Duke football knew the opportunities would come, and the Blue Devils took full advantage.

Wake Forest entered its Week 14 contest with Duke football as the lowest-ranked Power 4 team in fumbles with 19. By the end of the night, the Demon Deacons had five fumbles, three of which Duke recovered. Chandler Rivers, Ma'khi Jones and Cosme Salas each forced a fumble, while Luke Mergott came up with two and David Anderson the other.

It was a weakness Duke was looking to exploit all week.

"Going all week, we were extra ball shots, people were running it and (we) just punched the ball," Mergott said following Duke's 49-32 win over Wake Forest on Nov. 29. "We always play with our hair on fire, so everyone just bumps the ball away. So, we knew it was going to come out, and it did tonight."

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