Ball Durham
Fansided

Duke overcomes slow start to roll North Carolina A&T in home opener

By Kevin Connelly

DURHAM, NC - SEPTEMBER 22: Quarterback Quentin Harris #18 of the Duke Blue Devils attempts a pass against the North Carolina Central Eagles during the football game at Wallace Wade Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NC - SEPTEMBER 22: Quarterback Quentin Harris #18 of the Duke Blue Devils attempts a pass against the North Carolina Central Eagles during the football game at Wallace Wade Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Duke Football team was able to overcome a slow start on Saturday evening against North Carolina A&T and roll to an easy victory.

Things didn’t start out great for the Duke Blue Devils in its home opener against the North Carolina A&T Aggies.

Duke’s offense still looked like it was going up against the defense of the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Blue Devils were dazed and confused against the FCS powerhouse Aggies.

More from Ball Durham

The Aggies took a 10-3 lead in the second quarter and with the Blue Devils driving Duke fumbled the ball, setting North Carolina A&T up with excellent field position near mid-field.

From that point on Duke would flip the script on the game, thanks to a three and out from the Blue Devil defense.

Quarterback Quentin Harris looked like the player fans expected him to be this season taking over for NFL-bound Daniel Jones.

Harris finished the game with a career high five touchdowns, four passing and one rushing.

The senior completed 30-of-42 passes for 345 yards, while rushing the ball 13 times for 83 yards.

Deon Jackson ran for 71 yards on 16 carries while Brittain Brown only gained seven yards on three rushing attempts and did not play in the second half after the ACC Network broadcast revealed he left the game with an injury.

Quentin Harris hooked up with Jalon Calhoun for his first career touchdown reception along with eight catches for 105 yards. The freshman wide receiver reeled in two touchdown passes on Saturday.

Next. Game by game predictions for 2019 Duke Football season. dark

Eli Pancol and Mataeo Durant also caught their first career touchdowns in Duke’s 45-13 rout over the Aggies.

Duke’s defense only allowed three points in the game from the 11:20 mark in the second quarter while the offense was able to create separation with a 21-point second quarter, taking a 28-10 lead into halftime.

The 1-1 Blue Devils will head on the road for another non-conference game next Saturday night, looking to move above .500 for the first time this season, as Duke will face Middle Tennessee State on September 14 at 7:00pm EST.

Home/Duke Football