21st Ranked Duke Improved To 3-0 On 2023 Season Following Beating Northwestern 38-14 Saturday In Durham
21st ranked Duke improved to 3-0 on 2023 season following beating Northwestern 38-14 Saturday in Durham.
As 21st Duke improved to 3-0 on 2023 season beating Northwestern Saturday 38-14 Saturday in Durham Jordan Waters ran for 24 yard touchdown, Todd Pelino kicked the extra point in the 1st quarter giving Duke a 7-0 lead before Duke extended their lead over Northwestern in 2nd quarter as Jordan Waters ran for 2 yard touchdown, Todd Pelino kicked the extra point extending Duke’s lead over Northwestern yet again! This time, by score of 14-0 before Duke extended their lead yet again this time with Todd Pelino kicking 35 yard field goal before Northwestern finally got the scoreboard before halftime as A.J. Henning caught 14 yard pass from Ben Bryant , Jack Olsen kicked extra point . In the 3rd quarter it was all Duke as Riley Leonard ran for 3 yard touchdown Todd Pelino kicked extra point extending Duke’s lead over Northwestern yet again this time, 24-7 before Riley Leonard ran for a 2 yard touchdown , Todd Pelino kicked extra extending Duke’s yet again over Northwestern this time by a score of 31-7 . In the 4th quarter Duke extended their lead yet again as Peyton Jones ran for 15 yards , Todd Pelino kicked extra point before Northwestern scored their final points of the game as Brendan Sullivan ran for 10 yard touchdown , Jack Olsen kicked extra point making final 38-14 Duke.
Following 21st ranked Duke improving to 3-0 on 2023 season following Northwestern 38-14 Saturday in Durham Duke Head Coach Mike Elko had this to say for his opening statement, On Riley Leonard’s elusiveness to avaid sacks in the pocket on Duke’s defensive growth this season. On Peyton Jones development , first -career touchdown.
First of all, we have a lot of respect for Northwestern. Those kids are going through a really, really challenging season
and they continue to come out and fight and continue to represent that university the right way. There’s a lot of really
good men on that coaching staff, so hats off to those guys for continuing to play the game the way they’re capable of
doing it. I told our guys in the locker room, I’m proud of the way we played. I thought we wanted to establish our
physical identity – anytime you play a Big Ten team that’s really, really important to make sure you control the line of
scrimmage. We were able to outrush them 268 [yards] to 104 [yards]. Both of our running backs had over six yards per
carry. I think when you have statlines like that, you’re going to have really successful days. I thought we started fast,
we got a lead, that’s what you want to do in games like this, for sure. I thought we maybe hit a little bit of a lull on
defense on that drive, we could have made a couple plays to get off the field. I challenged the guys in the locker room
to come out and finish this thing in the third quarter and they certainly did that. I think we put some really good drives
together on both sides of the ball in the second half to start and then we were able to empty the bench at the end and
get a lot of guys in there and get them a lot of opportunities and some quality snaps. It was a good day, it was a good
win. It was a good win for us going to 3-0 and so I’m happy with the way we played today.”He’s the ultimate eraser. Anytime you have one of those, it makes a lot of bad plays look really good sometimes.
That’s who he is. He’s really athletic, he makes a ton of plays, he’s a competitive kid, we’ve talked about that. It doesn’t
surprise you but it certainly is impressive and we don’t take that for granted, the plays he’s able to make with his legs.
I think we’re playing good defense when we’re all on the same page and we’re communicating and doing the things
we want to do. I think it’s two games in a row where we have to be a little better on third down. That’s our emphasis
and where our focus is. We have to give a little more pressure, we have to be able to cover a little bit longer. We have
to be a little more effective and disruptive on third down. I think that’s where our biggest challenge is right now. If
they don’t convert half of their third downs today, then the flow of the game feels even a little bit more lopsided than
it really was. That’s the biggest area to improve. We’re playing good against the run and we’re sound and doing the
things we need to. We can cover, we have the ability to make plays on the football. We just have to get third down
figured out a little bit.“Oh, it was awesome. He had his first touchdown today, Kendall Johnson had his first sack today, anytime you see
young kids go out there and make plays it’s awesome for them. You know how special that is to him, he’s been
dreaming about being a college football player for most of his life, I’m sure. For him to get in the endzone, and it was a
nice little run he made picking his feet up and getting through a tight little hole to get in there. We have a lot of
confidence in him, there’s going to come a time this year where we’ll need him to be a really good player for us, so it
was really good to get him some reps today and see him do what he did
Following 21st ranked Duke improving to 3-0 on 2023 season following Northwestern 38-14 Saturday in Durham Duke running back Chandler Rivers had this to say on the teams play defensively the first three games, on the older guys and the competition in the defensive secondary .
“Personally, I just like the effort that we’re playing with, how hard we’re playing, how fast we’re moving to the ball and
stuff like that
I feel like it just keeps everybody hungry, like not knowing who’s going to start that week or stuff like that. Everybody
is going to stay hungry so keep pushing each other to get better day after day.”
Following 21st ranked Duke improving to 3-0 on 2023 season following Northwestern 38-14 Saturday in Durham Duke right guard Jacob Monk had this to say on the teams success running the ball on being on the good end of two long third quarter drives.
We take a lot of pride in it for sure. Playing a Big Ten team that is known for their physicality, it means a lot to come
on and run the ball like we did. But, you know, people like Jordan Waters and Riley Leonard and Jaquez Moore make it
really easy for us.”
Tiring... nah, I’m joking. No, it’s great. You know, you see the other team subbing guys in and out but we’re sitting
there standing strong, hands not even on our hips, knowing that we're gonna finish this drive with points one way or
another. So, it feels really good.”
Duke is now going to prepare to play at Uconn on Saturday who is a member of the Conference USA who is still searching for their first win of the season as they’re 0-3 on the season following 24-17 loss to Florida International University where Joe McFadden kicked 26 yard field goal getting Uconn on the scoreboard 7-3 in 1st quarter . In the 3rd quarter Jelani Stafford ran for 1 yard touchdown , Joe McFadden kicked extra point making score 24-10 FIU in 3rd quarter . In 4th quarter Devontae Houston caught 37 yard pass from Ta’Quain Robertson, Joe McFaddon kicked extra point.
According to espnapp
Kickoff is set for 3:30pm from Pratt &Whitley Stadium at Rentschier Field!
The game is going to be televised on CBS Sports Network!