Duke has already played a defending national champion but will take a step up in quality of opponent today when it plays at unbeaten and No. 22-ranked Kansas at noon EDT.
Coach David Cutcliffe said that his Blue Devils will have to play a sharp, all-around game to overcome quarterback Todd Reesing -- a Duke recruiting target four years ago -- the Jayhawks and the demands of the early kickoff (11 a.m. Central).
"They're a team that's driven by a quarterback that's just an unbelievable playmaker," Cutcliffe said. "He may be the most accurate passer on a scramble that I've ever seen. They've done a tremendous job. They've changed the expectations of Kansas football."
Cutcliffe will stick with Thaddeus Lewis as his starting quarterback, although Lewis struggled and backup Sean Renfree led a win at Army last week. Lewis missed summer practice time with injuries, and Cutcliffe thinks that the lack of preparation is showing. Cutcliffe said he hasn't lost faith in Lewis, but he hopes that Lewis quickly finds the rhythm that has made him one of the top passers in school history.
Lewis completed 5 of 16 passes for 60 yards and a touchdown against Army but said he's still confident in his ability to lead Duke (1-1).
"I feel I left a lot on the field (last week)," Lewis said. "I didn't play to the best of my ability. I told myself that I screwed up and to not let it happen again."
Reesing, who was interested in Duke while he was in high school, has led Kansas (2-0) to wins over Northern Colorado and UTEP, completing 38 of 61 passes for 468 yards and three touchdowns, with just one interception. Kansas has averaged 561.5 yards of offense and 25.5 first downs a game.
"They were my only other school that I was looking at that I had an offer from before I came here," Reesing said. "I had a chance to go up there and went to their camp. It is a school that obviously academically was very interesting for me.
"After I came here, I kind of knew that here is where I wanted to go. (Duke) was definitely a school I looked at. It is a school that has a very good reputation academically, and they were looking to build their program at the time, and it was something I saw as an opportunity."
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