Duke HC Manny Diaz Reveals What Turned Game Around vs Illinois

The Duke Blue Devils were able to earn a massive upset win this past weekend, taking down the Illinois Fighting Illini by a score of 31-27.

After the win, Duke now moved to 2-0 in the new season, giving them hope for another run at an ACC title. This win over Illinois was impressive for a multitude of reasons, with them picking up the big road win being one of them.

But overall, it was the performance from the Blue Devils' defense that helped seal the win for the team. In the second half of the game, Duke held Illinois to only three points, giving way for the offense to do just enough to get the victory.

The performance from the Duke defense was incredible, especially in a hostile environment they faced. And after the win. Blue Devils head coach Manny Diaz reflected on the performance, being impressed by the defensive output.

Diaz said that the halftime adjustments helped lead to the victory, praising the defense for getting the job done.

"Defensively, it was all about turning the game around," Diaz said. "Sometimes halftime adjustments are about doing something different, and sometimes halftime adjustments are about doing something better.

"I just feel like we presented ourselves as the best version of ourselves (in the second half)."

Duke trailed 24-21 at halftime, but something that Diaz said must have worked. The Blue Devils were lights out in the second half, leading the team to have a chance to win.

Safety Andrew Pellicciotta was great in this game, recording 11 tackles total. His play helped spark the defensive performance, and this is something that Duke can build on going forward for the rest of the season.

Illinois wenty five-for-12 on third down, seeing the Duke defense make big stops when they needed it the most. The Fighting Illini also went one-for-three on fourth down as well.

Overall, this was the type of win that could help spark something for a team, especially early in the season. Duke will now try to keep things rolling next week when they host the Stanford Cardinal, in the first ACC game of the season.

The Blue Devils have the look of a team that will be contending for the conference title again, and this win proved it. But the job isn't finished, and Duke is going to have to put a consistent effort out on the field each week.