Duke came out strong in its first game under new head coach Mike Elko, leaping out to a 10-0 lead after the first quarter and striking a few more times in the second frame. With 30 minutes to play at Wallace Wade Stadium, the Blue Devils are in control against the Owls with a 24-0 lead.
Five observations:
Moore’s impact out wide: Jordan Moore—the sophomore backup quarterback—lined up in the slot on the first possession and took his first reception 52 yards to the 1-yard line. His 34 yards after the catch had him weaving his way through the defense, setting the Blue Devils up for the score and the early 7-0 lead. He caught his first career touchdown 3:11 into the second quarter. Despite not being listed as a starter, his impact was felt immediately at his new position. He finished the half with a total of four catches for 67 yards, leading the team in both.
Sturdy defense: A three-and-out on the first possession was followed by another featuring a huge stop in the backfield by junior captain DeWayne Carter. Quarterback D’Wan Mathis and the Owls had no response for the Blue Devils’ strong pass rush and improved ability to take down ball carriers in the open field. Temple’s offense is not spectacular, but the short drives kept the Blue Devils’ offense running smoothly out of the gates. The Owls only gained two first downs the entire half.
No time to waste: On that same note, the Duke offense hasn’t let any time run off the clock without moving the ball—every non-dead-ball snap was run out of a hurry-up offense. Despite losing several yards off of false starts while trying to snap the ball, Riley Leonard’s offense gained 337 yards in just more than 19 minutes. The Blue Devils collected 17 first downs as they cruised to a 24-point halftime lead.
Students show up: After moving the student section and handing out custom jerseys to all of the first-year students, a packed crowd emerged behind the Temple bench in time to watch the season opener. Elko emphasized student engagement as soon as he stepped onto campus and the boisterous crowd of blue jerseys was not messing around. The fast-paced scoring surely helped as well.
First-half explosion: The Blue Devils’ 24-point lead is their biggest first-half advantage since piling on the points against Northwestern last season. Duke had a 27-point advantage late into the second quarter in that game before things got tight courtesy of a quarterback change and lackluster second-half defense.
By the numbers:
- Leonard completions: In his second career start, the sophomore quarterback out of Fairhope, Ala., managed to start with a perfect completion rate over his first 15 throws—the Duke record for consecutive completions is 16. He matched his personal completions record of 13 with his 39-yard dime to Sahmir Hagans midway through the second frame.
- Total yards: Duke collected 337 yards to Temple’s 51 as it drove all the way down the field twice for touchdowns and neared the end zone before connecting on a field goal.
- Downfield passing: Leonard wasn’t just efficient getting the ball into his receivers’ hands, but his completed throws averaged 7.3 yards downfield while his receivers averaged 8.6 yards after the catch.
A play that mattered:
Even after attracting the defense’s attention on his opening-drive explosion, Moore found his way wide open crossing the field from four yards out before hauling in a high pass from Leonard for the score. A quarterback and a rusher last year, a receiver—and a good one at that—to start up this season. His score also put the Blue Devils up 17-0, signaling a bruising was in the works as the night went on. His play out of the slot signals great potential as yet another target for his efficient quarterback.
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Micah Hurewitz is a Trinity senior and was previously a sports managing editor of The Chronicle's 118th volume.