Grayson Loftis threw two touchdown passes and Duke went ahead late in the third quarter on the way to a 30-19 victory against visiting Pitt on Saturday afternoon at Durham, N.C.
The outcome clinched Duke’s second consecutive winning regular season under Mike Elko, who is gaining interest from programs with head coach openings.
Jordan Moore and Jalon Calhoun each had TD catches and combined for 15 receptions to help Loftis to 248 passing yards.
The Blue Devils (7-5, 4-4 ACC) won for only the second time in their last six games. They now await a bowl invitation.
Quarterback Nate Yarnell threw for 265 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for Pitt (3-9, 2-6), which never won back-to-back games this season.
Duke clinched the outcome on Todd Pelino’s 48-yard field goal with 1:59 left. Pelino also delivered a 25-yard field goal on the opening possession of the second half for a 13-10 lead that came at the end of a 67-yard drive.
Pitt’s Ben Sauls tied it 13-13 from a season-long 47 yards out on Pitt’s first possession of the second half.
Loftis threw 15 yards to Calhoun for the first touchdown of the second half with 3:44 to go in the third quarter, giving Duke a 20-13 lead.
On the last play of the third quarter, Calhoun had a 32-yard pickup on a short pass to become the fourth player in Duke history to reach 3,000 career receiving yards.
Duke extended its lead to 27-13 on Jaquez Moore’s 3-yard run with 11:54 remaining.
On its next possession, Pitt drove inside the Duke 15 until Yarnell was picked off by Jeremiah Lewis. The Panthers got the ball back and Yarnell threw 14 yards to Bub Means for a touchdown at the 5:17 mark, though the score stayed at 27-19 when a two-point conversion pass failed.
The teams traded first-quarter field goals with Pelino good from 47 yards and Sauls connecting from 35 yards.
Pitt went up 10-3 on a 93-yard drive that consisted of 15 plays. Karter Johnson bulled his way to the end zone to complete a 21-yard pass play from Yarnell.
The Blue Devils needed only 25 yards to go back ahead on Loftis’ 10-yard, third-down pass to Jordan Moore. After pinning Pitt inside the 5-yard line, the Panthers managed just a 15-yard punt.
–Field Level Media