Northwestern faces its first test of the 2017 season on Saturday.

The Wildcats played a poor first half and a strong second in last week’s season-opening win over Nevada, but now they step up in class to face an ACC opponent on the road. Northwestern beat Duke 24-13 last season and 19-10 the last time the two teams met in Durham, N.C., in 2015, but neither win was as easy as the score indicated.

The Wildcats will have to correct the mistakes they made against the Wolf Pack and put together 60 minutes of sound football to notch the victory.

Here are some things to look for during the game:

Will the Cats start fast?

Yes, Nevada had a new coaching staff and did some things that Northwestern wasn’t expecting last week. But the Wildcats also came out flat, a disappointing development for a team that emphasized strong starts all offseason and was hell bent on avoiding another early season swoon. The Wildcats can’t come afford to sleepwalk through the opening half and dig themselves a hole against Duke because the Blue Devils are fully capable of burying them in it.

Will Northwestern be able to put pressure on Daniel Jones?

One of the biggest disappointments for the Wildcats last Saturday was failing to sack Nevada quarterback Ty Gangi once in 37 pass attempts. They did come close, however, with seven quarterback hurries, including four from defensive end Joe Gaziano. Northwestern will have to at least make the pocket uncomfortable for Jones, who likes to throw the ball vertically and is athletic enough to extend plays when pressure comes. While the Devils don’t have any true field-stretching burners at wide receiver, Jones is the type of QB who can hit the long ball. One or two of those could cost you the Wildcats the ball game.

Can Thorson make big plays in the passing game again?

Expect Duke to bring their safeties close to the line of scrimmage against Northwestern, just as Nevada did. So the Wildcats will once again have to throw the ball to loosen up the defense. Last week, the much NU maligned offensive line gave Thorson a clean pocket and time to throw, and Thorson exploited that luxury by connecting on a 33-yard TD to Macan Wilson and 41- and 48-yard strikes to Wilson and Bennett Skowronek, respectively. Those types of explosion plays were sorely missing from the Wildcats’ offense the last couple seasons and would be welcome against Duke. As for Jackson, defenders will swarm to him like tornadoes to a trailer park, but he’ll still manage to grind out 100 yards.

Will Northwestern’s injury-depleted cornerbacks hold up?

To recap, starting cornerback Keith Watkins II was lost for the season before it even started. The Game 1 starter, Marcus McShepard, went down during the Nevada game and is questionable for Saturday. His backup, Brian Bullock, is out for the Duke game after getting hurt against the Wolf Pack. So Jones and the Devils are going to go after whoever is lined up opposite Montre Hartage early and often. Duke will try to go over the top after watching Nevada hit a couple pass plays of more than 30 yards in the first half last week. Northwestern’s corners have to be sound, keep the action in front of them and do a good job transitioning receivers going deep to the safeties – thankfully, the strength of this defense.

Can Northwestern clean up its game?

Northwestern played sloppy football at times against Nevada last week. The Wildcats committed 90 yards worth of penalties, missed assignments, surrendered big plays, missed a chip-shot field goal and lost the turnover battle 2-1, including an interception in their own red zone. They will have to be a lot sharper and sounder fundamentally on Saturday against a Power Five opponent who can take advantage of miscues. Looking at the game from a talent and experience standpoint, Northwestern has the edge. It will be up to them to execute well and play four efficient quarters of football to get the victory.

Northwestern’s non-conference schedule is ideal this season: start with a Group of Five school to get your feet under you, play a legitimate but beatable Power Five program on the road to challenge you, and then come back home to play a poor MAC squad at home to build confidence. Simply put, if the Wildcats want to be a legitimate contender in the Big Ten West, this is the type of game where they have to take care of business and get the win. Expect another tight game that is uncomfortably close at times. But the veteran Wildcats, who showed they have the mettle to overcome adversity last week, should make enough plays to scratch out a win.

Pick: Northwestern 28 Duke 23

Season: 1-0