Duke @ Baylor preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 16, 2017 ) Baylor 20, Duke 34

Baylor is off to a 2-0 start and has already doubled its 2017 win total heading into Saturday afternoon's home game with Duke. But those two wins came against FCS program Abilene Christian (55-27), and Texas-San Antonio (37-20), a Group of Five opponent, which makes the contest with the Blue Devils a better barometer of just how much the Bears have really improved.

Duke is also off to an 2-0 start including an impressive 21-7 victory at Northwestern last week. A win over a Power Five Conference team like the Blue Devils, who whipped the Bears, 34-20, last year in Durham, would signal that it really is time to take Baylor seriously again in Big 12 Conference play. And the timing probably couldn't be better for Baylor to host the Blue Devils. With Hurricane Florence bearing down on North Carolina, Duke had to travel to Texas on Thursday morning and will be without three-year starting quarterback Daniel Jones who broke his collarbone in last week's win over the Wildcats.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1. LINE: Baylor -6.5

ABOUT DUKE (2-0): Redshirt junior Quentin Harris takes over for Jones who started 27 straight games and was named ACC Offensive Player of the Week after passing for 192 yards and three touchdowns before suffering the broken clavicle. Harris has seen action in 13 career games as a reserve, completing 9-of-15 passes for 85 yards and one TD while also rushing 39 times for 104 yards and two TDs. "He's a dual-threat guy -- he can run it, he can throw it," Baylor coach Matt Rhule told the Waco Tribune. "He's been their short-yardage, goal-line quarterback. It introduces a whole other element to us now."

ABOUT BAYLOR (2-0): Rhule said he will continue to alternate quarterbacks between sophomore Charlie Brewer, who completed 23-of-34 passes for 328 yards and three scores in the win at UTSA, and North Carolina State-transfer Jalan McClendon, who was 10 of 13 for 173 yards and two touchdowns in the opening win over Abilene Christian. "I think the competition has helped both quarterbacks," Rhule said. They're both having to push without pressing ... I think both players are playing at a high level, both players are trying to get better, both players bring something a little different." The Bears feature a pair of talented running backs in John Lovett (162 yards, 3 TDs) and JaMycal Hasty (109 yards, 3 TDs) and a strong receiving corps, led by Denzel Mims (11 catches, 213 yards, 1 TD) and Tennessee-transfer Jalen Hurd (12 catches, 194 yards, 2 TDs).

EXTRA POINTS

1. Duke is 21-3 (.875) in its last 24 contests against non-ACC opponents.

2. The Blue Devils have allowed a total of 21 points in their first two games against Army and Northwestern, marking the lowest combined total to open a season against FBS competition since 1971 when Duke held Florida and South Carolina to a combined 18 points.

3. Duke CB Mark Gilbert, a preseason all-ACC selection after intercepting six passes in 2017, underwent season-ending hip surgery Sunday a day after suffering an injury at Northwestern.

PREDICTION: Baylor 24, Duke 21