Former Texas quarterback Maalik Murphy led the Duke Blue Devils to a convincing 23-point win over FCS Elon in Week 1 in his first game in Durham last Friday night. Despite some ups and downs early in the game, including an interception in the first quarter with the score still close after about 12 minutes, Murphy put up good numbers in his first career win as Duke’s starting quarterback.

Murphy finished his first game in a Duke uniform with nearly 300 passing yards, 26 completed passes on 40 pass attempts, two passing touchdowns and an interception in the 26-3 victory on August 30.

After winning the preseason game in Week 1 against a local FCS opponent from the same state, Murphy and the Blue Devils face their first away test in Week 2 against a P4 opponent, namely the Northwestern Wildcats from the Big Ten.

Murphy’s first career start on the road against a P4 opponent will be in the spotlight of a nationally televised game in primetime on September 6 at 8 p.m. CT.

Last season at Texas, Murphy went 2-0 as the Longhorns’ starting quarterback in Big 12 play after starting quarterback Quinn Ewers suffered an upper-body injury that sidelined him for several weeks. Murphy started two home games in late October and early November, including a decisive overtime win over a higher-ranked opponent, the Kansas State Wildcats, that ultimately helped Texas reach the Big 12 Championship Game.

Murphy was Texas’ backup quarterback behind Ewers for most of last season. After fall camp, he beat out then-freshman Arch Manning to win the backup quarterback job.

Murphy spent the first two seasons of his college career at Texas before entering the transfer portal last offseason. He joined the Blue Devils when he saw an opportunity to secure a starting spot at a P4 school under new head coach Manny Diaz at Duke for the 2024 season.

If Murphy and the Blue Devils emerge victorious against Northwestern in this ACC-Big Ten showdown on Friday night, he will have a 4-0 record as a starting quarterback in his college career.