Things started out well for the Stanford Cardinal in their match-up against the Duke Devils, but got a little closer toward the end of the half. Stanford leads 17-7 at halftime, with the Blue Devils making a run in the latter part of the second quarter.
Stanford struck early in the ballgame when quarterback Andrew Luck connected with Coby Fleener for a three-yard score with 10:01 to play in the first quarter. The drive started with back-to-back passes to Chris Owusu, who posted gains of 11 yards and 43 yards on those two plays.
The Cardinal offense struggled the rest of the quarter and had to punt several times, but the defense kept the Blue Devils in check and prevented any scores. Stanford opened the second quarter with an eight-play, 51-yard drive that resulted in a 40-yard field goal by Jordan Williamson.
Duke put together its longest drive of the game on the following possession, using 12 plays to advance 53 yards up the field. Will Snyderwine got his second chance of the day to punch in a field goal. The 45-yard attempt, however, missed. Snyderwine missed a 27-yard attempt in the first quarter and is currently 0-2 on field goals.
The Blue Devils did score later in the period though when Lee Butler picked off Luck and ran back an 80-yard touchdown return (check out the video here). A successful onside kick seemed to give Duke new life and a possible lead by the end of the half, but the Blue Devils were forced to punt and Stanford took advantage. Luck silenced the critics of his previous pick-six by completing four straight passes and leading Stanford to another touchdown with a ten-yard strike to Owusu.
Luck has 185 yards, two touchdown and one interception 14-of-21 passing. Running back Stepfan Taylor leads the Cardinal on the ground with 64 rushes on 12 carries while Owusu leads the Stanford receivers with six receptions, 92 yards and one touchdown.
Duke will get the ball when the second half kicks off.