STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford quarterback Josh Nunes threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns to lead 25th-ranked Stanford to a 50-13 win over visiting Duke in front of 44,016 fans at Stanford Stadium on Saturday night.
The Blue Devils fall to 1-1 on the year and will host N.C. Central next Saturday night at 7 p.m. for the Bull City Gridiron Classic. The Cardinal improves to 2-0.
Stanford got on the scoreboard early when Drew Terrell returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown just over one minute into the contest. The Cardinal added three field goals and a 13-yard scoring run by Stepfan Taylor while the Blue Devils managed a 29-yard field goal from Ross Martin as Stanford claimed a 23-3 advantage at halftime.
Duke’s third quarter was highlighted by Brandon Connette’s four-yard touchdown run.
Duke wide receiver Desmond Scott caught a career-high 11 passes for 83 yards, while fellow wideout Jamison Crowder hauled in a career-high 10 catches for 112 yards. Duke finished with 358 yards passing with Sean Renfree throwing for 200 and Anthony Boone for 147.
Duke senior Conner Vernon caught six passes for 49 yards and moved into third place on the ACC’s all-time receptions list (214) and 11th on the all-time receiving yards list (2,904).
Pacing Duke’s defense was Walt Canty with 11 tackles and Ross Cockrell with one interception and two pass breakups.
Up next for Duke is the Bull City Classic where the Blue Devils will host N.C. Central at 7 p.m. in Wallace Wade Stadium.
