Duke Blue Devils Dominate To Victory

The Duke Blue Devils stood tall this afternoon at Wallace Wade Stadium with a dominant victory over the William & Mary Tribe, surprisingly 62-7, by hitting on all cylinders and improving to 4-0 for the season.

The Blue Devils passed the ball extremely efficiently; Walker Eget went 16-for-22 for 182 yards and two touchdowns, while backup Dan Mahan completed 6 of 7 for 126 yards and three touchdowns. Duke followed the formula by keeping the running game productive and effective. Nate Sheppard had 116 yards and a touchdown on just nine carries, giving him more than 100 rushing yards in all four games this season. Duke finished with 638 total yards moved the ball all over the field, compared with only 169 for William & Mary.

The Blue Devils got key contributions from their young core. Several younger receivers scored their first career touchdowns, including Kavon Simmons, Jaivon Solomon, and freshman Brody Keefe, which will benefit Walker Eget’s production later in the season.

The Blue Devils made key defensive plays early; Duke forced a three-and-out and later blocked a 53-yard field-goal attempt, helping maintain control of the game. The negative takeaway is that William & Mary hit Duke with a 63-yard pass play, and Duke has allowed other explosive plays early this season. That’s something to watch when the Blue Devils return to ACC competition.

Overall, this was a complete performance because Duke’s passing game expanded, the run game remained efficient, the defense largely controlled the Tribe, and the younger players got meaningful experience. Duke now heads into its bye week 4-0 before returning to action on the road against Georgia Tech on Oct. 10.