Harris 3 TDs in first start as Duke beats Baylor 40-27

• by AP
• 0 Comments

WACO, Texas (AP) — Quentin Harris threw for 174 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start for Duke, and the Blue Devils won 40-27 at Baylor on Saturday while their home state of North Carolina was being inundated with rain from Tropical Storm Florence.

The Blue Devils (3-0) traveled to Texas on Thursday, a day earlier than usual to get out before Florence made landfall along the Carolina coast as a hurricane.

T.J. Rahming caught two of Harris’ scoring strikes (28 and 7 yards) and Johnathan Lloyd had a 66-yard TD catch. Harris, a fourth-year junior who was 12-of-30 passing, started in place of the injured Daniel Jones, who fractured a clavicle last week and is out indefinitely. Jones had started 27 straight games for the Blue Devils.

JaMycal Hasty returned a blocked punt for a 33-yard touchdown for Baylor (2-1), the first time a Bears player had done that since Braelon Davis against North Texas in 2004.

Duke took full advantage of Baylor’s two turnovers. Deon Jackson scored on a 31-yard fumble return in the first quarter, and Leonard Johnson put the game away with a 53-yard interception return for a touchdown with less than four minutes left.

Charlie Brewer threw for 175 yards and rushed for two touchdowns for Baylor. Jalan McClendon added 95 yards through the air, including a 25-yard TD to Tyquan Thompson, and was the leading rusher for the Bears with 51 yards.

THE TAKEAWAY

Duke: The Blue Devils are 3-0 for the second consecutive season, the first time they have done that since 1987-88. They did so by playing nearly mistake-free football, other than the blocked punt Baylor returned for a touchdown. Duke also didn’t have a penalty.

Baylor: This represented a step up in competition for the Bears, and they didn’t appear to be ready for it. They squandered both scoring chances in the first half with a missed field goal of 44 yards and a blocked one from 47 yards out. Baylor didn’t reach the red zone until the second half.

UP NEXT

Duke: Returns home to meet N.C. Central next Saturday.

Baylor: Opens Big 12 play at home against Kansas.

___

More AP college football: https://apnews.com/tag/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.