Duke football dominates UConn as all attention turns to Notre Dame

The Duke football team dismantled the UConn Huskies in its first road game of the season. 

Life was easy for the Duke football team on the road Saturday afternoon in Hartford, Connecticut.

The lowly UConn Huskies were no match for the No. 18 Blue Devils despite the rushing attack being held in check for a vast majority of the 41-7 victory.

Riley Leonard put together another quality showing with 248 yards, a touchdown, and no interceptions while he continued to strengthen his connection with Jordan Moore and Jalon Calhoun as the two caught a combined 14 passes for 162 yards.

Duke was held to just seven points in the first quarter but its 20-point outburst in the second quarter created all the separation it needed to keep the unbeaten streak going to begin the season.

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Despite missing a field goal in the third quarter, the Duke defense joined in on the scoring fun with a fumble returned for a 26-yard touchdown by DeWayne Carter as Leonard would find Moore on the ensuing offensive drive for the Blue Devils to officially make this game a laugher.

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Major Duke basketball recruiting target Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 player in the Class of 2024, was reportedly at the game during his official visit with UConn this weekend.

The Blue Devils were only able to rush for 74 yards on 27 carries in the win, its lowest rushing output of the season by a wide margin, when the weather conditions in Connecticut were more favorable to the run than the pass with rain and wind in the area.

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Nevertheless, Duke (4-0) is ready to jump back into conference play — kind of — when Notre Dame comes to Wallace Wade Stadium on Saturday night (7:30p.m., ABC).

The Fighting Irish — coming off of a heartbreaking loss to No. 6 Ohio State in the game’s final play last week — dropped to No. 11 in the Associated Press Top-25 Poll while Duke climbed one spot to No. 17.