Kansas-Duke college football preview

▪ When/where: 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C.

▪ TV/radio: Fox Sports KC plus (AT&T U-verse: 693 and 1693; DirecTV: 671-1; Dish: 441, 9579 and 412-29; Time Warner: 5 and 324; Comcast: 261 or 863; Consolidated: 54 and 696); KCSP (610 AM)

▪ The series: Kansas leads 1-0

▪ The line: Duke by 15 1/2

KANSAS (1-0)

DUKE (2-0)

What’s at stake

The last time Kansas won a road game, Charlie Weis was still the head coach at Notre Dame. The date was Sept. 12, 2009. The opponent was Texas-El Paso. Yes, it’s been a while. Two years ago, during Weis’ first season at Kansas, he often referenced a road victory as a necessity. The streak was at three-plus years then, and even that seemed long. Now the Jayhawks have another opportunity to snap a 27-game losing streak away from Lawrence (24 in true road games). More than that, Kansas has a chance to make a statement against a rising Duke program that was in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game last season. After an uneven performance in the season-opening victory over Southeast Missouri, the Jayhawks also need a respectable performance to diffuse any “same old, same old” talk around Lawrence.

Cheers if …

Senior receiver Nick Harwell continues to play like a No. 1 receiver. A transfer from Miami (Ohio) in his first season at Kansas, Harwell had two touchdown receptions in the opener — two more than any KU receiver had during the entire 2012 season.

Jeers if …

Montell Cozart completes fewer than 50 percent of his passes. Cozart was 12 for 24 passing last week in a decent season debut. He racked up three touchdown passes but also missed on a handful of deep balls. To have a chance at an upset, Cozart needs to have the most efficient game of his young career.

Three things about Duke

1 Duke starting quarterback Anthony Boone improved to 12-0 as a starter in regular-season games after helping the Blue Devils to a 34-17 victory at Troy last week. Boone has completed 66 percent of his passes while throwing for 515 yards during a 2-0 start.

2 The Blue Devils have won five straight home games and eight consecutive home games against nonconference opponents.

3 A couple of connections to Charlie Weis: Duke athletic director Kevin White previously worked at Notre Dame and hired Weis in December 2004; Duke receiver Max McCaffrey is the son of former Broncos receiver Ed McCaffrey, who played for Weis with the New York Giants.

Key matchup

Duke receiver Jamison Crowder vs. the KU secondary. Crowder, a shifty 5-foot-9 senior, has hauled in 212 career passes, which ranks sixth in the ACC. In addition, Crowder has gone 30 straight games with at least two catches. KU cornerbacks JaCorey Shepherd and Dexter McDonald will have their hands full.

KANSAS OFFENSE

KANSAS DEFENSE

DUKE OFFENSE

DUKE DEFENSE

Rustin Dodd’s pick: Duke 31-21

Sometimes games are about timing. KU is more capable than it showed against Southeast Missouri. Charlie Weis believes the Jayhawks have the talent to match up with Duke on paper. But with KU still learning the contours of its new offense — and the location on the road — the Devils should have enough to emerge on top.

Rustin Dodd, rdodd@kcstar.com

This story was originally published September 11, 2014 at 12:46 PM with the headline "Kansas-Duke college football preview."