Duke is certainly not playing as if they do not belong on the same field with the number one team in the country, but Florida State is leading the upset-minded Blue Devils 17-0 at the half of the ACC Championship Game.
Jameis Winston tied the ACC single season record for passing touchdowns in a season with his perfectly placed pass to Kelvin Benjamin early in the second quarter, his 36th touchdown pass of the season. The touchdown also saw Winston tie former Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford’s freshman record for passing touchdowns in a season. Running back Karlos Wiliams later rushed for a 12-yard touchdown to finish off a 73-yard drive for the 14-0 lead.
Duke has had some opportunities in this one, but the Blue Devils were unable to take advantage with some dropped passes. Duke recovered a Devonta Freeman fumble inside the Duke 10-yard line, pouncing on the turnover on their own three-yard line. Duke moved down field but missed on a wide open pass down the left sideline to keep the drive going and missed a long field goal attempt. Duke’s defense has done a decent job in bringing pressure on Winston, but how long can they continue to hang around? Duke’s offense has been pretty stale after a solid start to the game, and enters halftime with just 90 yards of offense on 35 plays. Florida State has racked up 268 yards on 42 plays.
More importantly, is Duke going to be able to score on Florida State?