The No. 18 nationally ranked Duke Blue Devils turned in a strong defensive performance Saturday afternoon as they remained unbeaten on the season thanks to a 41-7 win over the UConn Huskies in front of 29,033 at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field.

The Huskies (0-4) were shut out for three quarter on Saturday afternoon and finished with 203 yards of total offense including just 89 yards rushing.  The Duke (4-0) defense added a score in the win as defensive lineman DeWayne Carter returned a fumble 26 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter.

Duke's Jordan Waters ran the ball just seven times for 18 yards but had a pair of touchdowns in the win, including a first quarter one-yard plunge for a 7-0 lead.  The Blue Devils shut the Huskies down offensively in the first half, holding UConn to just 32 total yards and four first downs into the half.  Duke put up 20 points in the second quarter with sophomore placekicker Todd Pelino opening the second with a 50-yard field goal and closing it with a 40-yarder to make it 27-0 at the break.

Carter made it 34-0 at 7:13 in the third, scooping up a Jalen Mitchell (Rockledge, Fla.) fumble and rumbling in from 26-yards out.  Junior quarterback Riley Leonard finished out the Duke scoring with 3:01 left in the third as he hooked up with Jordan Moore for a 22-yard score to make it 41-0.

Riley finished 23-of-34 for 248 yards and a touchdown and finished as Duke's leading rusher with four carries for 30 yards and a touchdown in the win.  Riley found Moore for eight catches and 86 yards and hit Jalon Calhoun six time for 76 yards.

UConn ended the shutout bid late in the fourth quarter as r-junior quarterback Ta'Quan Roberson (Orange, N.J.) capped off a 10-play, 83-yard drive with a two-yard score, producing the 41-7 final.  Roberson was 13-of-28 for 114 yards and was sacked twice. 

Sophomore Victor Rosa (Bristol, Conn.) carried the ball 14 times for 68 yards in the loss.  Classmate Cam Edwards (Norwalk, Conn.) had a career-high 12 carries for 43 yards.

Defensively, the Huskies lost leading tackler senior Jackson Mitchell (Ridgefield, Conn.) early in the first quarter when he was called for targeting on Duke's second drive of the game.

UConn falls to 3-11 against nationally ranked opponents at Rentschler Field all-time.  The Huskies are also 0-2 against teams from the ACC this season with a match-up at Boston College scheduled for October.

Up Next: UConn will close out a three-game homestand at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field next Saturday when the Huskies welcome Utah State to town.  Game time is scheduled for 12 noon and the game will be available on CBS Sports Network.