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| Dukee Blue Devils vs. Cincinnati Bearcats - pregame - Peter Koutroumpis, PKS LLC |
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Game Notes:
Belk Bowl - Bank of America Stadium - 6:30 p.m. - ESPN
Duke Blue Devils (6-6) vs. Cincinnati Bearcats (9-3)
- First-ever meeting between both teams.
- Duke is looking to cap off its season with a bowl win during its 100th season while Cincinnati is seeking to do the same in its 125th year.
- The Bearcats have played in 13 Bowl games all-time and hold a 7-6 record in the postseason while the Blue Devils have appeared in 8 Bowl games and look to improve upon a 3-5 postseason record.
Duke: Sean Renfree, Connor Vernon, Jamison Crowder, Desmond Scott, Jela Duncan, Ross Martin
Cincinnati: Brandon Kay, George Winn, Travis Kelce, Kenbrell Thompkins, David Abernathy, Tony Miliano
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Kick-off in 60 minutes
1st Quarter
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- Cincinnati wins the toss and elects kick off
- Jamison Crowder with the return to the 21-yard line
- Sean Renfree starts the Duke series with pass
- Second play is a handoff to Josh Snead - get the chains moving early
- Snead gains more yardage on the next play - 1st down on the Cincinnati 44-yard line
- Bearcats with the blitz and force Renfree to throw it away
- Duke keeps it on the ground as Thompson takes the handoff
- Renfree takes the snap from the 36-yard line and he finds Conner Vernon for a 19-yard gain
- Handoff to Snead and he takes it down to the 5-yard line - first and goal
- Brandon Connette comes in for the Wildcat setup and he runs it in for the touchdown
- The PAT is blocked but Ross Martin recovers his own blocked kick and runs it in for a 2-point conversion
- PLAY IS UNDER REVIEW
- Martin was ruled down before crossing the goal line - Duke leads 6-0 with 11:48 to play
- Cincinnati quarterback Brandon Kay starts the offense with a pass to David Abernathy for 3 yards
- Duke contains the Bearcats to a small 4-yard gain on the next play
- Swing pass to George Winn is stopped short on tackle from Jordan Byas forcing the Bearcats to punt
- After Cincinnati punts the ball out of bounds - Duke starts on its 40-yard line
- Renfree orchestrating another productive series of downs that takes Duke down to the Cincinnati 20-yard line
- A pass to Connette gains another 6 -yards - penalty flag on the play goes against Duke
- Renfree misses Vernon in the end zone and follows it up with a missed pick by Bearcats' Chris Williams
- Duke elects to go for the field goal which is good - Martin puts Duke up 9-0 with 6:12 to go
- Cincinnati starts on its 25-yard line
- Byas with big hit on Cincinnati's Travis Kelce - Byas very shaky and stumbles after the hit - is helped off the field looking woozy
- The Bearcats test out the Blue Devils secondary and Ross Cockrell breaks up thye play
- Kelce goes up for the pass and Byas hits him again - and looks shaken up again
- On the next play Duke's Tony Foster blocks the Cincinnati punt and the ball rolls into the end zone and Foster recovers it for the touchdown - the PAT is good - Duke leads 16-0 with 4:45 to play
- Abernathy returns to the 22-yard line on the kickoff and the Bearcats gain 4-yards on the first play
- A big run by Cincinnati's Deven Drane and the Bearcats move the chains to their 46-yard line
- The Bearcats threatening on the Duke 30-yard line and Winn gains small yards but Cincinnati with momentum on its side right now
- On the next play, on an overthrow by Kay, Walt Canty comes up with a pick on the play
- PLAY IS UNDER REVIEW
- Play is ruled as an incomplete pass and Cincinnati continues its drive - starting on third down on the Duke 28-yard line
- Bearcats get on the board as Tony Miliano kicks a 45-yard field goal to narrow the Duke lead to 16-3 - the kick is the longest field goal in Belk Bowl history - beating the previous mark by three yards - 1:43 to play
- On Duke's ensuing series Vernon runs it upfield before an incomplete long ball attempt tips off Crowders fingertips
- Vernon gains 8 yards on next play and the Blue Devils rush it from their 49-yard line
- Snead gains 11 yards on the rush and the quarter ends - Duke will continue its drive on the 38-yard line
- Renfree continues the drive with gains on four consecutive downs and Duke is in the Red Zone on the Cincinnati 15-yard line
- A snap to Connette results in lost yardage - 2-yards back to the 17-yard line
- Renfree with a swing pass to Snead on the next pass to the right sideline and he gains 5 yards to the 12-yard line
- On the next snap Renfree finds Duncan who fumbles it after being hit by Bearcats Greg Blair - ball is on the one-yard line
- Cincinnati with some work to do and Winn runs it up to the 10-yard line
- The Bearcats continue to work the ball upfield on the ground as Winn is doing the heavy lifting right now
- A big run by Kay but a flag is thrown on the play for a late tackle
- Clipping call on the Bearcats brings them back 15 yards after Kay's big gain - ball will start on the Cincinnati 31-yard line
- Big sack on Kay by Justin Foxx for a loss of 8 yards - Bearcats forced to punt fronm the 12-yard line
- Jamison Crowder returns it from the 33-yard line to the Duke 46-yard line - Blue Devils will start from there
- Snead carries four yards and Duke is at midfield
- Crowder makes a catch and scrambles to the sideline for a gain of one yard on the next play
- Renfree rushes it on the next play but comes up short and the Blue Devils face 4th down with one to go on the Cincinnati 45-yard line - Duke timeout and still leading 16-3 with 6:15 to play
- Duke's Thompson is denied on the rush with no gain and Cincinnati gets the gall on its own 46-yard line
- Kay takes advantage of the opportunity with a big pass for 18-yards to the Duke 36-yard line - Bearcats threatening to score with their momentum on the drive
- Consecutive 6-yard and 5-yard rushes keep the chains moving
- Kay is pressure by Duke defense and forced to roll towards the left sideline before a deflected pass hits the ground - down restarts from the 25-yard line
- Kay finds Anthony McClung at the goal line for the 25-yard reception and the PAT is good - Duke lead is only now 16-10 at the 4:02 mark
- Cincinnati drive took five plays to complete
- On the ensuing Duke possession a run play gains minimal yardage before Desmond Scott makes an attempted catch but it bounces out and Cincinnati picks it up and runs it in for a touchdown - a very confusing play
- PLAY IS UNDER REVIEW
- Incomplete pass is ruled with Duke getting the ball back but penalized for an end-of-play penalty 15-yards - third down from their own 13-yard line (half distance from original spot)
- Renfree throws to Connette, inside and to the right, for five yards - Duke's Will Monday punts it and it bounces and rolls, stays inbounds for a 79-yard kick - a new Belk Bowl record - previous was 55 yards
- Cincinnati will start on its own 2-yard line with 2:28 left in the quarter - Duke looking to blitz
- Incomplete pass on the first down and Winn carries it for a yard gain on the next down
- Duke continues to pressure Kay on third down and eight yards to go
- Kay finds plenty of daylight and gains 26 yards for a first down
- A pass to Kenbrell Tompkins is broken up by Duke's Foster
- On next shap kay airs it out to McClung to the Duke 40-yard line - a 30-yard gain
- Duke defense is looking tentative with less than a minute to play
- Kay airs another one for 41-yards to Abernathy who outruns Kyler Brown and scores
- After the PAT, Cincinnati leads 17-16 - taking its first lead of the game with 0:42 to play
- Scott returns the kickoff from his end zone to the 18-yard line
- Renfree starts the drive with 35 seconds to play in the half
- David Reeves with the reception and a gain of six yards
- Duke continues to make gains on the ground and to the sideline to manage the clock
- Renfree attempts a pass which hits the ground with 11 seconds to play
- Vernon makes a catch for 23 yards and gets to the Cincinnati 36-yard line
- The field goal unit comes out with Ross Martin looking to kick a 53-yarder
- Illegal substitution by Cincinnati before the snap and he will get another try for a 48-yard field goal attempt
- The kick misses wide left of the post as time runs out
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3rd Quarter:
- Cincinnati returns for short yardage on the kickoff and works the ball on the ground including a gain of 16 yards by Kay on a broken defensive play for Duke
- Canty misses a tackle at the Cincinnati 40-yard line and the play ends at the Duke 10-yard line - a 55-yard gain plus a 5-yard penalty and the Bearcats start with first and goal to go
- A gain of four has the ball on the one-yard line and Kay tries to run it in on his own but is stopped short - ball is still on the one-yard line
- False start on Cincinnati and third down will now start on the 5-yard line
- Kay takes the snap and looks to run it in but Anthony Young-Wiseman trips him up
- Miliano comes out for the 27-yard field goal attempt which he converts - Bearcats now lead the Blue Devils 20-16 with 10:02 to play
- Duke gets the ball back and works up the field - from the 25-yard line to the 50-yard line until Renfree throws it up for an interception
- Cincinnati starts on its own 40-yard line and then execute a double reverse for a 14-yard gain up to the Duke 47-yard line
- Winn gets the handoff from Kay and runs it in for a 46-yard touchdown as the Duke secondary can't deny him the goal line - the PAT is good and the Bearcats lead is extended to 27-16
- Renfree starts the series with two complete passes and moves the chains to the 37-yard line
- Duncan makes Duke's third straight reception and Crowder catches the fourth - the drive continues from the Duke 47-yard line
- A rush and another catch by Duncan and Duke just shy of Cincinnati territory on the drive
- A long 39-yard pass to Desmond Scott and the Blue Devils are in the red zone
- A rush and then a pass to Vernon for the touchdown - Duke goes for the two-point conversion
- A roll to the right by Renfree and he then looks left to a wide-open Blakeney for the extra two points - Bearcats now lead 27-24 with three minutes to play in the quarter
- Bearcats return the kickoff for 15 yards to prep for their series of downs - Duke's Kyler Brown being tended to after the last play
- Kay passes to Winn for a 5-yard gain but can't convert the next down and the field goal unit comes out for the Bearcats
- Duke was set to start with good field position on the return by Crowder but he ran into his own player on the return - after a holding penalty Duke will start on its won 31-yard line with 40 seconds to go
- Pass interference call on Vernon after he's hauled down - first down the the Cincinnati 41-yard line
- Vernon makes the completion on the next down and the quarter ends
- The Blue Devils will start on the 37-yard line trying to continue its current offensive momentum and looking to retake the lead since losing it late in the second quarter
- Renfree finds Connette for a gain of 11 yards
- Taking the snap from the 26-yard line Renfree can't find his intended receiver and floats it out-of-bounds
- Vernon gets the next pass and he gains another 13 yards - Duke in the red zone again
- After the snap Thompson takes the handoff from Renfree and moves the ball to the five yard line
- Second down and Connette takes the snap and rushes to the one-yard line
- On the next snap Connette fumbles the snap and loses a yard - second down and goal to go
- Touchdown! Connette finds Reeves with a short pass over the defender's head - the PAT is good - Duke regains the lead 31-27 with 12:45 to play
- Bearcats start on their own 23-yard line and Kelce gains 35-yards on the play - ends at the Duke 42-yard line
- Cincinnati double-reverses again but the Duke defense contains the play to a two-yard gain
- Duke secondary is allowing Bearcats receivers to much room - luckily Tompkins tips the pass by the sideline
- On the next play Duke is flagged for pass interference - automatic first down for Cincinnati at the Duke 25-yard line and threatening to score
- Kay connects with Chris Moore for a 25-yard touchdown pass and the PAT by Miliano is good - Bearcats regain the lead 34-31 with 11:19 to play
- On the kickoff return Scott gains 19 yards and the Blue Devils will start on their 19-yard line
- Vernon gets the first pass for eight yards and then Renfree finds Duncan on another pass
- On first down Renfree takes his time on the snap and hands off to Duncan for eight yards
- Duncan gets the ball next and gains the first down to the Duke 46-yard line
- Blakeney gets the pass and gains the first down at the Cincinnati 41-yard line
- Snead takes the ball on the run for 6 yards and the Blue Devils snap it with third and four to go
- Incomplet pass and Martin comes out for the 52-yard field goal attempt - it's good!
- Duke ties the score 34-34 with 7:24 to play
- Announced attendance for tonight's game - 48,128
- Cincinnati starts on its own 25-yard line and Kay takes it and is dragged down on the tackle by Duke's Young-Wiseman and Canty
- Kelce gets a pass for a 4-yard gain - third down and two yards to go on the 33-yard line
- Big stop by the Duke defense and the Bearcats are forced to punt it away with 5:32 to play
- Crowder returns it and breaks a tackle and the Blue Devils will start on their own 43-yard line
- Snead takes the handoff and gains 11 yards to the Cincinnati 46-yard line
- Vernon gets the next pass and gains another 11 yards
- Renfree takes the snap from the 35-yard line and Snead gains seven more yards to the 28-yard line
- Duke stays on the ground with Snead on the carry again for two more yards
- Connette in and takes the snap and keeps it himself for another short gain - first down gained at the Bearcats' 24-yard line
- Unddre three minutes to go and Snead gets the ball again for a gain of three yards - the chains keep moving for Duke
- Refnree looks for the pass to Vernon for 13 yards on the left and Duke is in the red zone - first down at the 8-yard line
- Snead tries to break through the middle on the next play but is stopped after only a three-yard gain - 1:32 left to play
- Connette hands off to Snead and he fumbles it while trying to advance it forward and Cincinnati gets it back on its own 5-yard line - 1:20 left on the clock
- Kay scrambles avoiding being tackled for a safety and gains nine yards on the play
- Bearcats go to the pass on the left side which sails over everyone's heads out-of-bounds
- Third and one yard to gain and Cincinnati hands off to Winn for the first down
- The drive continues and Kay finds Kelce who catches and runs it for an 83-yard touchdown - after the PAT Cincinnatie leads 41-34 with 44 seconds remaining.
- Duke with the return to their 32-yard line - have to make this series count
- Crowder makes the catch with a 13-yard gain to the 45-yard line
- Pass for Scott is incomplete and almost intercepted but a roughing-the-passer call gains Duke a first down at the Cincinnati 40-yard line
- Renfree is hit hard while being rushed to pass on the next play and the ball is picked off as the Bearcats score again with 14 seconds remaining
- Renfree finally gets up while the Bearcats await their PAT - it is good and the Bearcats' lead extends to 48-34
- Cincinnati kicks it off and Duke returns it 14 yards to the 31-yard line - 9 seconds remain
- Anthony Boone take s the snap and hands it off to Snead - one second remains and counts down as the Bearcats claim the 2012 Belk Bowl.
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