FB: Duke 52, Elon 13

[Duvall]

They have us losing to Syracuse? The same Syracuse that needed two overtimes to beat Villanova, at home?

Yeah, swap that with a loss at Pitt.

[Dukehky]

I had terrible trouble getting the South Carolina-A&M game to load via ESPN3 last night (as in, it never did load and I gave up and watched the Cosby Show on Hulu instead). I really hope I don't have the same issue with the Duke game on Saturday.

That was on SEC Network which you have to pay more for.

[Olympic Fan]

Okay, just got home. My immediate impressions of the Elon win:

-- Can't be unhappy with the 52-13 win. It could have been more, but Cut kept his offense under wraps most of the game and played his second and third teams from late in the third quarter on. When you look around the ACC and see NC State fighting for its life and UNC trailing in the third quarter, the Duke game was impressive.

-- The offense was excellent. A few drops early (two by Crowder), but Boone was accurate and the Powell/Snead combo chewed up ground consistently. All the starting receivers played well -- Crowder bounced back from his two early drops to have an outstanding game (seven catches for 93 yards and two TDs before leaving midway through the third quarter). Blakeney had two spectacular plays. And Max McCaffrey was great over the middle.

-- The most disappointing thing to me on the offensive side was the play of the backup WRs. Barnes had two drops (and unlike Crowder had no great plays to make up for it, unless you count his kickoff return). Nash, Als, Ryan Smith did little ... and we didn't get to see Lee or Taylor.

-- Balancing that, the play of the second team QB and RBs was outstanding. Now you see why I was raving about Sirk two years ago -- eight rushes for 54 yards and two TDs; 5-of-7 passes for 40 more yards in less than a quarter of work. Freshman Shaun Wilson was amazing -- 6 carries for 71 yards -- all right up the middle. Joe Ajeigble didn't do that much on the ground, but looked great on a 14 yard swing pass.

-- Our OL is pretty much seven deep ... and close to being 10 deep. Stone and Robinson are as good as the starters (except Tomlinson, who is in a class by himself). But Davis, Korona and Bradner aren't far off.

-- I wish I was as excited about the defense as the offense. It was okay, but not dominating. Just two sacks, although the rush forced Quinn to throw early on a number of occasions (Four QB hurries were recorded). Cut did use a lot of DL bodies and as a group, I thought they were pretty good. I was less impressed with the linebacking.

-- The two freshman corners -- Muniz and Saxton -- both made some big-time plays. Saxton had four tackles, a pass break up and a QB hurry. Muniz had a pass breakup and three tackles -- and both played less than a half. 30 different players recorded tackles.

-- The worst aspect of the game was our kickoff coverage and returns. Elon returned seen kickoffs for 174 yards. Duke returned 3 kickoffs 98 yards, but 60 of those came on one return by Barnes late. That's not the kind of domination we saw in this area last year.

-- On the other hand the kickers were perfect -- Martin had seven extra points and a 49 yard field goal. Monday two punts averaged 51.5 yards without a return.

I understand that the competition will get a lot tougher -- Elon is the weakest team we play. But it was still a good night -- a chance to play a lot of people. I'd give the offense an A and the defense a B. And as far as I could tell NO major injuries!

Next week, at Troy ... they were tough in Durham last year, but were hammered today at UAB. I doubt they'll be as easy as Elon, but it's another game that Duke should win.

PS The crowd was announced at 31,213 -- about 9,000 more than last year's opener!

[devildeac]

The good:

We gained a lot of yards, through the air (292) and on the ground (275). We scored a lot of points with the runs, catches and TDs nicely distributed. Martin's FG might have been good from 55 yards, maybe farther.

The not-so-good:

Elon gained a lot of yards (328) and scored more points than I thought they might.

[uh_no]

PS The crowd was announced at 31,213 -- about 9,000 more than last year's opener!

as is often the case, the actual tally was far fewer...the new blue seats were not more than half full (at best). I'm going to guess much of that is season ticket holders who didn't come out for elon, especially when those seats were likely baking in the sun all day. further, i'm sure some of the tickets handed out to employees weren't used

i would say maybe 28k were there? the student section and most of the west side of WW was packed solid

[Dukeface88]

They have us losing to Syracuse? The same Syracuse that needed two overtimes to beat Villanova, at home?

I'm not sure which is more telling: that someone thinks a projection for Duke football to go 10-2 is not optimistic enough, or that it's actually a reasonable point.

Truly, this is a new and strange world.

[uh_no]

I'm not sure which is more telling: that someone thinks a projection for Duke football to go 10-2 is not optimistic enough, or that it's actually a reasonable point.

Truly, this is a new and strange world.

eh. still lots of work to do. yeah we looked great against an overmatched opponent, but

we also gave up a lot on D, getting consistently beat on the outside run in the first half
as one pointed out, the kick coverage left something to be desired, and
we were 3-12 on third down...that's particularly poor given how we ate teams alive on third downs last year...3-12 against elon just isn't that good...given it was tempered by the 5-6 on fourth down


it's elon. we'll know more as the season rolls on...first game jitters? "fundamental issues"? we shall see...but things to keep an eye on nonetheless

and yes, i can always suck the joy out of a big win...but you don't get better by patting yourself on the back

[Native]

the student section and most of the west side of WW was packed solid

We'll do our part! Once the freshmen learn to listen we'll have a packed student section all game long. Look for the games against UNC/UVA/VT/KS to be packed. The new DevilsGate thing is not too bad, either. Should bring a healthy number of students to games.

[devildeac]

From the Raleigh N&O this AM:


http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/08/...ml?sp=/99/103/

[Bob Green]

Shaun Wilson was impressive running the football - 11.8 yards per carry! Thomas Sirk is big and strong and should prove to be a great short yardage asset. His first carry for a 1st Down on 4th and 1 illustrated he can step in a produce as the short yardage situation QB.

On the kick coverage woes, significant credit must be given to Elon's Kierre Brown who is a talented return specialist and receiver. Yeah, it is a concern which the staff will need to address but I'll wait and see how the coverage is against Troy before being too worried.

The offensive balance, just under 300 yards passing and rushing is great to see. Being balanced pressures the opponents defense. We have so many options at RB and WR it will be interesting to watch the rotation develop over the next three games.

David Reeves was solid at TE.

The crowd was very good. As far as the empty seats go, there were thousands of people milling around the concourse during the game. I ran up to the concession stand during the 2nd Quarter to get a Lemonade and was amazed at the crowd on the concourse.

Overall, an extremely positive start to the 2014 season!

[Reilly]

... The worst aspect of the game was our kickoff coverage ... crowd was announced at 31,213 -- about 9,000 more than last year's opener!

Book shows Martin kicked off 6 times, and Willoughby 3 times. I think it said 1 touchback for each. Wonder if that's a strategic call: try to not have a touchback; rather try to pin them.

I believe last year, Duke did *not* do the employee give-away for game 1 (it was the Troy game, maybe).

[Reilly]

... The new DevilsGate thing is not too bad, either. ...

What is that?

[uh_no]

What is that?

I think it was the area they had set up outside the student entrance...looks like they had sodas and some other stuff

[wilson]

That was on SEC Network which you have to pay more for.

I get SEC Network (or rather, my password does...); it just wasn't working. I watched SEC Net no problem yesterday.

[Henderson]

My $.02 on the game:

1. The offense looks potent. The defense looks vulnerable, especially at the LB position. But more than half the Elon points came late when Duke had pulled most of its first team defense. Still, Duke and its opponents will score a lot of points. Bet the over.

2. Duke has a really good receiving core. 11 players caught passes in this game. Everyone knows Crowder (and darn, he's good), but I think we're also going to like Max McCaffrey and Isaac Blakeney. McCaffrey even looks like his dad in his moves.

3. On the other hand, David Reeves had a couple drops (hands) to go with his 3 catches. I'd like to see him show better hands to go with his substantial size and blocking ability. If he gets that squared off, the offensive potential goes up.

3. I like our running backs, and that's also a compliment to the offensive line and play-calling. But both Powell and Snead looked strong, and Shaun Wilson looks like a quality Freshman.

4. Nice to see Aaron Boone looking confident as "the man" running the offense. I loved Connette's game, but his departure may end up benefiting the team by empowering Boone.

5. Thomas Sirk isn't just a short-yardage run threat, though he certainly is that (a very nice thing). The guy has a gun for an arm. He had a long pass to the end zone that, unfortunately, didn't result in a catch. He had another into the end zone from close, and his throw was a rocket. When watching him, I had that sensation I had when Danny Ferry and Christian Laettner were freshmen: "This guy is going to be really good."

6. Duke beat the point spread, and that's a nice metric regarding overachievement.

[devildeac]

What is that?

I think it was the area they had set up outside the student entrance...looks like they had sodas and some other stuff

The scoreboard boasted of free food for the students starting 2.5 hours before KO. Very good student crowd last PM.

[jimsumner]

My $.02 on the game:


4. Nice to see Aaron Boone looking confident as "the man" running the offense. I loved Connette's game, but his departure may end up benefiting the team by empowering Boone.

It's not Aaron Boone. It's his brother Brett.

[Tom B.]

I'm not sure which is more telling: that someone thinks a projection for Duke football to go 10-2 is not optimistic enough, or that it's actually a reasonable point.

Truly, this is a new and strange world.

I wasn't quibbling with the predicted record, per se -- if anything, I think 10-2 might be a bit more optimistic than I am. I just thought it was a little odd that they think one of our two predicted losses will be Syracuse -- which has been kind of a middling program the last few years and, if the Villanova game was any indication, may struggle this year -- rather than Georgia Tech, Pitt, Virginia Tech, or even Carolina, all of whom I'd regard as more challenging opponents. Time will tell, I guess.

[Olympic Fan]

I wasn't quibbling with the predicted record, per se -- if anything, I think 10-2 might be a bit more optimistic than I am. I just thought it was a little odd that they think one of our two predicted losses will be Syracuse -- which has been kind of a middling program the last few years and, if the Villanova game was any indication, may struggle this year -- rather than Georgia Tech, Pitt, Virginia Tech, or even Carolina, all of whom I'd regard as more challenging opponents. Time will tell, I guess.

Obviously after watching Syracuse struggle with Villanova Friday night, I agree that my confidence soared for that matchup.

But I don't think it was an unreasonable preseason pick to take Syracuse over Duke. They fielded an extremely young team in 2013, including a first-year QB (Terrell Hunt) who got better and better over the course of the season. They have more starters returning than any team in the ACC. A year ago, they finished strong, including a 21-17 victory over Minnesota in the Texas Bowl.

Plus, they have been super-tough at home over the last few years. Last year, they were the same 5-2 at home as Duke -- the losses coming to Clemson and by one-point to Pitt.

I'm just saying that looking at that, picking Syracuse over Duke -- before the Villanova game -- was not unreasonable.

Right now, I like our chances. As I said in another thread, I thought their offensive line -- which was supposed to be a strong point -- as extremely unimpressive against 'Nova. Pus, their offense sputtered when Hunt was ejected for throwing a punch.

Still, a long way until we play them (Nov. 8) and who knows here the two teams will be then.

[budwom]

Just to be clear, it's Brandner (substitute RFr OL) not Bradner, worth noting as there is also a (walkon?) OL Brodner, who doesn't play.

Sirk and Wilson were very impressive...Sirk does has some serious speed, and I was surprised and impressed about how quickly and crisply he threw the ball.
I expected more tentativeness in his throwing...but there was none.

A couple of Martin's kickoffs were line drives which were suboptimal, no hang time, definitely contributed to longer returns than we would like.

Only disappointments were the non emergence of secondary receivers, and the way we gave up too many rushing yards. But all in all, a very nice night.