Behind two rushing touchdowns by senior running back Shaun Wilson and four forced turnovers, Duke remained undefeated with a 34-20 win against Baylor 34-20. Although the Blue Devils won, they had an up-and-down day against a downtrodden, winless Bears team, squandering several red zone opportunities.
Offense: B
Pass: Following a dominant performance last week against Northwestern, Daniel Jones took a step back against the Bears, throwing for just 184 yards through the air with an interception and no touchdowns. Not only did it mark his fewest yards in a game this season, but he also posted his worst completion percentage of the year, completing 57.1% of his passes. The redshirt sophomore's interception came on a red zone pass to the back corner of the end zone at the end of the first half. The Blue Devil receivers also struggled to help Jones, dropping multiple passes.
Rush: To make up for the stagnant passing game, the Blue Devils recorded 246 yards on the ground in only 51 total attempts, including an 18-carry, 176-yard and two touchdown effort from Wilson. After he fumbled on his first carry Saturday, Wilson surged back with 50 and 65-yard touchdown runs to anchor the Duke's offense. But Wilson didn't do it on his own—redshirt freshman Brittain Brown rushed for 86 yards and a 34-yard touchdown in which he broke three tackles en route to the end zone. As a team, the Blue Devils averaged 4.8 yards per carry, up from 3.9 per attempt last week against Northwestern.
X’s and O’s: The Blue Devils racked up 430 yards of total offense against the Bears, but also turned the ball over twice, with Daniel Jones’ interception and Shaun Wilson’s opening drive fumble. Despite their early success, Duke hasn't had a truly balanced game on offense against its two FBS opponents thus far.
Defense: A-
Pass: The Blue Devil defense did well to slow the Bears offense, intercepting sophomore quarterback Zach Smith three times and limiting him to a QBR of 8.4, but also allowed 263 yards and three touchdowns. Duke still struggled with stopping big plays—Smith completed both a 73-yard and a 79-yard touchdown to receiver Chris Platt.
Rush: Another game, and another dominant defensive performance against the run by Duke. The Blue Devils limited Baylor to 57 yards on 27 carries for an average of just 2.1 yards per carry. Following a 17-yard carry by Dru Dixon on Baylor’s first carry of the day, the rushing game became completely stagnant. With the passing game largely snuffed, the Bears attempted to turn to the run, but the Blue Devils front seven kept them quiet, with sophomore linebacker Joe Giles-Harris and senior defensive tackle Mike Ramsay combining for five tackles for loss.
X’s and O’s: Through three games, the Blue Devils defense has only allowed 143 rushing yards, and has kept opposing rushers to an average of 1.81 yards per carry. Duke has also forced eight turnovers during that span and has not allowed more than 20 points in a single game.
Special Teams: B
Duke’s special teams had its highs and lows against Baylor. Austin Parker converted two of his three field goal attempts and all four extra point tries, but missed a 33-yard chip shot late in the second quarter. Although he wasn't perfect on kicking, he had a bounce-back game punting, averaging 40.3 yards per punt. Duke also attempted a surprise punt attempt with Daniel Jones that traveled 45 yards before it entered the endzone for a touchback.
Baylor did not return any punts, and returned one kickoff for only 13 yards, marking a strong performance for the Duke special teams group. Although Wilson fielded three punts for -12 yards, he did advance the ball 63 yards on three kick returns, his longest going 27 yards.
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