Duke football loses Riley Leonard to injury again and falls at Florida ...

Duke football quarterback Riley Leonard returned against Florida State and re-injured his right ankle in the second half of the 16th-ranked Blue Devils’ 38-20 loss to the fourth-ranked Seminoles. 

Leonard, who returned three weeks after initially injuring his ankle against Notre Dame in late September, was hurt in the third quarter with Duke ahead 20-17 at Doak Campbell Stadium.

“He wanted to come back in,” Duke coach Mike Elko said after the game. “He was begging me on the sideline to come back in. I didn’t feel comfortable with where he was health-wise to bring him back, and so we didn’t do it.” 

With Leonard replaced by Henry Belin IV, the Blue Devils (5-2, 2-1 ACC) didn't score again as Florida State (7-0, 5-0) reeled off 21 points in the fourth quarter and handed Duke its first double-digit loss of the Elko era.

The Blue Devils’ worst loss in Elko’s first 19 games was an eight-point defeat at Kansas. Leonard completed 7-of-16 passes for 69 yards with an interception. Belin completed one pass for 7 yards. 

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“The fourth quarter got away from us and they were obviously able to pull away and create the score that they did,” Elko said. 

“I thought for three quarters we battled – our defense against their offense – I thought we held them in check to some degree. … It got away at the end, so now we’ve gotta regroup.”

Despite the loss, Duke remains in control of its destiny as it relates to securing a trip to Charlotte for the ACC Championship in December. 

Depending on Leonard’s health, the Blue Devils could be favored in four of their final five games. Duke travels to nationally-ranked Louisville (6-1, 3-1) next week for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff before hosting Wake Forest (4-3, 1-3) on Thursday, Nov. 2, at Wallace Wade Stadium. 

Duke then makes the trip to rival North Carolina (6-1, 3-1) in the Battle for the Victory Bell that could very well be the battle that determines which squad gets to play league favorite FSU at Bank of America Stadium. The Devils close the season against Virginia (2-5, 1-2) and Pittsburgh (2-5, 1-3). 

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.