Duke Blue Devils vs Memphis Tigers Match Player Stats On Sep 07, 2013

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 7, 2013

Duke 28, Memphis 14: Brandon Connette came off the bench to throw for 198 yards and two touchdowns as the visiting Blue Devils made it two wins in a row after taming the Tigers.

Anthony Boone started the game at quarterback for Duke (2-0) and went 11-for-16 with one touchdown on the ground before leaving with an injury. Juwan Thompson, Issac Blakeney and Brandon Braxton all chipped in with scores while Jamison Crowder continued his stellar play with 11 catches for 140 yards.

Freshman Paxton Lynch made his debut for Memphis (0-1), going 14-for-24 with 148 passing yards. The Tigers' first touchdown came on the defensive side of the ball courtesy of an interception return by Bobby McCain, while Jai Steib scored a rushing touchdown.

Duke opened the scoring on its first possession with Boone's 23-yard run. Memphis weathered the early storm and answered with a touchdown of its own 15 seconds into the second quarter when McCain picked off Boone and ran 75 yards to make it 7-7.

The Blue Devils came storming out of the gates in the second half, putting together an 87-yard drive that culminated in Thompson's 8-yard touchdown run. The Tigers responded with Steib's 11-yard scamper to level matters with 11:38 remaining in the fourth quarter before Duke took the lead for good when Connette found Blakeney for a 22-yard touchdown and Braxton for an 12-yard score on consecutive drives.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Boone left the game early in the second quarter with an upper body injury and did not return. … Memphis has not beaten a team from a BCS automatic qualifying conference since 2004. … The Tigers were 2-for-13 on third downs and managed only 2.7 yards per rushing attempt.