offense was careful with the ball, not turning the ball over at all, but failed to get any openings.
Brayboy said that execution will be key in being able to bounce back next week.
“I think we just got to execute a little bit more,” Brayboy said in the postgame press conference. “I know our job takes 11 guys on offense, so I think the execution level will get there, and will be better.”
Trisciani believes that there is a lot to learn from this game.
“We will spend a lot of time on our film for this game,” Trisciani said. “So for us, it's about making a jump from week one to week two and getting better.
Trisciani also said that there is a lot to be proud of from Elon’s performance.
“I'm proud of the way we played defense, I'm proud of the way we moved the ball at the end of that half, I'm proud of the drive that we put together earlier in the game and got down the field,” Trisciani said. “This is one football game. It was not our best football game. We will get better. We've got 11 more games in front of us, and we can win every single one of those football games.”
Elon looks to get back on track as they return to FCS football when they go on the road at 6 p.m. on Sept. 7 at North Carolina Central.
Trisciani said that next week’s game will be tough, but said he is looking forward to it.
“They’re a winning program,” Trisciani said. “They’re a playoff program last year, a championship program the year before. So, they're talented, they have a strong culture, they know how to win. So, we got to play our best and it’ll be a good football game.”