1951 Duke Blue Devils football team

American college football season

1951 Duke Blue Devils football

Conference| Southern Conference
Record| 5–4–1 (4–2 SoCon)
Head coach|

* William D. Murray (1st season)

MVP| Bob Bickel
Captain| James Gibson
Home stadium| Duke Stadium

Seasons

<- 1950

1952 ->

1951 Southern Conference football standings

* v
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| Conf |  |  | Overall

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Team | W |  | L |  | T |  |  | W |  | L |  | T
No. 3 Maryland \+  | 5  | - | 0  | - | 0 |  |  | 10  | - | 0  | - | 0
VMI \+  | 5  | - | 0  | - | 0 |  |  | 7  | - | 3  | - | 0
Washington and Lee | 5  | - | 1  | - | 0 |  |  | 6  | - | 4  | - | 0
William & Mary | 5  | - | 1  | - | 0 |  |  | 7  | - | 3  | - | 0
No. 19 Clemson | 3  | - | 1  | - | 0 |  |  | 7  | - | 3  | - | 0
Duke | 4  | - | 2  | - | 0 |  |  | 5  | - | 4  | - | 1
South Carolina | 5  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 6  | - | 4  | - | 0
Wake Forest | 5  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 6  | - | 4  | - | 0
George Washington | 2  | - | 3  | - | 1 |  |  | 2  | - | 6  | - | 1
North Carolina | 2  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 2  | - | 8  | - | 0
West Virginia | 2  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 5  | - | 5  | - | 0
NC State | 2  | - | 6  | - | 0 |  |  | 3  | - | 7  | - | 0
Richmond | 2  | - | 6  | - | 0 |  |  | 3  | - | 8  | - | 0
The Citadel | 1  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 4  | - | 6  | - | 0
Furman | 1  | - | 4  | - | 1 |  |  | 3  | - | 6  | - | 1
Davidson | 1  | - | 5  | - | 0 |  |  | 1  | - | 8  | - | 0
VPI | 1  | - | 7  | - | 0 |  |  | 2  | - | 8  | - | 0

* \+ - Conference co-champions

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1951 Duke Blue Devils football team was an American football team that represented Duke University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1951 college football season. In their first year under head coach William D. Murray, the Blue Devils complied an overall record of 5–4–1, with a conference record of 4–2, and finished sixth in the SoCon.[1]

The team was ranked at No. 51 in the 1951 Litkenhous Ratings.[2]

## Schedule[edit]

Date| Opponent| Site| Result| Attendance| Source

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September 22| at South Carolina|

* Carolina Stadium
* Columbia, SC

| W 34–6| 28,000| [3]
September 29| at Pittsburgh*|

* Pitt Stadium
* Pittsburgh, PA

| W 19–14| 20,066| [4]
October 6| at No. 3 Tennessee*|

* Shields–Watkins Field
* Knoxville, TN

| L 0–26| 45,000| [5]
October 13| NC State|

* Duke Stadium
* Durham, NC (rivalry)

| W 27–21| 23,000| [6]
October 20| vs. VPI|

* Foreman Field
* Norfolk, VA (Oyster Bowl)

| W 55–6| 20,000| [7]
October 27| Virginia*|

* Duke Stadium
* Durham, NC

| L 7–30| 25,000| [8]
November 3| at No. 5 Georgia Tech*|

* Grant Field
* Atlanta, GA

| T 14–14| 36,000| [9]
November 10| Wake Forest|

* Duke Stadium
* Durham, NC (rivalry)

| L 13–19| 30,000| [10]
November 17| at William & Mary|

* Cary Field
* Williamsburg, VA

| L 13–14| 14,000| [11]
November 24| North Carolina|

* Duke Stadium
* Durham, NC (Victory Bell)

| W 19–7| 41,300–50,000| [12]

* *Non-conference game
* Homecoming
* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

## References[edit]

1. ^ "1951 Duke Blue Devils Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
2. ^ "Vols Top Final 1951 Litkenhous Ratings". The Nashville Banner. December 14, 1951. p. 49 - via Newspapers.com.
3. ^ "Duke swamps Gamecocks, 34–6". The Rocky Mount Telegram. September 23, 1951. Retrieved December 28, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ "Duke scores in fourth to edge Pitt, 19–14". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. September 30, 1951. Retrieved December 28, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ "Tennessee Vols stop Devils in 26–0 tilt". Rocky Mount Telegram. October 7, 1951. Retrieved February 10, 2022 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "Duke dumps N.C. State, 27–21". The Greenville News. October 14, 1951. Retrieved December 28, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "Duke crushes Virginia Tech in fifth annual Oyster Bowl game, 55 to 6". Norfolk Virginian-Pilot. October 21, 1951. Retrieved December 28, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ "Cavaliers score four in fourth". Winston-Salem Journal & Sentinel. October 28, 1951. Retrieved December 28, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ "Duke holds undefeated Georgia Tech to 14 to 14 tie". Asheville Citizen-Times. October 4, 1951. Retrieved February 10, 2022 - via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ "Wake edges Duke". The Rocky Mount Telegram. November 11, 1951. Retrieved December 28, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
11. ^ "William & Mary shades Duke in sizzling loop clash, 14–13". The Charlotte Observer. November 18, 1951. Retrieved December 28, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
12. ^ "Fourth period rally by Duke subdues North Carolina, 19–7". The State. November 25, 1951. Retrieved December 28, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.

* v
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* e

Duke Blue Devils football

Venues|

* Hanes Field (c. 1913–1928)
* Wallace Wade Stadium (1929–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* North Carolina: Victory Bell

Culture & lore|

* History
* Blue Devil
* "Fight! Blue Devils, Fight!"
* Blue and White (Duke fight song)
* Marching band

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

* 1888
* 1889
* 1890
* 1891
* 1892
* 1893
* 1894
* 1895–1919
* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
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* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
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*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[No.]: Number