Postgame Notes: Duke 31, James Madison 7

8/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football

By: Duke Sports Information

Pregame:

Game Delayed: Kickoff for the Duke vs. James Madison contest was pushed back until 8:28 p.m. Original game time was scheduled for 7:04 p.m.

Game captains:
Duke ? Re'quan Boyette, Vincent Rey, Tielor Robinson, Michael Tauiliili;
James Madison ? D.J. Brandon, Eugene Holloman, Scott Lemn, Hassan Abdul-Wahid

James Madison won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. Duke will receive and defend the North endzone.

Weather at kickoff: 75 degrees, rain showers, 86-percent humidity, wind south southwest at 4 MPH

Duke Game Starters: Offense ? QB Thaddeus Lewis, RB Clifford Harris, FB Tielor Robinson, WR Eron Riley, WR Johnny Williams, WR Austin Kelly, LT Cameron Goldberg, LG Kyle Hill, C Bryan Morgan, RG Rob Schirmann, RT Fred Roland; Defense ? LDE Ayanga Okpokowuruk, DT Vince Oghobaase, NG Clifford Respress, RDE Greg Akinbiyi, SLB Marcus Jones, MLB Michael Tauiliili, WLB Vincent Rey, LCB Leon Wright, LS Glenn Williams, RS Catron Gainey, CB Jabari Marshall.

First Collegiate Start
True freshman wide receiver Johnny Williams started his first collegiate game. Redshirt freshman Kyle Hill earned a start at left guard in his first collegiate football game. Hill climbed the depth chart during fall practice to draw the start.

Coach Cutcliffe's Debut
Duke head coach David Cutcliffe picked up his first win as a Blue Devil and improved his overall record to 45-29 as a head coach, which includes six seasons at Mississippi. Cutcliffe improved to 3-0 in the month of August, 30-11 when scoring first, 29-6 when scoring 30 or more points, 9-0 when allowing 10 or fewer points, 36-8 when leading at halftime, and 13-1 when forcing at least three turnovers. Cutcliffe had also won his first game at the helm of the program at Ole Miss, a 35-18 victory over Texas Tech in the 1998 Independence Bowl.

200 Rushing Yards
As a team, Duke rushed for 218 yards on 48 carries. It was the first time since Oct. 28, 2006 that the Blue Devils rushed for over 200 yards as a team. The last time was against Vanderbilt, when Duke rushed for 253.

First Career Game
Several players made their first appearance in a college football game. Among the freshman who saw their first playing time were Trent Mackey, Jay Hollingsworth, Johnny Williams, Matt Daniels, Chris Shannon, Garrett Utt, Kyle Hill and Charlie Hatcher. Senior Ryan McFadyen also appeared in the game after playing four years of lacrosse for the Blue Devils.

Starting Streaks
Four players have started over 20 straight games for the Blue Devils. Senior wide receiver Eron Riley earned his 26th straight starting nod. Vince Oghobaase and Rob Schirmann started for the 25th straight game while junior quarterback Thaddeus Lewis has now started in 24 consecutive games. Junior defensive end Ayanga Okpokowuruk extended his starting streak to 15 consecutive games.

Riley Snags 15th and 16th Career Touchdowns
Senior wide receiver Eron Riley caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from Thaddeus Lewis with five seconds left in the first half for his 15th career touchdown reception. He later added his 16th career touchdown in the third quarter on a 20-yard scoring strike from Lewis. Riley is only the seventh player in school history to record 15 career receiving touchdowns. Lewis and Riley have connected for 14 touchdown passes all-time. The Duke record for quarterback-to-wide receiver scoring connections is 16 held by the tandems of Ben Bennett-to-Chris Castor and Steve Slayden-to-Doug Green.

Harris Doubles Career Rushing Touchdown Total
Senior running back Clifford Harris found the endzone twice with one-yard rushing touchdowns in the first and third quarters. He entered the game with just one career rushing touchdown. His first career touchdown was a one-yard run against Boston College in 2006. The Blue Devils had six rushing touchdowns in 2007, three of which were by running backs.

Harris Rushes For Career High
Clifford Harris carried the ball 17 times for a career-high 95 yards and two touchdowns. Harris' previous career high was 59 yards on six carries two years ago at Boston College. It is also the highest single game rushing total since Justin Boyle rushed for 113 yards on 14 carries against Vanderbilt on October 28, 2006. Harris also posted a 54-yard run, the longest rush of his career. His previous long was 52 yards against Boston College.

Lewis Throws Two Touchdown Passes
Thaddeus Lewis recorded his eighth career multi-touchdown game with two touchdown passes against James Madison. He threw two or more touchdown passes two times as a freshman and five times last season.

Marshall Nets Second Career Interception
Senior cornerback Jabari Marshall posted his second career interception and returned it 67 yards on the opening drive of the third quarter. The interception set up a Duke touchdown to give them a 14-point lead. Marshall has now recorded an interception in two straight games as he tallied his first in the season finale at North Carolina last season.

Riley Catches Seven Balls
Eron Riley caught seven passes for 67 yards and two touchdowns in the game. Riley fell one catch short of his career high. He had eight catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns last season against Wake Forest. He now has five career games with five or more catches.

Lewis Hits 10 Different Receivers
Thaddeus Lewis completed passes to 10 different receivers in the game. He completed 12 passes to wide receivers, three to running backs and two to tight ends.

Jones Boots Career Long 68-Yard Punt
Sophomore punter Kevin Jones recorded a career long 68-yard punt in the second quarter. His previous career long was a 64-yard punt at Northwestern last season. Jones finished the night with four punts for 214 yards, a 53.5 average. He placed two punts inside the 20-yard line.

Getting Off the Field
Duke did not allow a third down conversion for the game. James Madison was 0-for-8 on third downs. The Blue Devils allowed a league worst 44 percent conversion percentage on third down last season as opponents were successful on 80-of-183 third downs. Duke's defense was ranked 96th nationally on third down defense.

Perfect on Fourth Down
The Blue Devils went for it on fourth down three times and converted all three opportunities. Last season Duke converted 11-of-24 fourth down conversions for a 46 percent conversion rate.

Oglesby, Tauiliili & Williams Cause Fumbles
Sophomore Wesley Oglesby recorded his second career caused fumble in the third quarter. Senior Michael Tauiliili recorded his sixth career caused fumble in the fourth quarter to stop JMU in the redzone. Junior Glenn Williams also caused a fumble on a punt return in the fourth quarter.

Akinbiyi Recovers Two Fumbles
Senior Greg Akinbiyi recovered two fumbles in the game. Prior to this season, he had not tallied a fumble recovery. Akinbiyi also tallied three tackles, including two tackles for loss in the game.

Oglesby Off To Strong Start
Wesley Oglesby got off to a strong start in 2008 with four tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack and one forced fumble.

Attendance: 32,571