Following their 52-13 season-opening rout of Elon, the Blue Devils will travel to Alabama to face Troy Saturday at 6 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Every week throughout the football season, we'll break down a player on each team who could be the difference-maker in the upcoming contest.
Duke: running back Josh Snead
Duke's offensive line and ball carriers should be licking their chops since Troy gave up 338 yards on the ground and an astonishing 6.1 yards per carry in its season opener, a 48-10 thrashing at the hands of UAB. Considering that Snead himself averaged more six yards per carry against Elon last week, the redshirt senior could have a huge day against a leaky Trojan run defense, and could also set the tone for the rest of his teammates with a fast start on the road.
Snead's fellow backs Shaquille Powell, Shaun Wilson and Joseph Ajeigbe could also have big days and follow the lead of the elder statesman in the Blue Devil backfield to give offensive coordinator Scottie Montgomery plenty of freedom with his play-calling.
Troy: quarterback Brandon Silvers
Troy pushed Duke last year—falling by only seven points at Wallace Wade Stadium—and its hopes to play well against the Blue Devils again could rest on the shoulders of its young quarterback.
The Trojans' x-factor is Brandon Silvers, a redshirt freshman who beat out junior transfer Dontreal Pruitt to claim the starting job a week before the season started. Now, in Troy’s home opener, Silvers will try to prove to fans that he is capable of filling the shoes of four-year starter and current CFL star Corey Robinson as the face of Troy football.
Silvers faces a tough test against an athletic Duke secondary that returns several key contributors from last year's squad, and is hoping that he can provide more explosiveness for his team after going 17-of-24 for just 162 yards last week.
But if the Orange Beach, Ala. native can provide a spark and make some big plays early on for the Trojans, the game could be closer than the experts think.
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Jacob Weiss is a Trinity senior. His column, "not jumping to any conclusions," runs on alternate Fridays.