DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Jaquez Moore, Jeremiah Hasley and Eli Pancol scored short touchdowns while Duke’s defense racked up eight sacks as the Blue Devils beat Elon 26-3 on Friday night in their first game under Manny Diaz.

It wasn’t a big offensive day for Duke (1-0), which often had to grind its way through drives while quarterback Maalik Murphy — a touted transfer from Texas — struggled to connect deep on multiple tries and threw a fourth-quarter pick as he tried to push one ball downfield.

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – AUGUST 30: Maalik Murphy #6 of the Duke Blue Devils looks to pass Elon Phoenix during the second half of the game at Wallace Wade Stadium on August 30, 2024 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

Still, the Blue Devils’ defense didn’t need much help, repeatedly swarming the line of scrimmage and getting to seventh-year quarterback Matthew Downing. The Blue Devils had three sacks in the first two possessions, tallied five by halftime and never let Downing — who had stops at Georgia, TCU and Louisiana Tech — get comfortable.

Elon (0-1), a Championship Subdivision program chasing its first win against a Bowl Subdivision foe, finished with just 140 total yards. Jack Berkowitz kicked a 39-yard field goal with 14 seconds left to avoid the shutout.

Moore scored Duke’s first touchdown from 7 yards out around the left side with less than a minute before halftime, while Hasley had a 1-yard snag in the right flat from Murphy midway through the third quarter for a 19-0 lead.

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – AUGUST 30: Dylan Tucker #24 of the Elon Phoenix defends a pass to Jordan Moore #8 of the Duke Blue Devils during the second half of the game at Wallace Wade Stadium on August 30, 2024 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

Murphy added a clinching score, zipping a 7-yard throw to Pancol near the left pylon to make it 26-0 with 4:06 left. He finished with 291 yards on 26-for-40 passing.

The takeaway

Elon: The Phoenix, picked to finish sixth in the 16-team Coastal Athletic Association, struggled to find much space against Duke’s aggressive front. Elon had one gain of at least 20 yards and also saw Berkowitz’s 49-yard field goal plunk the crossbar and bounce all the way back across the goal line for a shoulder-sagging moment shortly Moore’s ground score.

Duke: It was a successful debut for Diaz, who spent the past two seasons as Penn State’s defensive coordinator and took over when Mike Elko left for Texas A&M. Diaz had previously served as Miami’s head coach from 2019-21, going 21-15 with 16 Atlantic Coast Conference wins.