The Duke Blue Devils fell for just the third time in the past 18 games at Wallace Wade Stadium against newly minted ACC foe, No. 22 SMU, on Saturday.

Duke football lost in an overtime heartbreaker Saturday night to SMU, and the Blue Zone is here with key takeaways, stats and a look ahead.

Duke football was good enough in two of three phases to knock off No. 22 SMU in Durham. But the third phase cost the Blue Devils.

After self-diagnosing Saturday’s game as “one of the worst performances” of his career, even SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings couldn’t believe that his team walked away with the 28-27 overtime victory.

In its first matchup against a ranked team all season, Duke fell 28-27 against No. 22 SMU Saturday night. Despite forcing six fumbles, three interceptions and an impressive goal-line stand, the Blue Devils faltered repeatedly on offense and eventually lost in overtime.

In case any Duke football fans needed a reminder of how close the Blue Devils came to upsetting the SMU Mustangs on Saturday night, offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer made the margin very clear during his Monday press conference.

SMU spent much of Saturday night’s contest at Duke tightroping over a volcano, and the Mustangs nearly lost their balance several times. Yet through all the heat thrown at them,