Maalik Murphy tossed two quick touchdowns in overtime, hitting Jordan Moore on a 25-yard pass and Eli Pancol on a 3-yarder, leading Duke to a 26-20 victory against Northwestern on Friday night in Evanston.
Mike Wright’s desperation heave to Frank Covey IV in the end zone failed to connect, and Duke (2-0) beat the Wildcats (1-1) for a sixth straight time dating to 2016, handing new coach Manny Diaz a second win.
The teams exchanged touchdowns on their first overtime possessions.
Cam Porter narrowly scooted into the left edge of the end zone for a 10-yard score to cap the opening drive of overtime and put Northwestern ahead 17-10. Then Murphy connected twice to win it, even if he missed on a mandatory two-point conversion attempt after the second touchdown.
Pancol had two touchdown catches and Murphy came on strong late to finish with three TD tosses, completing 24 of 39 passes for 242 yards.
Northwestern’s five-game winning streak dating to last season ended. Porter scored both of the Wildcats’ touchdowns, rushing for 93 yards on 16 carries.
Quarterback Mike Wright threw for 158 yards on 20-for-36 passing in a choppy, turnover-filled game. He also threw a costly interception that led to Duke’s first touchdown.
Todd Pelino’s second field goal of the game, a 22-yarder with 14 seconds left in regulation, tied the game at 13 and capped an 11-play drive to send it to overtime.
Pelino missed a 33-yard attempt with 5:11 left in the fourth that would have tied it. He connected on a wind-assisted 49-yard field goal midway through the third quarter to tie it at 10.
Jack Olsen’s second field goal, a 35-yarder, put Northwestern ahead 13-10 with 11:39 left. The Wildcats nearly made it stand up.
Olsen cleanly hit his third kick of the game with the wind at his back in the second game at Northwestern’s intimate 12,023-seat temporary stadium hugging the Lake Michigan shoreline. Olsen made a 44-yard field goal for the opening score, but his 29-yard attempt early in the second half bounced off the right upright.
Murphy was kept off balance before his late heroics. He also tossed an interception and was nearly picked off another time. Tight end Nick Dalmolin dropped Muprhy’s clean toss on what should have been an easy catch on a pivotal fourth-and-2 play in the third quarter.
Northwestern will play the majority of its home games at its temporary stadium — plus a few at Wrigley Field — over the next two season while a new 35,000-seat Ryan Field is built about one mile west of the site of its predecessor.
Up next
Duke: Host UConn on Sept. 14.
Northwestern: Hosts Eastern Illinois on Sept. 14.
