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ACC Football: Duke Hits the Road for a Showdown in Winston-Salem at Wake Forest

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Football

Duke heads back on the road to Winston-Salem, N.C., for a showdown with No. 13 Wake Forest at Truist Field.

Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on ACC Network.

Duke leads the all-time series between the two schools, 58-40-2. In the last meeting on Nov. 23, 2019, the Blue Devils fell, 39-27, to the Demon Deacons. Duke's last win over Wake Forest came on Nov. 25, 2017, when Daniel Jones threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as Duke earned bowl eligibility by beating the Demon Deacons, 31-23, in Winston-Salem, N.C.

GAME NOTES
After seven games, senior running back Mataeo Durant finds himself atop the league charts in numerous categories. Most notably, he ranks second in rushing attempts (166), total touchdowns by a running back (9), rushing yards (870) and all-purpose yards per game (150.00).

Durant continues to climb up the Blue Devils' all-time rushing chart. Thanks to his 82 yards against Virginia on Oct. 16, he is currently eighth on Duke's all-time list with 2,191 yards and is 250 away from breaking into the top five.

Redshirt junior linebacker Shaka Heyward currently sits tied for 10th in the ACC with 60 tackles. He has two double-digit tackle games this year and has led Duke in tackles in three of seven contests.

Duke is one of three ACC schools with multiple players with 480+ receiving yards. Jake Bobo (552) and Jalon Calhoun (481) join Virginia's Dontayvion Wicks (847), Keytaon Thompson (555) and Billy Kemp (541) as well as Wake Forest's Jaquarii Roberson (807) and A.T. Perry (625).

FACING WAKE FOREST IN NOVEMBER
During the David Cutcliffe era, most of Duke's meetings with cross-division rival Wake Forest have come in the month of November. Saturday's contest will mark the ninth time the Blue Devils and Demon Deacons have battle in this particular month. Of the other four meetings, three were played in September and one in October. The two programs did not meet in 2020.

BOBO BIG UNDER PRESSURE
Senior wide receiver Jake Bobo has become Duke's top target for extending drives. the North Andover, Mass., native had 32 catches in 2020, with 22 of those going for a first down. Bobo has continued that trend in Duke's seven games of 2021. 27 of his 49 receptions have earned a first down.

Of his 49 receptions on the year:
** 27 have earned a first down
** Three have gone for nine yards
** 18 have gone for eight-or-less yards
** One went for 11 but missed a first down due to a false start on previous play

Bobo currently leads the Blue Devils with 552 receiving yards on 49 catches. His 49 receptions have him third in the ACC and tied for 16th in the country, while his receiving yards place him seventh in the league and tied for 40th in the nation.

DUKE'S QB1
Graduate student quarterback Gunnar Holmberg made his first collegiate start against Charlotte earlier this year. In his seven games as Duke's starter, Holmberg has completed 152-of-216 (.704) passes for 1,750 yards with six touchdowns. The Wake Forest, N.C., native leads the ACC in pass completion percentage and has added 38 completions of 15+ yards, including a season-long 80-yard touchdown connection with Jalon Calhoun against North Carolina on Oct. 2.

Holmberg is first in the ACC in passing completion percentage with a mark of .704 and fourth in pass completions. He is also sixth in total offense with 1,927 yards (177 rushing, 1,750 passing) and seventh in passing yards per game (250.00). His 24 points scored against Kansas are the second most in the ACC this season, trailing a 30-point performance by Syracuse's Sean Tucker against Albany.

LEADER OF THE RUN GAME
Senior Mataeo Durant has accumulated 870 rushing yards on 166 attempts with nine touchdowns in Duke's seven games. Nationally, the Plum Branch, S.C., native is fourth in rushing yards per game (124.28), tied for fifth in rushing attempts, sixth in rushing yards, tied for 18th in rushing touchdowns, and tied for 30th in total points scored (60). Durant is one of five players in program history to record nine or more career 100-yard rushing games. He is the first Blue Devil to achieve the mark since Chris Douglas did so from 2001-03.

ACC LEADERS AMONG TACKLES
Duke is one of six schools in the ACC with multiple players with 50-plus tackles on the year, joining Georgia Tech (four), Virginia (three), Virginia Tech (three), Louisville (two) and Syracuse (two). Redshirt junior linebacker Shaka Heyward is tied for 10th in the conference with 60 tackles on the year, while redshirt senior safety Lummie Young IV sits 19th with 51.

INTERCEPTIONS
Duke accumulated nine interceptions last season and the Blue Devils are looking to continue that trend in 2021. In eight of the last nine seasons, Duke has earned nine-plus interceptions, with its lone blip on the radar being the 2018 season (4). During that stretch, the Blue Devils recorded six years with double digit picks, including an impressive 18 in 2013.

Duke currently has seven picks on the year and has registered multiple interceptions on three occasions this season (Georgia Tech, 2; Kansas, 2; Northwestern, 2). Leonard Johnson and Jeremiah Lewis lead the team with two on the year, while Shaka Heyward, Nate Thompson and Lummie Young IV have accounted for the other three picks.

FORCING PRESSURE
Redshirt sophomore DeWayne Carter is currently tied for first in the nation with Texas State's Issiah Nixon and UCLA's Mitchell Agude with four forced fumbles on the year.

The Blue Devils have now had a player register three-plus caused fumbles in a single season in five of the last 10 years. DeVon Edwards led the group during that stretch with five in 2014.