College Football
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Duke 38, Northwestern 14
When: 3:30 PM ET, Saturday, September 16, 2023
Where: Wallace Wade Stadium, Durham, North Carolina
Temperature: 82°
Head Official: Mark Kluczynski
Attendance: 18141

Jordan Waters and Riley Leonard ran for two touchdowns apiece and No. 21 Duke was in control for most of the game in defeating visiting Northwestern 38-14 on Saturday at Durham, N.C.

Duke is 3-0 for the second year in a row.

Leonard also racked up 219 passing yards by completing 15 of 20 throws. He gained 97 rushing yards on 13 carries.

Waters had first-half touchdown runs of 24 and 2 yards. Leonard scored his touchdowns in the third quarter on runs of 3 and 2 yards.

Northwestern quarterback Ben Bryant was 17-for-34 for 123 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Backup quarterback Brendan Sullivan directed a fourth-quarter scoring drive that ended with his 10-yard run at the 1:27 mark.

The Wildcats (1-2) were otherwise mostly thwarted on offense.

Duke, which allowed a touchdown late in the first half, regained momentum on the first possession of the second half by driving 80 yards for a touchdown on Leonard's 3-yard dive. Then came a 12-play, 94-yard march with Leonard running the last 2 yards for the score.

Duke scored on its first possession of the game, going 56 yards on six plays on a march ending on Waters' 24-yard run.

The Blue Devils went up 14-0 with Waters going 2 yards on the second play of the second quarter. Todd Pelino's 34-yard field goal stretched the lead to cap Duke's next possession.

Northwestern bounced back by going 73 yards in 15 plays on Bryant's 14-yard touchdown pass to a diving A.J. Henning with 34 seconds to play in the first half.

The Wildcats were wildly inconsistent on offense. They drove 63 yards on 13 plays on a drive that ended on downs at the Duke 10-yard line in the first minute of the fourth quarter. That left the score at 31-7 and pretty much dashed any hopes of a huge comeback.

Peyton Jones scored on a 15-yard run for Duke in the fourth quarter.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Northwestern   Duke
Cam Porter Player Riley Leonard
10 Attempts 13
49 Yards 97
4.9 Avg Yards 7.5
0 Touchdowns 2
0 Long 0
Receiving
Northwestern   Duke
Cam Johnson Player Jalon Calhoun
5 Receptions 5
45 Yards 112
9.0 Avg Yards 22.4
0 Touchdowns 0
0 Long 0
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Northwestern 267 104 163 2 0 0 2.0 0
Duke 487 268 219 5 1 1 2.0 0