Two touchdowns on first two throws, three altogether!
By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Williams alum Dan Mahan threw his first three collegiate touchdown passes for Duke in Saturday’s 62-7 romp past William & Mary at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham.
“For him to get in there and throw the ball, everyone knows his legs are a weapon, but we feel like he has a great arm as well,” Duke coach Manny Diaz said. “Two touchdowns on your first two throws …”
Mahan’s first pass of the day went for a 29-yard touchdown with 10:42 left in the second quarter, helping push the Blue Devils to a 24-7 lead.
Mahan, a redshirt freshman quarterback, delivered a strike to classmate Kavon Simmons inside the 5-yard line. Simmons bounced off a defender and ended up in the end zone, while Mahan was mobbed by some of his offensive linemen in celebration.
On that play, William & Mary had a defensive coverage that it rarely used. Diaz said that meant Mahan had to be alert to the situation.
“The decision making, I thought was the key part. The play was a run-pass option,” Diaz said. “To not pre-determine where he was going to go with the ball, I thought was great. He trusted his reads and progression.”
On the next possession, it was another 29-yard touchdown throw, this one to Jaivon Solomon down the left sideline.
So Mahan’s first two collegiate completions resulted in touchdowns.
Starting quarterback Walker Eget returned before halftime and tossed his second touchdown pass of the day as Duke led 38-7 at the break.
Mahan lofted a 27-yard TD throw to Brody Keefe in the third quarter.
Mahan finished 6-for-7 for 126 yards. He also rushed for 13 yards on two carries.
Jared Richardson, a transfer from Penn, caught one of Eget’s touchdown passes, but he said he was impressed by Mahan’s throw down the middle of the field for his first touchdown delivery.
“It was beautiful,” Richardson said.
The efforts of Mahan and Eget marked the first time two Duke quarterbacks threw multiple touchdowns in the same game since 1990.
Duke (4-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) is off until an October 10 game at Georgia Tech.
