Giving helmet stickers after a loss may be a little challenging at times. But Duke’s performance Saturday in Lawrence, while riddled with frustrating mistakes, was not an embarrassing loss like Duke fans had become accustomed to over the past two seasons. There are many reasons for some real optimism in this program, and we have our heads held high finishing the non-conference schedule 3-1. Without further ado, here are this week’s helmet stickers.
BRIAN’S PICK: THE DUKE FOOTBALL PROGRAM
My helmet sticker this week goes to the Duke Football team as a whole. Even while being down 15 points with 9 minutes left to play (against a very good Kansas team), they kept fighting, and almost pulled off a comeback that no one would have thought possible(myself included). Let’s be honest, this is not the same Kansas program we used to poke fun at from 2010-2021. Don’t be surprised if Kansas is ranked heading into next week’s slate of games.
Am I bummed Duke lost? 100%. But exiting non-conference play 3-1 is something all Duke fans can be proud of. I am excited to see what this team can do in the coming weeks as we head into some very winnable ACC games.
JAMIE’S PICK: RILEY LEONARD
For the second week in a row, my helmet sticker goes to QB1 Riley Leonard. Leonard continues to show tremendous poise under pressure in the pocket, and the ability to make plays when things look to be breaking down. He was out there just throwing absolute DIMES. He finished 24-35 for 324 yards and 1 touchdown. That comes out to 9.3 yards per completion – another very impressive performance through the air. He also carried the ball 10 times for 54 yards.
One play that sticks out to me was the 49 yard strike to Eli Pancol that lead to our first touchdown. The other one that really stuck out was the 27 yard touchdown strike to Jalon Calhoun in the corner of the end zone to get Duke within one score late in the game. Duke hasn’t had a QB that is able to make throws like that since Daniel Jones left to enter the NFL Draft. I will try to choose someone different for my helmet sticker next week. MAYBE.
JOSH’S PICK: ELI PANCOL
Heading into this season, we knew that someone in the wide receiver room had to step up and become more of a deep threat if Kevin Johns’s offense was going to be able to be effective. Eli Pancol is proving to be that guy, and he earned my helmet sticker this week. He is a true deep threat who definitely has the ability to stretch defenses. With Duke down 7-0 in the first quarter Saturday, Riley Leonard hit Pancol with a 49 yard pass. After looking closely at the catch, Kansas DB Cobee Bryant had a fist full of Pancol’s jersey throughout the catch…making it even more impressive. Pancol finished the game with 3 catches for 62 yards. On the season, he is averaging 22.4 yards per catch. Look for Pancol to increase productivity as we head into ACC play.
SCOTT’S PICK: JALON CALHOUN
My helmet sticker for this week goes to Senior WR Jalon Calhoun. Calhoun had another strong week. He caught a 27 yard TD pass with 2:17 to go in the game to pull Duke within 8 points. After our defense forced Kansas to punt, he fair caught punt inside 10. The very next play, Riley Leonard completed 40 yard pass to Calhoun to get right at midfield. He finished with 5 catches for 93 yards with 18.6 yards per catch and 1 TD. Though the team came up a little short on the road, it was great to see the team play hard and never give up to the very end.
**Photo creds: GoDuke.com
Editor’s note: Jamie, Josh, and Scott think Brian’s pick was a copout. LOL