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Game Notes: Florida State
12/7/2020 4:16:00 PM | Football
DURHAM, N.C. – Duke hits the road Saturday for its regular season finale at Florida State.
Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m., and the game will be televised live by the ACC Network (ACCN).
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Florida State leads the all-time series, 20-0 ... the series began in 1992 when Florida State joined the ACC ... the two teams last met in 2017, with the Seminoles securing a 17-10 victory in Durham ... Duke and Florida State have met once in the postseason, with the Seminoles earning a 45-7 win in the 2013 ACC Championship game in Charlotte, N.C.
Saturday's ACCN broadcast will feature Chris Cotter, Mark Herzlich, and Eric Wood on the call. The game can also be heard on the Blue Devil Sports Network from Learfield IMG College through the TuneIn app or goduke.com
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HOW TO FOLLOW
Duke (2-8, 1-8 ACC) vs. Florida State (2-6, 1-6Â ACC)
Saturday, December 12, 2020 • 4:00 PM
Tallahassee, Fla. • Doak Campbell Stadium
TELEVISION • ACCN
RADIO • Blue Devils IMG Sports Network
GAME NOTES • Duke Notes  • Florida State Notes
LIVE STATS • Seminoles.com
TWITTER • @DukeFOOTBALL
GAME NOTES
Senior DE Victor Dimukeje is closing in on a Blue Devil record as he needs just 1.0 sacks to eclipse Charles Bowser's all-time school standard (22.0) ... Dimukeje currently sits with 21.5 career sacks.
Fellow DE Chris Rumph II and Dimukeje are the first set of teammates to post 7.5+ sacks in a single season in Duke history … with 8.0 and 7.5 sacks, respectively, in 2020, Rumph II is ranked tied for sixth and Dimukeje sits seventh on Duke's single-season list. The pair are also second and third, respectively, in the ACC in that category.Â
In 10 games this season, junior RB Mataeo Durant leads the Blue Devils in rushing yards (690), 100-yard rushing games (3), all-purpose yards (797) and touchdowns (8) while ranking second in total points (48) ... during Duke's outing at Georgia Tech, Durant recorded both a rushing and receiving touchdown, marking the first time a Blue Devil had achieved this mark since fellow RB Deon Jackson did so against Pittsburgh in 2019 ... also over Duke's last six games, Durant is averaging 84.3 yards per outing and 6.5 yards per carry (506 yards on 78 carries).
SERIES HISTORY
This year's game will mark the 21st on the gridiron between the two schools with Florida State standing undefeated at 20-0 ... despite having never won against the Seminoles, the Blue Devils had their closest game in the series during their last match up on Oct. 14, 2017 ... Florida State broke a 10-10 tie after Cam Akers scampered in from 42-yards out to hand the visitors a seven-point advantage with a little over eight minutes to play ... the Blue Devils had their best opportunity to tie things up with 1:32 left in the contest when they drove down to the Florida State 30-yard line ... unfortunately that drive came up just short in the waning seconds.Â
CUTCLIFFE, DUKE IN DECEMBER
Duke is 2-5 in the month of December under David Cutcliffe and 0-1 during the regular season ... the Blue Devil are also 3-6-1 all-time during the regular season in this month ... last Saturday's contest with Miami marked Duke's first regular season game this month since Dec. 1, 2001 when it lost 31-59 at Clemson.Â
TAKING OWNERSHIP OF THE OFFENSE
Since transferring in from Clemson, redshirt junior Chase Brice has taken the helm of the offense after being named Duke's QB1 … in his first 10 career starts, Brice has compiled 186-of-335 (.555) passes for 2,089 yards with nine TDs ... the Grayson, Ga., native sits 10th in the ACC with a 208.9 passing average per game mark.
His 186 completions are tied with Pittsburgh's Kenny Pickett for third-most in the ACC and the two sit behind Boston College's Phil Jurkovec (205) and North Carolina's Sam Howell (205) ... in six of his 10 games this season, Brice has competed 20+ passes, including a season-high 24 against NC State … during his short Duke tenure, Brice has registered 36 total passes of 15+ yards.
If the Grayson, Ga., native records 20+ completions at Florida State on Saturday he will be tied with Spence Fischer (1995) and Sean Renfree (2010) for eighth in the record books for most games with 20+ completions in a single season (7).
QB1 EMBRACES NEW TEAM, NEW ROLL
After making his first collegiate start against No. 10 Notre Dame in Duke's opener, Chase Brice has thrown for 200+ yards in six of 10 games this season … his only misses were against NC State (190), Charlotte (8), North Carolina (155) and Miami (94).Â
During Duke's last outing against Miami, Brice became the 22nd 2,000-yard career passer in Blue Devil history ... he also Duke's 30th quarterback to achieve 2,000 passing yards in a single season ... those 2,089 passing yards this season rank 26th all-time for a quarterback in a season.
MAKE ROOM FOR MATAEO
Now in his third year at Duke and having reached high levels of comfort and confidence, junior DB Mataeo Durant is making the most of his opportunities on the gridiron ... through 10 games this season, Durant leads the Blue Devils in rushing yards (690), 100-yard rushing games (3), all-purpose yards (797) and total touchdowns (8) while ranking second in total points (48).
In the ACC, Durant ranks among the league's top 15 running backs in rushing yards per game (11th; 69.0), rushing touchdowns (10th; 7) and average yards per carry (4th; min. 100 attempts; 6.45) ... his 6.45 yards per rushing attempt currently sits fifth on Duke's single-season chart, trailing only Shaun Wilson (7.67 in 2014), Ace Parker (7.43 in 1935), Buddy Luper (6.84 in 1943), and Jasper Davis (6.57 in 1940).
Against Georgia Tech, Durant recorded two touchdowns, a 1-yard rush and a 30-yard one-handed reception ... it marked his fourth career game with multiple touchdowns and second with one receiving and one rushing.
TACKLES FOR LOSS
In 2019, Duke had five players register six or more tackles for loss, led by DE Chris Rumph II who recorded a team-best 13.5 ... DE Victor Dimukeje and LB Shaka Heyward are the other two returning players on the list with 9.5 and 6.5 TFL, respectively, last season ... Rumph II ranked eighth in the ACC with his 13.5 TFL.Â
In 2020, Rumph II, Dimukeje and Heyward have already recorded multiple TFL with 12.5, 10.5 and 8.5, respectively ... Marquis Waters (7.0 TFL), Derrick Tangelo (4.0 TFL), Rocky Shelton II (3.5 TFL), Drew Jordan (3.5 TFL), Ben Frye (3.0 TFL), Jeremiah Lewis (3.0 TFL), Michael Carter II (3.0 TFL), DeWayne Carter (2.0 TFL) and Dorian Mausi (1.5 TFL) round out the remaining Blue Devils with 1.5+ TFL on the year.
Rumph II and Dimukeje both find themselves ranked in the ACC's top-10 in this category … Rumph II is seventh with 1.25 TFL per game, while Dimukeje is ninth averaging 1.05 per outing … Duke and Pittsburgh are the only twos schools in the ACC with at least two players with 10.5 TFL and 7.5 sacks each.Â
Dimukeje's 35.0 career TFLs place him ninth on Duke's all-time list, while Rumph II's mark of 34.0 has him 11th ... of the top 15 players in Duke's career TFLs list only four have reached the chart in three seasons.
Name          Years    Career TFL
Jeremy Cash    2013-15   38.0
Reggie Andrews 1983-85   35.5
Chris Rumph IIÂ Â Â 2018-20Â Â Â 34.0
Joe Giles-Harris  2016-18   32.0
YOUTH AT LINEBACKER
Duke's depth chart at linebacker is a youthful one as the unit is comprised of two redshirt sophomores, one redshirt freshman and two true freshmen.
Redshirt sophomore Shaka Heyward, who started six games last season, is the most experienced returning LB for the Blue Devils ... in Duke's 10 games in 2020, Heyward leads the team and is seventh in the ACC with 75 tackles on the year ... in half of Duke's games he has led or tied for a team-lead in tackles ... during the Blue Devils' game against Georgia Tech, Heyward posted a safety and a fumble recovery for a touchdown ... his safety marked Duke's first since 2017 against N.C. Central.
The Hoschton, Ga., native has registered at least six+ tackles in 12 of his last 15 games, with his three misses coming against Syracuse (4), North Carolina (5), and Georgia Tech (5) earlier this year … during that stretch, Heyward earned five games with double-digit tackles … for his career (26 games), Heyward has 143 tackles, 15.0 TFL, 6.5 sacks, one INT, three fumble recoveries and five QB pressures.
DEFENSIVE PRESSURE
The Blue Devils currently rank fifth in the ACC in pass defense allowing just 235.0 yards per game … Duke also finds itself ninth in the league in total defense giving up 437.1 yards per outing … finally the Blue Devils rank tied for sixth in the conference and tied for 21st nationally, averaging 3.00 sacks per contest.
Redshirt sophomore Jeremiah Lewis is fourth in the ACC with 1.10 passes defended per game … as a unit, Duke's eight interceptions on the year are ninth in the conference.Â
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE KICKING GAME
In 2020, Duke had to replaced a pair of All-ACC specialists from a season ago in P Austin Parker and K AJ Reed.
Redshirt freshman Porter Wilson has taken over Duke's punting duties and so far this season has punted 48 times for 2,072 yards for an average of 43.17 yards ... his first career punt against Notre Dame went 60 yards while 21 of his boots have been downed inside 20 yard line against two touchbacks.
During Duke's outing against Miami, Wilson punted seven times for 312 yards (44.57) with four boots of 40+ yards ... six of his seven punts were downed inside the Miami 20 yard line, while three punts were returned for a total of minus-2 yards (-2, 0 & 0) ... Wilson is one of just three punters in the ACC with at least 10+ punts of 50+ yards and at least 20+ punts downed inside the 20 ... he is also one of only two punters to rank among the league's top 10 in punting average with 45+ boots against two-or-less touchbacks ... the Fairlawn, Ohio, native's 2,072 punting yards and 48 punts on the year rank 10th in the nation as well.
Fellow classmate Charlie Ham has replaced Reed on placement kicks and kickoffs ... in 12 career games, Ham has registered 22 kickoffs for 1,361 yards (61.86) with nine touchbacks ... Ham has also converted on 13 of his 15 field goal attempts in 2020, with his two misses being from 35- and 45-yards out ... against Virginia, Ham booted a season-long 47-yarder ... he is seventh in the ACC with 13 made FGs this season.
POSTSEASON PRAISE
Two of Duke's specialists were given postseason praise earlier this week ... redshirt freshman punter Porter Wilson was named a semifinalists for the Ray Guy Award, while fellow classmate and kicker Charlie Ham earned semifinalist honors by the Lou Groza Award committee.Â
#GoDuke
Â
Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m., and the game will be televised live by the ACC Network (ACCN).
Â
Florida State leads the all-time series, 20-0 ... the series began in 1992 when Florida State joined the ACC ... the two teams last met in 2017, with the Seminoles securing a 17-10 victory in Durham ... Duke and Florida State have met once in the postseason, with the Seminoles earning a 45-7 win in the 2013 ACC Championship game in Charlotte, N.C.
Saturday's ACCN broadcast will feature Chris Cotter, Mark Herzlich, and Eric Wood on the call. The game can also be heard on the Blue Devil Sports Network from Learfield IMG College through the TuneIn app or goduke.com
Â
HOW TO FOLLOW
Duke (2-8, 1-8 ACC) vs. Florida State (2-6, 1-6Â ACC)
Saturday, December 12, 2020 • 4:00 PM
Tallahassee, Fla. • Doak Campbell Stadium
TELEVISION • ACCN
RADIO • Blue Devils IMG Sports Network
GAME NOTES • Duke Notes  • Florida State Notes
LIVE STATS • Seminoles.com
TWITTER • @DukeFOOTBALL
GAME NOTES
Senior DE Victor Dimukeje is closing in on a Blue Devil record as he needs just 1.0 sacks to eclipse Charles Bowser's all-time school standard (22.0) ... Dimukeje currently sits with 21.5 career sacks.
Fellow DE Chris Rumph II and Dimukeje are the first set of teammates to post 7.5+ sacks in a single season in Duke history … with 8.0 and 7.5 sacks, respectively, in 2020, Rumph II is ranked tied for sixth and Dimukeje sits seventh on Duke's single-season list. The pair are also second and third, respectively, in the ACC in that category.Â
In 10 games this season, junior RB Mataeo Durant leads the Blue Devils in rushing yards (690), 100-yard rushing games (3), all-purpose yards (797) and touchdowns (8) while ranking second in total points (48) ... during Duke's outing at Georgia Tech, Durant recorded both a rushing and receiving touchdown, marking the first time a Blue Devil had achieved this mark since fellow RB Deon Jackson did so against Pittsburgh in 2019 ... also over Duke's last six games, Durant is averaging 84.3 yards per outing and 6.5 yards per carry (506 yards on 78 carries).
SERIES HISTORY
This year's game will mark the 21st on the gridiron between the two schools with Florida State standing undefeated at 20-0 ... despite having never won against the Seminoles, the Blue Devils had their closest game in the series during their last match up on Oct. 14, 2017 ... Florida State broke a 10-10 tie after Cam Akers scampered in from 42-yards out to hand the visitors a seven-point advantage with a little over eight minutes to play ... the Blue Devils had their best opportunity to tie things up with 1:32 left in the contest when they drove down to the Florida State 30-yard line ... unfortunately that drive came up just short in the waning seconds.Â
CUTCLIFFE, DUKE IN DECEMBER
Duke is 2-5 in the month of December under David Cutcliffe and 0-1 during the regular season ... the Blue Devil are also 3-6-1 all-time during the regular season in this month ... last Saturday's contest with Miami marked Duke's first regular season game this month since Dec. 1, 2001 when it lost 31-59 at Clemson.Â
TAKING OWNERSHIP OF THE OFFENSE
Since transferring in from Clemson, redshirt junior Chase Brice has taken the helm of the offense after being named Duke's QB1 … in his first 10 career starts, Brice has compiled 186-of-335 (.555) passes for 2,089 yards with nine TDs ... the Grayson, Ga., native sits 10th in the ACC with a 208.9 passing average per game mark.
His 186 completions are tied with Pittsburgh's Kenny Pickett for third-most in the ACC and the two sit behind Boston College's Phil Jurkovec (205) and North Carolina's Sam Howell (205) ... in six of his 10 games this season, Brice has competed 20+ passes, including a season-high 24 against NC State … during his short Duke tenure, Brice has registered 36 total passes of 15+ yards.
If the Grayson, Ga., native records 20+ completions at Florida State on Saturday he will be tied with Spence Fischer (1995) and Sean Renfree (2010) for eighth in the record books for most games with 20+ completions in a single season (7).
QB1 EMBRACES NEW TEAM, NEW ROLL
After making his first collegiate start against No. 10 Notre Dame in Duke's opener, Chase Brice has thrown for 200+ yards in six of 10 games this season … his only misses were against NC State (190), Charlotte (8), North Carolina (155) and Miami (94).Â
During Duke's last outing against Miami, Brice became the 22nd 2,000-yard career passer in Blue Devil history ... he also Duke's 30th quarterback to achieve 2,000 passing yards in a single season ... those 2,089 passing yards this season rank 26th all-time for a quarterback in a season.
MAKE ROOM FOR MATAEO
Now in his third year at Duke and having reached high levels of comfort and confidence, junior DB Mataeo Durant is making the most of his opportunities on the gridiron ... through 10 games this season, Durant leads the Blue Devils in rushing yards (690), 100-yard rushing games (3), all-purpose yards (797) and total touchdowns (8) while ranking second in total points (48).
In the ACC, Durant ranks among the league's top 15 running backs in rushing yards per game (11th; 69.0), rushing touchdowns (10th; 7) and average yards per carry (4th; min. 100 attempts; 6.45) ... his 6.45 yards per rushing attempt currently sits fifth on Duke's single-season chart, trailing only Shaun Wilson (7.67 in 2014), Ace Parker (7.43 in 1935), Buddy Luper (6.84 in 1943), and Jasper Davis (6.57 in 1940).
Against Georgia Tech, Durant recorded two touchdowns, a 1-yard rush and a 30-yard one-handed reception ... it marked his fourth career game with multiple touchdowns and second with one receiving and one rushing.
TACKLES FOR LOSS
In 2019, Duke had five players register six or more tackles for loss, led by DE Chris Rumph II who recorded a team-best 13.5 ... DE Victor Dimukeje and LB Shaka Heyward are the other two returning players on the list with 9.5 and 6.5 TFL, respectively, last season ... Rumph II ranked eighth in the ACC with his 13.5 TFL.Â
In 2020, Rumph II, Dimukeje and Heyward have already recorded multiple TFL with 12.5, 10.5 and 8.5, respectively ... Marquis Waters (7.0 TFL), Derrick Tangelo (4.0 TFL), Rocky Shelton II (3.5 TFL), Drew Jordan (3.5 TFL), Ben Frye (3.0 TFL), Jeremiah Lewis (3.0 TFL), Michael Carter II (3.0 TFL), DeWayne Carter (2.0 TFL) and Dorian Mausi (1.5 TFL) round out the remaining Blue Devils with 1.5+ TFL on the year.
Rumph II and Dimukeje both find themselves ranked in the ACC's top-10 in this category … Rumph II is seventh with 1.25 TFL per game, while Dimukeje is ninth averaging 1.05 per outing … Duke and Pittsburgh are the only twos schools in the ACC with at least two players with 10.5 TFL and 7.5 sacks each.Â
Dimukeje's 35.0 career TFLs place him ninth on Duke's all-time list, while Rumph II's mark of 34.0 has him 11th ... of the top 15 players in Duke's career TFLs list only four have reached the chart in three seasons.
Name          Years    Career TFL
Jeremy Cash    2013-15   38.0
Reggie Andrews 1983-85   35.5
Chris Rumph IIÂ Â Â 2018-20Â Â Â 34.0
Joe Giles-Harris  2016-18   32.0
YOUTH AT LINEBACKER
Duke's depth chart at linebacker is a youthful one as the unit is comprised of two redshirt sophomores, one redshirt freshman and two true freshmen.
Redshirt sophomore Shaka Heyward, who started six games last season, is the most experienced returning LB for the Blue Devils ... in Duke's 10 games in 2020, Heyward leads the team and is seventh in the ACC with 75 tackles on the year ... in half of Duke's games he has led or tied for a team-lead in tackles ... during the Blue Devils' game against Georgia Tech, Heyward posted a safety and a fumble recovery for a touchdown ... his safety marked Duke's first since 2017 against N.C. Central.
The Hoschton, Ga., native has registered at least six+ tackles in 12 of his last 15 games, with his three misses coming against Syracuse (4), North Carolina (5), and Georgia Tech (5) earlier this year … during that stretch, Heyward earned five games with double-digit tackles … for his career (26 games), Heyward has 143 tackles, 15.0 TFL, 6.5 sacks, one INT, three fumble recoveries and five QB pressures.
DEFENSIVE PRESSURE
The Blue Devils currently rank fifth in the ACC in pass defense allowing just 235.0 yards per game … Duke also finds itself ninth in the league in total defense giving up 437.1 yards per outing … finally the Blue Devils rank tied for sixth in the conference and tied for 21st nationally, averaging 3.00 sacks per contest.
Redshirt sophomore Jeremiah Lewis is fourth in the ACC with 1.10 passes defended per game … as a unit, Duke's eight interceptions on the year are ninth in the conference.Â
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE KICKING GAME
In 2020, Duke had to replaced a pair of All-ACC specialists from a season ago in P Austin Parker and K AJ Reed.
Redshirt freshman Porter Wilson has taken over Duke's punting duties and so far this season has punted 48 times for 2,072 yards for an average of 43.17 yards ... his first career punt against Notre Dame went 60 yards while 21 of his boots have been downed inside 20 yard line against two touchbacks.
During Duke's outing against Miami, Wilson punted seven times for 312 yards (44.57) with four boots of 40+ yards ... six of his seven punts were downed inside the Miami 20 yard line, while three punts were returned for a total of minus-2 yards (-2, 0 & 0) ... Wilson is one of just three punters in the ACC with at least 10+ punts of 50+ yards and at least 20+ punts downed inside the 20 ... he is also one of only two punters to rank among the league's top 10 in punting average with 45+ boots against two-or-less touchbacks ... the Fairlawn, Ohio, native's 2,072 punting yards and 48 punts on the year rank 10th in the nation as well.
Fellow classmate Charlie Ham has replaced Reed on placement kicks and kickoffs ... in 12 career games, Ham has registered 22 kickoffs for 1,361 yards (61.86) with nine touchbacks ... Ham has also converted on 13 of his 15 field goal attempts in 2020, with his two misses being from 35- and 45-yards out ... against Virginia, Ham booted a season-long 47-yarder ... he is seventh in the ACC with 13 made FGs this season.
POSTSEASON PRAISE
Two of Duke's specialists were given postseason praise earlier this week ... redshirt freshman punter Porter Wilson was named a semifinalists for the Ray Guy Award, while fellow classmate and kicker Charlie Ham earned semifinalist honors by the Lou Groza Award committee.Â
#GoDuke
Â
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