Dan Mahan throws three touchdowns as Duke rolls past William & Mary 62-7

Dan Mahan threw three touchdown passes in relief of Walker Eget, and Duke beat William & Mary 62-7 on Saturday in Durham. The Blue Devils scored 24 points in the second quarter to turn a 14-7 game into a 38-7 halftime lead. By the end, Duke had 638 yards of offense, nearly four times the Tribe's 170, in its fourth win of the season.

The first quarter offered a brief exchange before Duke pulled away. Eget found Jayden Moore for a 24-yard touchdown, and Nate Sheppard broke a 19-yard scoring run for a 14-0 lead. William & Mary answered when Winston Watkins hit Jack Reuter from six yards out. That was the Tribe's only scoring play. Duke's next eight scoring possessions produced six touchdowns and two field goals across the remaining quarters, according to ESPN's play-by-play.

Mahan took over for Eget during the second quarter and immediately widened the margin. His first scoring throw covered 29 yards to Kavon Simmons with 10:42 before halftime. Less than three minutes later, he found Jaivon Solomon for another 29-yard touchdown. Those were Mahan's first two career touchdown throws, the Associated Press reported. Eget returned to connect with Jared Richardson from 28 yards with 26 seconds left in the half. Duke had scored 21 straight points after Cosme Salas's 32-yard field goal opened the second quarter.

The passing production came from several quarterbacks. The box score has Eget completing 16 of 22 passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns. Mahan went 6 of 7 for 126 yards and three scores. Terry Walker III added 44 yards through the air, and Duke finished with 352 passing yards as a team. Sheppard ran nine times for 116 yards, averaging nearly 13 yards per carry. His 19-yard touchdown was the first of three Duke rushing scores.

Duke kept scoring after the break. Salas made a 39-yard field goal, Mahan found Brody Keefe for a 27-yard touchdown, and fourth-quarter runs by Jayvian Tanelus and CJ Givers completed the total. The Blue Devils gained 286 yards on the ground and 28 first downs. They converted eight of 13 third downs and did not turn the ball over.

William & Mary's offense never found a similar rhythm. Watkins completed 10 of 17 passes for 137 yards, but the Tribe managed only 17 net rushing yards and seven first downs. Duke held it to three conversions in 13 third-down attempts. The Duke game center confirms the 62-7 final at Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium. The gap on the ground and Mahan's rapid second-quarter touchdown burst turned a close early score into a rout.