Tudor's take
It's a big deal for the Blue Devils, but not so much for the Crimson Tide players, whose next four foes are Arkansas, Florida, South Carolina and Mississippi. The only suspense going in will be how Mark Ingram looks coming off a knee injury. Duke, meanwhile, really, really needs to get out of it with quarterback Sean Renfree in one piece. Red Hats, 42-10.
Observations
Battling No. 1
Duke is 0-10 all-time vs. top-ranked teams, and No. 1 teams have traveled to Durham to face the Blue Devils just twice: 1937, when Pittsburgh won 10-0 and 1993, when Florida State prevailed 45-7.
Local ties
Alabama sophomore place-kicker Jeremy Shelley, who has converted a 31-yard field goal and enters Saturday a perfect 7-for-7 on extra-point conversions, is a graduate of Raleigh's Broughton High. Duke center Bryan Morgan is the only Alabama native on the Blue Devils' roster.
Player to watch
Conner Vernon
Duke, So., WR, 6-2, 195
Thanks to a 181-yard effort at Wake Forest last week, Vernon leads the NCAA with 310 receiving yards - 23 more than Washington's Jermaine Kearse. In order for the Blue Devils to put some points on the board against Alabama's 19th-ranked passing defense (which is allowing only 121 passing yards per game), they will likely need some more big grabs from Vernon.
By the numbers
Bama | Duke | |
36.0 | scoring | 44.5 |
3.0 | scoring def. | 40.5 |
218.5 | avg. rush yds. | 160.5 |
108.0 | opp. avg. rush yds. | 177.0 |
281.5 | avg. pass yds. | 354.0 |
121.0 | opp. avg. pass yds. | 276.0 |