Duke vs. No. 25 Stanford Capsule

Stanford seeks to avoid another slip after squeaking out a 20-17 win over San Jose State in the opener and tune up for a showdown against No. 2 Southern California next week. Duke is going for its first road victory over a ranked team since 1971, when the Blue Devils beat Stanford 9-3.

KEY MATCHUP

Duke's run defense against Stanford's running game. It's no secret that San Jose State stayed close with Stanford because it slowed the Cardinal running game and forced new quarterback Josh Nunes to throw. The Cardinal were 2 for 13 on third downs. If the Blue Devils could force Nunes into third-and-long situations, there's no telling what could happen without Andrew Luck around anymore.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Stanford: LB Shayne Skov. The senior linebacker, who led the Cardinal with 84 tackles to go with 7 1/2 sacks two years ago, makes his return after a left knee injury in the third game at Arizona sidelined him for all of last season. He also served a one-game suspension against San Jose State for a DUI arrest.