Defense leads way as Duke beats Elon 26-3 in its first game under Manny Diaz
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Jaquez Moore, Jeremiah Hasley and Eli Pancol scored short touchdowns while Duke’s defense racked up eight sacks as the Blue Devils beat Elon 26-3 on Friday night in their first game under Manny Diaz.
It wasn’t a big offensive day for Duke (1-0), which often had to grind its way through drives while quarterback Maalik Murphy — a touted transfer from Texas — struggled to connect deep on multiple tries and threw a fourth-quarter pick as he tried to push one ball downfield.
Still, the Blue Devils’ defense didn’t need much help, repeatedly swarming the line of scrimmage and getting to seventh-year quarterback Matthew Downing. The Blue Devils had three sacks in the first two possessions, tallied five by halftime and never let Downing — who had stops at Georgia, TCU and Louisiana Tech — get comfortable.
Elon (0-1), a Championship Subdivision program chasing its first win against a Bowl Subdivision foe, finished with just 140 total yards. Jack Berkowitz kicked a 39-yard field goal with 14 seconds left to avoid the shutout.
Moore scored Duke’s first touchdown from 7 yards out around the left side with less than a minute before halftime, while Hasley had a 1-yard snag in the right flat from Murphy midway through the third quarter for a 19-0 lead.
Murphy added a clinching score, zipping a 7-yard throw to Pancol near the left pylon to make it 26-0 with 4:06 left. He finished with 291 yards on 26-for-40 passing.
The takeaway
Elon: The Phoenix, picked to finish sixth in the 16-team Coastal Athletic Association, struggled to find much space against Duke’s aggressive front. Elon had one gain of at least 20 yards and also saw Berkowitz’s 49-yard field goal plunk the crossbar and bounce all the way back across the goal line for a shoulder-sagging moment shortly Moore’s ground score.
Duke: It was a successful debut for Diaz, who spent the past two seasons as Penn State’s defensive coordinator and took over when Mike Elko left for Texas A&M. Diaz had previously served as Miami’s head coach from 2019-21, going 21-15 with 16 Atlantic Coast Conference wins.
Up next
Elon: The Phoenix play another road game close to home, returning to Durham to visit North Carolina Central on Sept. 7.
Duke: The Blue Devils visit Big Ten country with a trip to Northwestern next Friday.
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