4 winners and 2 losers from Duke's 62-7 rout of William & Mary

The regular season is now one-third of the way through, and Duke couldn't be in a better spot. The Blue Devils are now 4-0 after Saturday afternoon's 62-7 thumping of William & Mary.

It was the last tune-up for Duke this year. The final eight games of the regular season are against ACC opponents. Duke is positioned to get back to Charlotte for the ACC Championship Game with the way they are playing.

With a bye week on deck, let's examine the biggest winners and losers from the 55-point shellacking of the Tribe.

Winner: QBs Walker Eget and Dan Mahan

Duke came into the matchup against William & Mary with one goal in mind on offense: get the passing game rolling.

Mission accomplished.

Walker Eget started and played effectively, throwing for 182 yards and two touchdowns on 16-of-22 passing. Manny Diaz got Dan Mahan into the game early, and the sophomore shined. He went 6-of-7 for 126 yards and three touchdowns. His first two attempts of the game both went for touchdowns, with his legs serving as an additional threat and opening things up down the field like this:

Duke has two capable quarterbacks. Don't be surprised if Mahan gets more opportunities as the season progresses.

Winner: Nate Sheppard

This was never going to be a day in which star RB Nate Sheppard had a major workload. It would be pointless to strip any tread from his tires against a completely overmatched opponent when his staying healthy is the most critical thing for this team's success moving forward.

But of course, even in limited opportunities, Sheppard still made the most of them. The sophomore still eclipsed 100 rushing yards with only nine attempts. He finished with 116 and a touchdown on 12.9 yards per attempt, maintaining his NCAA-leading rushing total.

It was the perfect day for him. He was still able to have a good day statistically, and Diaz was able to get him out of the game early and reduce any opportunity for him to get banged up.

Winner: Duke's young WRs

Jonah Burton was Duke's leading receiver on Saturday, and Penn transfer Jared Richardson finally reached the end zone in Week 4, but the most impressive aspect of the Blue Devils' receivers was the talented youngsters.

Jaivon Solomon, Jayden Moore, Kavon Simmons, and Brody Keefe all reached the end zone against William & Mary. Keefe did so in spectacular fashion. Look at this grab:

The future is bright at WR in Durham.

Winner: Bradley Gompers

It was a dominant effort from the Duke defense. William & Mary managed just 170 total yards, and 63 of them came on one pass play in the first quarter. On the 37 other offensive snaps, the Tribe picked up just 107 yards.

It was exactly what you would expect in this type of game that is such a mismatch.

Everyone deserves credit, but it was Gompers who shone the brightest in the box score. The sophomore finished with four tackles and two of Duke's four sacks on the day.

Loser: Javen Nicholas

After missing the first two games, the Charlotte transfer has not made much of an impact since returning to the action. He caught one pass for -1 yard against Stanford in Week 3, and then wasn't even targeted in Week 4.

With the young receivers stepping up and Richardson and Burton looking entrenched, opportunities could be few and far between for the Charlotte transfer.

Loser: CJ Campbell Jr.

This one is more of a stretch, but Campbell had a big opportunity with Sheppard resting more to stand out. He had a solid day, turning nine carries into 41 yards. But the two freshmen behind on the depth chart - Jayvian Tanelus and CJ Givers - both impressed and could be nipping at his heels for more playing time.

Tanelus equaled Campbell's carries with nine, but turned them into 69 yards and a touchdown. Givers only carried it three times, but produced 36 yards and a touchdown.

Campbell will keep having a role with his experience edge, but the freshmen can play.

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