After a record breaking performance, Asher O’Hara had the Blue Raiders riding high heading into their matchup with Duke Blue Devils.
In the early going MTSU brought the fight to the Blue Devils as they marched down the field with a 13 play drive that ended in three points. Duke responded with a long drive of their own resulting in seven points. Duke’s head coach David Cutcliffe’s decision to take a gamble early paid off after the successful onside kick. Senior QB Quentin Harris quickly capitalized on the great field position to go up 14-3 towards the end of the 1st quarter.
The Blue Devils added another field goal early in the 2nd quarter to push the lead to 14 with 11:44 left in the half. The Blue Raiders were on what looked like a scoring drive, but the Duke defense tightened up and forced a turnover on downs at MTSU’s 38-yard-line. Harris and the Blue Devil offense once again capitalized and scored a touchdown on a back shoulder fade to Freshman wide receiver Eli Pancol. Before the end of the half the Blue Devils would add another passing touchdown to take a commanding 31-3 lead.
Early in the 3rd quarter the Blue Devils added another field goal following a 71 yard drive that included a 65 yard rush from Quentin Harris. O’Hara and the Blue Raiders answered with a quick drive of their own resulting in eight points reducing the deficit to 23 points. Following the Blue Raider touchdown drive, Harris orchestrated a 12 play 84 yard drive that ended in another touchdown extending the lead 41-11.
The Blue Raiders continued to battle in the 4th quarter, adding another seven points to the scoreboard making the final score 41-18. This loss drops MTSU to a 1-2 record with both losses coming at the hands of a Power 5 team. Their next bout is against the physical, #18 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes.
Jimmie Covington, Reporter
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