Duke wide receiver [autotag]Jordan Moore[/autotag]’s chances to break the school’s single-season receiving yardage record took a small hit against Connecticut on Saturday.
After the senior racked up 233 yards through the first two games of the season, he seemed poised for his third straight 100-yard performance after the opening drive. He hauled in a 45-yard reception on the Duke’s first pass attempt and added an impressive catch for a four-yard touchdown to cap off the drive.
He only caught three passes for 24 yards throughout the rest of the game, however, ending with a season-low 73 yards for the night.
Moore now sits at 306 receiving yards through three games. That puts him on a 12-game pace of 1,224 yards, falling behind Jamison Crowder’s program record of 1,360 (set in 2013). Moore’s 23 receptions also put him on track for 92, well behind Crowder’s record of 108.
The former quarterback would be second in Duke history in both categories at that pace, but his first two games had him ahead of schedule for challenging Crowder’s marks. If Duke makes a bowl game and Moore elects to play, that 13th game bumps his pace to 100 receptions and 1,326 yards, still behind both records.
Moore also briefly exited the game early in the fourth quarter after a contested catch effort led to an awkward landing. He looked to be carrying his right arm gingerly as he jogged off the field, but he made his way back into the game later. Head coach Manny Diaz said nothing about his status afterward, so it appears that he won’t miss time. Should he be limited moving forward, however, his chances to break Crowder’s record get even smaller.
The Duke star will need to average 117.1 yards per game if he hopes to catch Crowder by the end of the regular season.