Jayhawk report: Duke 41, Kansas 3
First quarter
Key play: Duke quarterback Anthony Boone dropped in a 36-yard touchdown strike to Max McCaffrey for a 7-0 lead with 11:33 left.
Key stat: KU had just four first downs.
Second quarter
Key play: KU quarterback Montell Cozart tossed his second interception in the opening minutes, blunting some brief KU momentum after Duke’s early onslaught.
Key stat: Cozart completed seven of 21 passes for 43 yards.
Third quarter
Key play: Duke freshman running back Shaun Wilson scampered 68 yards for a touchdown, nearly matching his 69-yard touchdown earlier in the game.
Key stat: KU was scoreless in the period.
Fourth quarter
Key play: Duke’s Shaun Wilson exploded again, this time racing 45 yards for this third touchdown of the game.
Key stat: Wilson set a Duke record with 245 rushing yards on 12 carries.
Report Card
Offense: F. For the moment, sophomore QB Montell Cozart looks like a long-term project. He’s still figuring out when to tuck and run, and he was not accurate on Saturday. The Jayhawks even struggled with center-quarterback exchanges.
Defense: C. It’s the same story. The Jayhawks surrendered 41 points, but had little help from the offense. Senior cornerback JaCorey Shepherd did a solid job shadowing Duke’s leading receiver Jamison Crowder.
Special teams: B. Senior Trevor Pardula must be one of the best punters in the country. Unfortunately for Kansas, he’s one the field way too much.
Coaching: F. Charlie Weis faces some major questions. After a six-point win against an FCS team and a non-competitive loss against Duke, it’s worth asking: Where is the progress?
Player of the game: Duke freshman Shaun Wilson.
Reason to hope: KU freshman running back Corey Avery could be exciting to watch for the next four years.
Reason to mope: The Jayhawks have made little progress — on the field — since Charlie Weis replaced Turner Gill in December 2011.
Looking ahead: KU returns home to face Central Michigan, a team crushed by Syracuse on Saturday.
Cozart OK
Sophomore quarterback Montell Cozart was apparently OK after taking a hard shot to the ribs on a sack in the fourth quarter. Cozart left the game for junior Michael Cummings, who finished out the rest of the blowout.
Cozart was blindsided on a sack, and was not made available to speak to reporters after the game. But Weis did not appear concerned he could miss any time.
“He got hit in the middle of the back,” Weis said. “I’m sure his back hurts a little bit.”
▪ Senior linebacker Ben Heeney also appeared to be fine after being shaken up on a tackle with under four minutes left in the second quarter. Heeney missed some snaps in the second half, but returned to the field and finished out the game.
▪ Senior punter Trevor Pardula drew praise after averaging 51.8 yards on eight punts. His season-long came on a 72-yard bomb that was downed inside the 5-yard line.
Rustin Dodd
This story was originally published September 13, 2014 at 11:53 PM with the headline "Jayhawk report: Duke 41, Kansas 3."