Northwestern football will welcome Duke to one of the most unique college football venues in the country on Friday night as both teams look for win No. 2.
The temporary home of the Wildcats sits just 12,000 fans as the program renovates its permanent stadium
Fans looking to watch this college football game on FS1 can do so for free on fuboTV, which offers a free trial (as well as RedZone, for you NFL fans) or on DirecTV Stream, which also offers a free trial. SlingTV has promotional offers available, as well.
Both programs’ defense stood tall in their wins a week ago as neither unit game up a touchdown. Duke beat Elon 26-3 while N’Western toppled Miami (Ohio) 13-6.
Who: Northwestern Wildcats vs. Duke Blue Devils
When: 9:00 PM ET, September 6, 2024
Where: Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium
Stream: fuboTV (free trial); or Sling; or DirecTV Stream
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Defense leads way as Duke beats Elon 26-3 in its first game under Manny Diaz
By AARON BEARD AP Sports Writer
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.
“They just went,” Diaz said of the defensive front. “And I know that sounds so silly. But they just attacked the way that this defense is really designed to. And then once they got the nose for it, they didn’t stop. They were just relentless.”
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.
“It wasn’t our best football game, it’s not the best football we can play,” Elon coach Tony Trisciani said.
“We need to execute better. We’ve got fight. Our guys fight. It wasn’t a matter of fight. I know these guys will fight. … We’re going to be a better football team next week.”
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.
DEFENSIVE PUNCH
Duke’s sack tally is surpassed by only one game since the school started tracking sacks in 2000: a nine-sack effort in the 2019 finale against Miami, coached by Diaz.
The Blue Devils’ 16 tackles for loss were the most for the program in any game since 2007.
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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Northwestern opens temporary stadium with 13-6 win over Miami (Ohio)
By ANDREW SELIGMAN AP Sports Writer
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — The lakefront location with the boats bobbing just a short pass from the temporary and intimate stadium and the Chicago skyline off in the distance created an unforgettable backdrop.
A season-opening win made it all the more memorable for Northwestern.
Mike Wright led three scoring drives, Robert Fitzgerald intercepted a pass in the final minute and the Wildcats won the first game in their lakefront home, beating Miami (Ohio) 13-6 on Saturday.
Miami had the ball on the Northwestern 35 when Brett Gabbert tried to hit Reggie Virgil. Fitzgerald picked off the pass at the 25, helping the Wildcats open their second season under coach David Braun on a triumphant note.
They did it in an environment as unique as any, before a sellout crowd of 12,023 not counting the boats.
“I don’t know if there’s anything to compare it to,” Braun said. “I mean, it’s just so unique. It was awesome. The stands were packed. We had a sellout, primarily purple in the stands.”
Braun called it “one of the most unique settings in all of college football.” And who could argue?
The stadium where the Wildcats will play the majority of their home games the next two seasons while their new digs are built about a mile west has a bit of a high school or small college feel, albeit with a postcard view. The capacity is far fewer than at the old Ryan Field (47,000) and the new one (35,000) being built on that site, let alone other venues in the Big Ten.
“I was actually really jealous, I wanted to actually go tailgate because I saw how cool that stuff looked back there,” receiver Bryce Kirtz said. “But I had to play.”
As for playing in such a small venue?
“The culture of this team is you can put the ball in the middle of the street,” Wright said. “We’ll go out there and go play.”
Wright completed 18 of 30 passes for 178 yards after winning a preseason competition for the starting job. The Mississippi State transfer also ran for 65 yards and a touchdown.
Wright lost a fumble at the goal line trying to score late in the first half. But he also delivered the first TD in the stadium with a 13-yard run early in the third quarter, giving Northwestern a 10-3 lead.
“We were shooting ourselves in the foot. When you take a deep breath and realize you’re moving the ball, just go execute the game plan, you feel good about it,” said Wright, wearing a Justin Fields high school jersey. The two are friends from the Atlanta area.
Kirtz had 91 yards receiving.
Mac Uihlein added two sacks, and Northwestern opened with a win coming off a surprising 8-5 season. The Wildcats also got some payback for a loss to the RedHawks two years ago.
Miami, which went 11-3 and won the Mid-American Conference championship last year, simply couldn’t get its offense going. The RedHawks managed just 267 yards.
Gabbert, back for a sixth season after missing the final six games because of a leg injury, was 22 of 37 with 227 yards. But he got picked off twice and sacked four times.
Cade McDonald caught eight passes for 105 yards.
THE TAKEAWAY
Miami (Ohio): The RedHawks will need more from their offense if they’re going to build on what they did last year.
Northwestern: The defense swarmed Gabbert, particularly in the early going, and never really let Miami find its rhythm.
UP NEXT
Miami (Ohio): The The RedHawks have a week off before hosting Cincinnati on Sept. 14.
Northwestern: The Wildcats will try to get some payback for a 38-14 loss at Duke last season, when they host the Blue Devils next week.
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The Associated Press contributed to this article
