A great defense can only do so much.

In its first game against a ranked team all season, Duke fell 28-27 to No. 22 SMU on Saturday night. Despite forcing six fumbles, three interceptions and an impressive goal line, the Blue Devils continued to falter on offense and eventually lost the extension.

It was hard to say which team was more confident going into overtime. On one hand, Duke forced turnovers on each of SMU’s last three possessions in regulation. But none of them ended in points for the home team, and the Blue Devils ended regulation time with a poorly blocked field goal.

The Blue Devils decided to start on defense, but were unable to carry their momentum from regular time. Just two plays into the Mustangs’ drive, running back Brashard Smith found a hole and exploded for a 24-yard touchdown.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Maalik Murphy responded immediately, finding graduate receiver Eli Pancol on the go route for a score. Perhaps due to errors in the kicking game all night, Duke forfeited an extra point and ended the game right there.

On a two-point conversion play that left the fate of the game in his hands, Murphy couldn’t keep up with Pancol. He rolled out and may have appeared to have room to climb, but instead tried to squeeze a throw into a tight window and missed by inches.

The fourth quarter was dominated by one thing: SMU sales.

First, just like against North Carolina, linebacker Tre Freeman made a big interception in the middle of the field

Duke was down by two points and desperate for a big play. While Murphy looked far more confident than he did against Florida State, the Blue Devils had completed six drives without points.

Despite the pressure of the moment, the Texas transfer remained calm and destroyed the Mustangs’ defense. First, it was a first-down pass to Javon Harvey down the sideline. Then Jordan Moore scored for an 18-yard gain. Moore made another impressive grab a few plays later, securing the ball at the goal line while his man draped it all over the place to bring Duke within a point. However, a missed attempt by Pelino to score an extra point meant the Blue Devils trailed by eight instead of seven.

After a quick stop by the defense and an impressive punt return by Que’Sean Brown, Murphy and the offense immediately went back to work. Star running back Thomas started with three strong runs, then Murphy floated the ball 22 yards to his favorite target of the night, Pancol – who finished the night with 11 receptions for 138 yards.

Jake Taylor — who began the year as a third-string tight end — caught the next first-down pass to bring Duke to the SMU 8-yard line, and Thomas muscled his way into the end zone three plays later. Murphy continued his streak by finding Pancol for the two-pointer, who leapt into the air to make the catch and tie the game at 21.

Early in the second half, a quick three-pointer followed by a seemingly instant SMU score left the home crowd at Wallace Wade Stadium disappointed. Roderick Daniels Jr. was pulled into traffic at an intersection and then charged forward with nothing but green in front of him. Chandler Rivers and Alex Howard found him at the 1-yard line, setting up the biggest series of the night so far.

The Mustangs lined up for a touchdown by inches four times and Duke’s defensive front held strong all four times. What was a swinging touchdown became a determined display of resolve for the Blue Devils, who pride themselves on their physical play.

But another empty offensive attack meant a similar story had a different ending. This time, SMU’s breakaway passing game actually ended in a score as Daniels stormed into the end zone without a Duke defender getting closer than five yards to him, giving the Mustangs a 21-7 lead.

From the start, Duke’s offense looked different. Lacking urgency for weeks, Murphy executed a textbook drive, complete with bank angles, fades, and a beautiful depth shot. After connecting with Pancol a few times to move into SMU territory, Murphy placed a shot down the seam to Brown – aided by a key block from running back Peyton Jones. The young wideout dropped a similar ball on the first drive, but this time Murphy dropped it perfectly into his hands for the game’s opening score.

The Blue Devils almost got their second goal, but Brashard Smith was unstoppable. The running back caught a pitch on fourth down and broke some tackles to score.

On the following drive, the Mustangs capitalized on some missed opportunities from Duke. Even when SMU was scoring, Duke almost got the ball. Jennings fumbled the ball at the goal line but recovered it over the line, putting his team up seven points.

The Blue Devils once again came up empty on offense, but the defense made two big plays before halftime. Linebacker Cameron Bergeron camped in the middle of the field and caught an errant pass at the Duke 45-yard line. Tre Freeman then boomed to tight end Matthew Hibner to get the ball out wide. Despite the excitement in the final minutes of the first half, Duke missed all points and went into the locker room trailing 14-7.

The Blue Devils’ schedule doesn’t get any easier as they travel to Coral Gables, Florida to take on No. 6 Miami.