Duke football got the 'meat and potatoes' right. Now comes the passing game

DURHAM, N.C. — Duke football had its meat and potatoes against Tulane. That's how coach Manny Diaz framed it after Duke's 17-3 season-opening win over the Green Wave on Saturday, Sept. 5. Duke opened with a 17-play, 75-yard drive and never let up on the ground, with Nate Sheppard rushing for a career-high 227 yards and two scores on 35 carries. The defense did its part too, keeping Tulane out of the end zone all night. "We got the main things right," Diaz said on Monday, Sept. 7. "We got the meat and potatoes of the game correct, and that was our platform for victory." The biggest box left unchecked? The passing game, which Diaz called the 'most obvious one.' But he doesn't seem too concerned. Diaz pointed to the roster turnover. Duke has a new quarterback in San Jose State transfer Walker Eget, who didn't participate fully until fall camp after recovering from ACL surgery. The Blue Devils also have an array of new receivers out wide, including transfers Jared Richardson, Javen Nicholas and Jonah Burton. "These are guys who have been playing together now for three-and-a-half, four weeks, basically," Diaz said. " ... It would only stand to reason that they'll improve as the year goes on." When asked what needs to improve – timing or chemistry – Diaz said it's a combination of both, but one that's going to need to get ironed out quickly. "You can't be one-dimensional and expect to win games," Diaz said. "But we've seen it. We've seen it in practice. There's a difference between taking it from practice to a scrimmage or from a scrimmage to a game." There were signs in the Tulane game that the passing game could be closer than the numbers suggest. Offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer said Duke had "probably three open touchdowns" on the plus-40 side that the Blue Devils were "just a hair off" from connecting on. "It goes back to (Eget's) only been going since the first week of fall camp," Brewer said. "He wasn't with us all spring as far as throwing the ball. I expect better performance in game two for him. ... But for him to get used to our offense, the first time playing in this offense, he performed really well." Duke's win over the Green Wave did allow opportunities for redshirt sophomore Dan Mahan to get his first collegiate snaps, primarily used in running packages. One of those plays ended with him basically doing a flip. "He's a young kid, so he's still trying to learn," Brewer said. "To go out there and play his first game, get hit right off the bat, make a great play. ... He's got a brighter future, I'll just say that." Duke was able to lean on the run against Tulane. When it heads to Illinois in Week 2, that might not be the case. Diaz, though, remains confident. "I suspect that we'll make a big jump," Diaz said. "I'm confident in the guys that we have, and conceptually, we know what we're doing." Anna Snyder covers Duke for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at asnyder@usatodayco.com or follow her @annaesnydr on X, formerly known as Twitter.