DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Riley Leonard threw for two touchdowns and completed his first 15 passes of the season, boosting Duke to a 30-0 victory over Temple as coach Mike Elko won in his debut Friday night.
Duke recorded its first shutout of a Football Bowl Subdivision team since 1989 at North Carolina.
Leonard, a sophomore, completed 24 of 30 passes for 328 yards. He also was the top rusher in the game with 64 yards on 11 carries.
Elko was in his first game as a head coach after replacing David Cutcliffe, who spent 14 seasons in charge of the Blue Devils. Duke is coming off three consecutive losing seasons with a combined 10-25 record during that stretch.
It was a disappointing opening game for first-year Temple coach Stan Drayton, who had been the associate head coach at Texas.
Temple was held to 179 yards of total offense, with just 50 in the first half compared to Duke’s 337 by halftime.
Duke scored five plays into the game on Jaylen Coleman’s 1-yard run. Moore threw touchdown passes of 4 yards to Jordan Moore and 39 yards to Sahmir Hagans in the first half.
Moore was the game’s second-leading receiver with 77 yards on six catches. He competed with Leonard for the starting quarterback role in the preseason and is listed as the backup quarterback.
Duke kicker Charlie Ham was 3 for 6 on field goals, connecting from 29, 37 and 38 yards.
Temple’s D’Wan Mathis was 11-for-21 passing for 83 yards.
Both teams were coming off 3-9 seasons.
SIZZLING STREAK
Leonard’s game-opening streak was one completion shy of the school record for consecutive completions at any time during a game. That record of 16 is shared by D. Bryant (2000 at North Carolina State) and Sean Renfree (2010 at Navy).
THE TAKEAWAY
Temple: The Owls couldn’t get untracked offensively and there were few signs that they were capable of sustaining drives. There were holes defensively, though Temple had encouraging moments by forcing Duke to attempt six field goals.
Duke: The Blue Devils had to like what they saw from Leonard, who didn’t emerge as the starter until preseason workouts. He connected on passes with eight different teammates. After giving up 45 or more points in its last six games of 2021, the defense had a banner night.
UP NEXT
Temple: The Owls host Lafayette on Sept. 10.
Duke: The Blue Devils play at Northwestern on Sept. 10.
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