Kansas tangles with Duke — on the football field, this time

A struggling Kansas Jayhawk squad will face off against traditional baseball power Duke — on the football field. The Blue Devils are coming off of a victory over Northwestern and hope to defeat another major conference opponent in the Jayhawks.

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September 24, 2021 - 1:22 PM

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Mataeo Durant has gone from being part of Duke’s rushing tandem to a lead back tied for the national lead in total touchdowns.

The Blue Devils (2-1) host Kansas on Saturday in a second straight matchup against a power-conference opponent, following last weekend’s win against Northwestern. And the 6-foot-1, 195-pound senior has reached the end zone multiple times in every game so far, both with explosive long gainers and in short-yardage work as a finisher.

“Just being a football player, you always want to get the ball in those pivotal positions,” Durant said. “I pride myself on taking advantage of those red-zone possessions where I get the ball, and just trying to make the most of those opportunities when they’re presented toward me.”

Durant opened with a program-record 255 yards on the ground in a loss to Charlotte, and is averaging an Atlantic Coast Conference-best 132.7 yards rushing. 

He has run for seven touchdowns – including runs of 53 and 59 yards – and also has a TD catch, tying him with Marshall freshman Rasheen Ali for most total TDs in the Bowl Subdivision ranks entering the week.

A year ago, Durant ran for a team-best 654 yards and six touchdowns while splitting work with departed senior Deon Jackson.

“He’s physically better than he’s been,” Duke coach David Cutcliffe said. “Yeah, I may pray that he stays healthy and see what a season can turn out to be like for him.”

Durant is set up to succeed again against one of the nation’s worst run defenses.

The Jayhawks (1-2) rank 122nd out of 130 FBS teams by allowing 225.3 yards rushing per game. That comes after surrendering 215 yards and four touchdowns in a loss at Coastal Carolina, followed by 307 yards and four more scores in last week’s loss to Baylor.

“There’s continued progress,” first-year Kansas coach Lance Leipold said. “It’s not all showing up on the scoreboard or on the statsheet right now. I still think we’re finding out what we can do offensively. … Defensively we need to tackle better, we need to be more physical.”

Some other things to know about Saturday’s Kansas-Duke game:

PROBLEM RETURNING?

Duke committed an FBS-worst 39 turnovers last year as probably the biggest cause behind a two-win season. They had only one notable turnover through two games – quarterback Gunnar Holmberg’s goal-line fumble while trying to run it in in the opener against Charlotte – but had three turnovers last week. 

Two were lost fumbles by Durant, one helping Northwestern score a second quick touchdown after trailing 30-7 at halftime.

BACKFIELD CHANGE

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