Baylor @ Duke preview

Teams heading in opposite directions meet Saturday when Baylor visits Duke. The Blue Devils have put a disappointing 4-8 campaign behind them with two dominant performances to start the season, while the Bears have dropped eight consecutive regular-season games, including contests to Liberty and UT San Antonio to open the 2017 campaign.

Duke dispatched FCS foe North Carolina Central 60-7 in the opener before dismantling Northwestern 41-17 last week as sophomore sensation Daniel Jones accounted for 413 total yards and four touchdowns. The defense limited its second consecutive foe to under 200 yards total offense last week, adding four sacks and three turnovers while holding the Wildcats to 1-of-10 on third-down conversions. Baylor, under first-year coach Matt Rhule, have started 0-2 for the first time since 2003 as they continue to recover from the sexual assault scandal that rocked the university and resulted in the firing of former head coach Art Briles in May 2016. “I'm upset that we're 0-2. You know what, I couldn't be more upset, but I'm proud to walk off the field,” Rhule told reporters earlier this week. “And you hear the Baylor fans and them telling the kids, 'Hey, we love you. We believe in you.' It's such pride that they have in their team, and these kids are going out there and laying it on the line. I'll do a better job. They'll do a better job. And we'll become a good football team sooner than later.”

TV: 12:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network. LINE: Duke -14.

ABOUT BAYLOR (0-2): The pass defense yielded only 155 yards passing to UT San Antonio after surrendering 447 in the opener to Liberty, but it didn’t prevent the Roadrunners from being the second consecutive opponent to record their first win over a Power-5 team. Anu Solomon struggled last week, completing 10-of-26 passes for 121 yards and gaining nine yards on 10 carries on the ground after accounting for 375 yards and three TDs against Liberty. Rhule announced this week that the Arizona graduate transfer will be replaced this week by sophomore Zach Smith, who started four games last season and completed 116-of-196 passes for 1,526 yards with 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

ABOUT DUKE (2-0): Jones completed 29-of-45 passes for 305 yards with two TDs and ran for 108 yards and two more scores in the rout of Northwestern, moving him up to second in the ACC and 12th nationally in ESPN’s QBR metric (85.5). T.J. Rahming reached 100 yards receiving for the fourth time in five games with 12 catches for 127 yards, Chris Taylor added a 52-yard TD reception and Shaun Wilson ran for 58 yards on 14 carries with a score. Cornerback Mark Gilbert had two interceptions for a Blue Devils defense that has yielded an average of 174.5 yards through the first two contests – sixth in FBS among teams who have played more than one game.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Duke beat Baylor 12-7 in the only other meeting between the schools in 1958. This is Baylor’s first non-conference Power-5 game since 2009.

2. Jones had his streak of 202 consecutive passes without an interception ended against Northwestern en route to posting just the second 300-yard passing, 100-yard rushing game by a quarterback in Duke history (Brandon Connette versus Pittsburgh in 2013).

3. The Blue Devils are 18-2 in their last 20 regular season nonconference games – the most successful streak in program history.

PREDICTION: Duke 52, Baylor 10