Duke Returns To Durham To Take On North Carolina Central

After playing two straight games on the road Duke will return to Durham to take on NC Central on Saturday.

Duke who is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference comes into the game with a record of 3-0 while NC Central who is a member of the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference. “according to http://www.meacsports.com/ comes into the game with a record of 1-1 “according to https://nccueaglepride.com/schedule.aspx?path=football

The last time Duke and NC Central played each other was last season at Brooks Field @ Wallace Wade Stadium when Duke routed their fellow Durham foe by a score of 60-7. “according to http://www.goduke.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&SPID=1843&SPSID=22666&q_season=2017&conf_school_id=

As for Duke’s previous game, they traveled to Waco Texas and won their second straight game on the road as they beat Baylor.

Quentin Harris threw for 174 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start for Duke, and the Blue Devils won 40-27 at Baylor on Saturday. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211772112

The Blue Devils (3-0) traveled to Texas on Thursday, a day earlier than usual to get out before Florence made landfall along the Carolina coast as a hurricane. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211772112

T.J. Rahming caught two of Harris' scoring strikes (28 and 7 yards) and Johnathan Lloyd had a 66-yard TD catch. Harris, a fourth-year junior who was 12-of-30 passing, started in place of the injured Daniel Jones, who fractured a clavicle last week and is out indefinitely. Jones had started 27 straight games for the Blue Devils. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211772112

JaMycal Hasty returned a blocked punt for a 33-yard touchdown for Baylor (2-1), the first time a Bears player had done that since Braelon Davis against North Texas in 2004. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211772112

Duke took full advantage of Baylor's two turnovers. Deon Jackson scored on a 31-yard fumble return in the first quarter, and Leonard Johnson put the game away with a 53-yard interception return for a touchdown with less than four minutes left. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211772112

Charlie Brewer threw for 175 yards and rushed for two touchdowns for Baylor. Jalan McClendon added 95 yards through the air, including a 25-yard TD to Tyquan Thompson, and was the leading rusher for the Bears with 51 yards. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211772112

THE TAKEAWAY

Duke: The Blue Devils are 3-0 for the second consecutive season, the first time they have done that since 1987-88. They did so by playing nearly mistake-free football, other than the blocked punt Baylor returned for a touchdown. Duke also didn't have a penalty. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211772112

Unlike Duke, NC Central didn’t get to play their game on the road against South Carolina this past weekend because of the weather conditions. Instead they will make up that game on November 24, 2018. “according to https://nccueaglepride.com/schedule.aspx?path=football But as for NC Central’s last game they played. They last played on September 8th when they routed Saint Augustine’s.

North Carolina Central University beat Saint Augustine's 51-14 on Saturday behind five passing touchdowns from a pair of quarterbacks. “according to https://nccueaglepride.com/news/2018/9/8/football-nccus-air-attack-and-defense-too-much-for-sau.aspx?path=football
 
The game started off as a defensive battle, until NCCU junior quarterback Naiil Ramadan, starting for the first time in his college career, threw touchdown passes to sophomore wide receiver E.J. Hicks and redshirt freshman tight end Sherman McLeod late in the first quarter. “according to https://nccueaglepride.com/news/2018/9/8/football-nccus-air-attack-and-defense-too-much-for-sau.aspx?path=football
 
In the second quarter, the Ramadan to McLeod connection added another touchdown to make the score 20-0 with 11:13 left before intermission. “according to https://nccueaglepride.com/news/2018/9/8/football-nccus-air-attack-and-defense-too-much-for-sau.aspx?path=football
 
Saint Augustine's quarterback D.J. Johnson threw a touchdown to running back Jeremiah Miller at the 4:17 mark, before the Eagles responded with an Adam Lippy 36-yard field goal before the half making the score 23-7. “according to https://nccueaglepride.com/news/2018/9/8/football-nccus-air-attack-and-defense-too-much-for-sau.aspx?path=football
 
The second half was all defense for the Eagles. Junior safety Anthony Sherrill intercepted a SAU pass and ran it back 38 yards for an Eagle touchdown. NCCU's defense only allowed seven points in the half. “according to https://nccueaglepride.com/news/2018/9/8/football-nccus-air-attack-and-defense-too-much-for-sau.aspx?path=football
 
The passing game seemed to be a point of emphasis for the Eagles this week. Ramadan ended the contest throwing for 169 yards on 15 for 28 attempts with three passing touchdowns and no interceptions. “according to https://nccueaglepride.com/news/2018/9/8/football-nccus-air-attack-and-defense-too-much-for-sau.aspx?path=football
 
Quarterback Chauncey Caldwell provided some offense for the Eagles in the second half, passing for 105 yards and two touchdowns, while adding a team-high 62 yards on the ground. “according to https://nccueaglepride.com/news/2018/9/8/football-nccus-air-attack-and-defense-too-much-for-sau.aspx?path=football
 
McLeod was a big target for the Eagles' red zone offense, catching three passes for 54 yards and two touchdowns. “according to https://nccueaglepride.com/news/2018/9/8/football-nccus-air-attack-and-defense-too-much-for-sau.aspx?path=football
 
NCCU junior wide receiver Xavier McKoy caught four passes for 67 yards. Freshman Tyler Barnes had 4 catches and 64 yards for the Eagles, including a 48-yard touchdown. “according to https://nccueaglepride.com/news/2018/9/8/football-nccus-air-attack-and-defense-too-much-for-sau.aspx?path=football
 
The night was capped by a pair of NCCU touchdowns with sophomore receiver Nique Martin catching a 24-yard pass from Caldwell and junior running back Tyquan Watson finding the end zone from two yards out. “according to https://nccueaglepride.com/news/2018/9/8/football-nccus-air-attack-and-defense-too-much-for-sau.aspx?path=football
 
The Eagles' defense was led by sophomore cornerback Marcus Martin with six tackles. The unit also managed to get four sacks, 11 tackles for loss, and forced two turnovers. Senior lineman Darius Royster contributed three takedowns behind the line of scrimmage with a sack, bringing his two-game total to 9.0 tackles for a loss. “according to https://nccueaglepride.com/news/2018/9/8/football-nccus-air-attack-and-defense-too-much-for-sau.aspx?path=football
 
For the Falcons' offense, Johnson finished the game with 145 yards passing on 12 for 26 attempts, two touchdowns, and one interception. Miller rushed for 66 yards on 14 carries. He also added two receptions and one touchdown for SAU. The Falcons leading receiver was Deandre Conley, who had four catches for 58 yards. “according to https://nccueaglepride.com/news/2018/9/8/football-nccus-air-attack-and-defense-too-much-for-sau.aspx?path=football

Kick-Off is set for 3:30pm from Brooks Field @ Wallace Wade Stadium. The game will be televised on ACC Network Extra. “according to http://www.goduke.com/SportSelect.dbml?SPID=1843&SPSID=22666&DB_OEM_ID=4200