DURHAM— Basketball season can officially begin at Duke University.

The Blue Devil football team missed tackles, missed wide open receivers, missed key plays near the goal line — and most importantly — missed out on a golden opportunity to snap its 19-game losing streak Saturday.

Instead, Vanderbilt marched into Wallace Wade Stadium with its 1-5 record, amassed 513 yards of total offense and rolled to a 42-28 victory in the non-conference affair.

As the sparse crowd of 18,332 headed for home at varying stages in the second half, the fans at least could console themselves with one fact:the defending national champion men’s basketball team held its Blue-White scrimmage Saturday evening.

The football team has games left against N.C. State, North Carolina and Clemson. Sure the Blue Devils will bounce back and play their best next week, just as they’ve done after the last 19 losses, an on-going national record. But it won’t be easy this week after Saturday’s embarrassment.

“You add onto this losing streak, it gets extremely difficult to overcome it. Another loss is just another kick in the stomach,” said senior tight end Mike Hart. “We’ve been taking these kicks for too long of a time.”

Duke (0-8) entertained thoughts of winning Saturday thanks primarily to Vandy’s porous defense. The Commodores entered the game allowing 28.5 points and a whopping 455 yards per game.

For the first time since the season opener against Florida State, the Blue Devils marched down the field and scored first on Alex Wade’s 1-yard plunge late in the first quarter.

The Commodores weren’t exactly terrified of the Blue Devils defense and that 7-0 deficit, though. Behind quarterback Greg Zolman and running back Lew Thomas, Vandy moved the ball at will and scored twice to set up a 14-all tie at halftime.

That led to the free-for-all third and fourth quarters. Quarterback D. Bryant threw the first of four second-half interceptions to set up the go-ahead touchdown run with 12:28 left in the third. Duke punted and Zolman connected with M.J.Garrett for a 54-yard TD catch — after a missed tackle near midfield — for the 28-14 advantage.

It was 35-14 Vandy after another Bryant interception and quick scoring drive.

While Duke tacked on a pair of touchdowns early in the fourth quarter, Bryant’s next pick, by Justin Giboney in the end zone, sealed the Blue Devils’ fate.

“When we eliminate the turnovers on offense and the big plays on defense, that’s when we’re going to have our best shot,”Franks said. “We certainly didn’t eliminate either one of those things today.”

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NOTES:Amazingly, Duke out-gained Vandy 537-513 in total offense and held the ball 13 minutes longer. The key difference?Vandy ran just 59 plays, averaging 8.7 yards per snap, while Duke ran 94 plays for a 5.7 yard average. … Thomas, who ran for 123 yards on eight carries in the first half, broke a bone in his foot. His backup, Rodney Williams, finished with 18 carries for 155 yards. …Duke closes out the home season next Saturday afternoon against N.C. State.

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Contact Steve Hanf at 704-797-4287 or shanf@salisburypost.com .