William & Mary Game Preview

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Duke (3-0, 1-0) hosts William & Mary (2-2, 1-2) on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. EDT in Wallace Wade Stadium. Duke is looking to start the season 4-0 and extend its winning streak to eight games, going back to last season. The last time Duke won eight straight games was during the 2013 season. William & Mary has lost its last two games, so the Tribe are looking to stop that losing streak. The Blue Devils are favored by 43.5 points. Coverage will be via streaming on ACCNX.

Before discussing William & Mary, there are a few Duke achievements which deserve mentioning.

Duke’s offense is paced by running back Nate Sheppard who is leading the nation in Rushing Yards (528) and Rushing Yards per Game (176), while the passing game is improving but still a work in progress. Quarterback Walker Eget has passed for 131, 206 and 202 yards in the first three games providing balance to the offense. Head Coach Manny Diaz addressed the passing game improvement, stating, “[w]e are going to throw it way better in November than in October and I hope we throw it better in October than we did in September.” Coach Diaz emphasized that the quarterback and receivers need more repetitions with each other.

On defense, Duke ranks 20th in the nation in 3rd-down conversion percentage defense allowing opponents to convert on only 27 percent of opportunities (10 of 37). The Blue Devils are stingier on 4th down, allowing only 14.3 percent conversion (1 of 7), which ranks 10th in the nation.

Punter Kade Reynoldson is averaging 50.9 yards per punt. He has punted 12 times for 611 yards.

Injury Report: There will be no official injury report released due to William & Mary being a non-conference opponent, so “no news is good news” this week, and there has been no news.

Offense: William & Mary averages 26 points, 211 yards passing and 125 yards rushing per game. The Tribe is led by quarterback Winston Watkins. Watkins is a big quarterback, at 6’5” 250 pounds, who can both pass and run. He has completed 62 of 93 pass attempts (66.7%) for 799 yards with four touchdowns against one interception. Watkins has rushed 58 times for 117 yards and two touchdowns.

Duke Defensive Coordinator Jonathan Patke addressed Watkins abilities during Monday’s press conference, “[b]ig quarterback who can run…can spin it deep, they love pushing the ball down the field…if you don’t put him down he will take off and run, he can win with his feet.”

Running back Andrew King averages 6.1 yards per carry gaining 318 yards on 52 carries. He has scored three touchdowns.

The Tribe has three wide receivers with double digit receptions: Kai Austin with 21 receptions for 246 yards and two touchdowns, Khylil Johnson with 11 receptions for 219 yards, Luke Vanantwerp with 10 receptions for 135 yards.

Players to Watch: Winston Watkins, Andrew King, Kai Austin

Defense: The William & Mary defense has recorded six interceptions this season paced by freshman Cade Ellis with two. Four additional defenders have one interception each.

Linebacker Harrison Johnson is the team’s leading tackler with 42. Defensive end Nathaniel McDonald has recorded three quarterback sacks.

In addition to the six interceptions the Tribe defense has forced four fumbles for a total of 10 opponent turnovers so Duke’s offense must value the ball on Saturday against what appears to be an opportunistic defense.

Coach Manny Diaz stated the William & Mary defense was more similar to Stanford than Tulane or Illinois.

Players to Watch: Harrison Johnson, Cade Ellis, Nathaniel McDonald

Prediction: The Blue Devils will prove to be too tough, on both sides of the ball, for the Tribe to handle. Duke 52, William & Mary 10.

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