TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Duke quarterback Riley Leonard was forced to leave Saturday night’s 38-20 loss to Florida State after reinjuring his right ankle in the third quarter.
Leonard was hurt on a sack that was later waved off due to a facemask. He was replaced by Henry Belin IV on the next play.
While Leonard was seen jogging up and down the sideline in the hopes of getting back into the game, he did not return.
“He wanted to come back in,” Duke coach Mike Elko said. “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.”
The No. 16 Blue Devils, led 20-17 when Leonard went down, and failed to score en route to the loss.
Leonard hurt his ankle on the final play against Notre Dame on Sept. 30, and missed last week’s game against NC State. But after going through pregame warmups on his injured ankle, he got the start against the Seminoles.
He played well enough, and made one key scramble that tested him. But the key turning point in the game came on a fourth-and-goal stop on the same drive he was injured. Duke could not punch it in, and Florida State went on to score 21 unanswered points.
Leonard finished 7-of-16 for 69 yards with an interception. Belin went 1-of-6 for 7 yards in relief of Leonard.
“The fourth quarter got away from us,” Elko said. “For three quarters, we battled. We held them in check to some degree, but at the end of the day, in those types of games, in those types of atmospheres we’ve got to be more efficient in the throw game. We’ve got to be able to execute better. We can’t complete eight passes and try to win a game on the road like that.”
