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Acymetric
09-06-2010, 01:30 PM
Well its officially game week and our guys are getting ready to take on Wake Forest a 12:00 p.m. this Saturday (televised on Raycom), so I figured it was about time for us to start prepping too. I think this game is going to tell us a whole lot about the rest of the season.

Oh, and if you can make it, go to the game! I went two years ago and it was a blast (despite the final score), the Duke section was really rocking that game! I can't make it this year unfortunately, but hopefully we have another good turnout there.

Wake has won 10 in a row...lets end another losing streak on Saturday! GO DUKE!

Bob Green
09-06-2010, 01:38 PM
I think this game is going to tell us a whole lot about the rest of the season.

This is a very important game for both teams. The winner will be in great shape going forward toward bowl eligibility, while the loser will find themselves swimming upstream. Duke must stop Wake Forest's running game as I believe the Demon Deacons will run the ball and then run it some more until we prove we can stop them. I sure the coaching staff is hard at work formulating our defensive strategy. On offense, Sean Renfree proved against Elon he has full control of the team's formidable offensive weapons so I'm confident we can score points when we have the ball. Time of possession and turnovers (as always) will be key statistics in what I expect to be a high scoring game. We will need to run the ball to win.

Just for fun: Duke 38 - Wake Forest 35.

MarkD83
09-06-2010, 02:55 PM
We will need to run the ball to win.



My son and I went to the Elon game and will also go to the Wake game. My observation was like those on the Elon game thread, the offensive line was great at protecting Renfree for the passing game, but had difficulty opening holes up the middle.

Would a short passing game with screens and dump-offs to running backs be just as affective as establishing a running game up the middle?

Dev11
09-06-2010, 03:17 PM
Would a short passing game with screens and dump-offs to running backs be just as affective as establishing a running game up the middle?

Perhaps against opponents with mediocre defenses, but if we start ticking off the number of teams we need to beat to get to a bowl game, the running game will need to improve. Optimism abounds after seeing the performances put in by Snead and Scott on Saturday, and if Cut ever decides to really give Connette the ball in meaningful situations, our offense will be as explosive as any in the ACC.

Acymetric
09-06-2010, 03:21 PM
Perhaps against opponents with mediocre defenses, but if we start ticking off the number of teams we need to beat to get to a bowl game, the running game will need to improve. Optimism abounds after seeing the performances put in by Snead and Scott on Saturday, and if Cut ever decides to really give Connette the ball in meaningful situations, our offense will be as explosive as any in the ACC.

Agreed...I wonder if we'll ever line him up at a position other than QB in certain situations to make more use of him while he plays behind Renfree?

jimsumner
09-06-2010, 04:27 PM
and if Cut ever decides to really give Connette the ball in meaningful situations, our offense will be as explosive as any in the ACC.

I'm a bit perplexed by this observation. Do you feel that Connette should be playing more instead of Renfree or do you feel that Connette should be playing at a different position?

I think it's a little early to see Connette as the key to making Duke's offense even more explosive.

loran16
09-06-2010, 06:25 PM
Not related to this game, but watching MD-NAVY, I just realized:

Duke plays FOUR teams this year that basically rush 90% of the time. That's a full 1/3 of the schedule! Has that ever happened before?

(And with a team that's weak in the secondary, this seems like a good development)

OZZIE4DUKE
09-06-2010, 07:34 PM
and if Cut ever decides to really give Connette the ball in meaningful situations, our offense will be as explosive as any in the ACC.


I'm a bit perplexed by this observation. Do you feel that Connette should be playing more instead of Renfree or do you feel that Connette should be playing at a different position?

I think it's a little early to see Connette as the key to making Duke's offense even more explosive.
Sounds like Dev11 is emulating another friend of ours here and substituting Connette for Zac Asack and Renfree for Thad Lewis. In Cutcliffe I trust. :cool: He knows what the hell he's doing when it comes to QB's, both how to develop them and how to use them.

loran16
09-06-2010, 07:38 PM
Sounds like Dev11 is emulating another friend of ours here and substituting Connette for Zac Asack and Renfree for Thad Lewis. In Cutcliffe I trust. :cool: He knows what the hell he's doing when it comes to QB's, both how to develop them and how to use them.

See my signature. (Though Connette has to be better than Asack, I'm just saying).

Dukeface88
09-07-2010, 03:12 AM
My son and I went to the Elon game and will also go to the Wake game. My observation was like those on the Elon game thread, the offensive line was great at protecting Renfree for the passing game, but had difficulty opening holes up the middle.

Would a short passing game with screens and dump-offs to running backs be just as affective as establishing a running game up the middle?

This is basically how the West Coast offense works. The idea is that these play give you many of the same things you get from running. They're high consistency plays that (hopefully) cause the defense to tighten up and open deep plays. You still need enough of a running game to grind clock late, but the short passing game sets up draws (which were some of our more effective running plays vs. Elon). However, these types of plays don't set up play action. Our success running against Elon may have been mixed, but we did it often enough and well enough that they had to respect it on the play action, which made up many of our successful passes.

However, the system as it is traditionally practiced is very complicated. The quarterback is usually making passes before the recievers actually cut, based on reads made prior to the snap. The recievers have a lot of pass patterns to memorize, some of which are option routes where they need to make the same read as the QB, or the play won't work. On a pro team, there's usually plenty of time to learn the offense provided you can retain some key players. On a college team, you've got less experienced players and less time to teach the system.

Having said that, there is merit to using shovels and screens as "long handoffs". They provide a way to use recievers as runners, which makes sense for us (since our recievers are our best playmakers). Our WRs are our biggest playmakers, and this would give us an extra way to get them in on the action. We could get a simillar effect with the occasional jet sweep or end around. However, this doesn't really fix the issue of run blocking (screens usually still require blocking from a puller, and the end around exacerbates the problem by developing slowly).

One thing I noticed on a few plays was motioning a tight end to the H-back position. I think this was intended to improve run blocking by giving us a lead blocker (since we don't usually use a fullback), but it didn't look like it was executed effectively.

PumpkinFunk
09-07-2010, 08:13 AM
Not related to this game, but watching MD-NAVY, I just realized:

Duke plays FOUR teams this year that basically rush 90% of the time. That's a full 1/3 of the schedule! Has that ever happened before?

(And with a team that's weak in the secondary, this seems like a good development)

I don't see it as a good development. I recall the Carolina game last year where Ryan Houston absolutely killed us on the ground. Navy and Army are a different ballgame altogether from GTech, because GTech has a QB who can pass half-decently and takes care of the football a lot better, too. And VTech, who runs a lot (I presume that's the 4th?) does a lot of running through their mobile QB - that's something we've had trouble with in the past.

Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15
09-07-2010, 08:16 AM
This is a very important game for both teams. The winner will be in great shape going forward toward bowl eligibility, while the loser will find themselves swimming upstream.

This is absolutely true. Duke plays a pretty nasty schedule this year, and it is imperative that they win all the "winnable" games. Otherwise, they put themselves in a situation where in order to become bowl eligible, they have to pull something off against a highly ranked opponent.

I think, realistically, we will lose one game we "ought" to win, and I hope we are able to surprise someone in the national polls.

My prediction is that Duke/UNC will be our bowl "play-in" game. Settle in for a fantastic season!

loran16
09-07-2010, 09:38 AM
I don't see it as a good development. I recall the Carolina game last year where Ryan Houston absolutely killed us on the ground. Navy and Army are a different ballgame altogether from GTech, because GTech has a QB who can pass half-decently and takes care of the football a lot better, too. And VTech, who runs a lot (I presume that's the 4th?) does a lot of running through their mobile QB - that's something we've had trouble with in the past.

The Fourth is Maryland, who passed less than Navy yesterday.

Duvall
09-07-2010, 10:12 AM
I don't see it as a good development. I recall the Carolina game last year where Ryan Houston absolutely killed us on the ground. Navy and Army are a different ballgame altogether from GTech, because GTech has a QB who can pass half-decently and takes care of the football a lot better, too. And VTech, who runs a lot (I presume that's the 4th?) does a lot of running through their mobile QB - that's something we've had trouble with in the past.

Right. We need to be careful about projecting too much from one game - just because Duke struggled defensively against one pass-happy opponent doesn't mean that Duke's run defense isn't also problematic. Given the troubled state of Duke's defensive line, that's probably the case.

Acymetric
09-07-2010, 01:27 PM
Looks like Wake is getting 2 players back earlier than expected (http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2010/sep/07/suspensions-reduced-for-two-deacs/sports-college-football/) earlier than expected. Givens (lead the team in touchdown receptions with 8 as a sophomore) and Smith (backup DE who played every game last season) were originally suspended for 2 games for violating team rules, but had that reduced to 1 game after practice yesterday. Looks like their QB will have a little more help against us...

Bob Green
09-07-2010, 04:42 PM
Here is a nice article on Sean Renfree and Ted Stachitas:

http://fayobserver.com/articles/2010/09/07/1028637?sac=Sports

the article doesn't contain any new information, but it is always nice to see Duke receive attention in the press.

OldPhiKap
09-07-2010, 05:50 PM
Looks like Wake is getting 2 players back earlier than expected (http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2010/sep/07/suspensions-reduced-for-two-deacs/sports-college-football/) earlier than expected. Givens (lead the team in touchdown receptions with 8 as a sophomore) and Smith (backup DE who played every game last season) were originally suspended for 2 games for violating team rules, but had that reduced to 1 game after practice yesterday. Looks like their QB will have a little more help against us...

"If you're scared, say you're scared." Wake's calling in reinforcements already.




(Acy -- how was the view of the game from the folks in Elon?)

RelativeWays
09-07-2010, 05:55 PM
Duke needs to pin their ears back and rock WF like they did NC State last year. Wake is younger than normal but Grobe is too good of a coach to discount. You don't make mistakes against his teams or he makes you pay. Duke wants a bowl, they need to win Saturday. The Bama game is not as important as Wake.

Greg_Newton
09-07-2010, 07:02 PM
Right. We need to be careful about projecting too much from one game - just because Duke struggled defensively against one pass-happy opponent doesn't mean that Duke's run defense isn't also problematic. Given the troubled state of Duke's defensive line, that's probably the case.

Yep, especially since the improved secondary was supposed to be a relative strength going into the season, while the D-line was a major weakness.

I think our best hope for this game is that our blitz schemes consistently get to Wake's freshman QB, and he gets rattled and taken out of his game. The big key for this will be if our exposed secondary is aware of the action (and looking for the ball more), and not giving up huge plays on simple mistakes... they'll need to hold their own without too much help.

I think that will be a recurring theme this season... our defense will need to be blitzing and attacking to be effective, but this will put more pressure on the secondary to be solid and reliable when left in single coverage.

CameronBornAndBred
09-07-2010, 07:52 PM
Duke needs to pin their ears back and rock WF like they did NC State last year. Wake is younger than normal but Grobe is too good of a coach to discount. You don't make mistakes against his teams or he makes you pay. Duke wants a bowl, they need to win Saturday. The Bama game is not as important as Wake.
I'm positive Cutcliffe and the team both are focused on Wake only..but Alabama is a huge distraction. Cutcliffe talked to the team about it, how it will be hard to avoid the comments from friends and family, and even more than that the ticket requests. But they will all be focused. You are exactly right on Grobe. I'm thinking Elon exposed more for him and his staff than Wake's blowout win showed Cut and company. I'm expecting another classic battle between these two teams.

Dev11
09-07-2010, 10:35 PM
I think my optimism about Cut's deployment of Connette goes along with what I said in the Elon thread, namely, that having an option like Connette at quarterback will make it difficult for defenses to prepare for the different styles put out in Renfree's offense versus Connette's. Everybody watching tape of our games this year will quickly note how efficient the passing game is with Renfree at the helm, and they will go from there. However, that one Connette run at the end of the Elon game has to make Wake and other upcoming teams nervous, because at any possession we can sub in another quarterback with a different skill set, a quarterback whom Cut has said will play in the NFL one day. It appears Cut has no intention of redshirting Connette, so we should be using his full talents to help the squad.

Connette is hopefully NOT Zack Asack. Everything Cut has said about him leads the general audience to believe he is a bright kid who knows what he needs to do to succeed, not a kid who is going to cheat his way through his $200,000 education.

OldPhiKap
09-07-2010, 10:47 PM
I think my optimism about Cut's deployment of Connette goes along with what I said in the Elon thread, namely, that having an option like Connette at quarterback will make it difficult for defenses to prepare for the different styles put out in Renfree's offense versus Connette's. Everybody watching tape of our games this year will quickly note how efficient the passing game is with Renfree at the helm, and they will go from there. However, that one Connette run at the end of the Elon game has to make Wake and other upcoming teams nervous, because at any possession we can sub in another quarterback with a different skill set, a quarterback whom Cut has said will play in the NFL one day. It appears Cut has no intention of redshirting Connette, so we should be using his full talents to help the squad.

Connette is hopefully NOT Zack Asack. Everything Cut has said about him leads the general audience to believe he is a bright kid who knows what he needs to do to succeed, not a kid who is going to cheat his way through his $200,000 education.

Coach has said that he will use both QB's. Since he has coached a few more than I have, I will look forward to watching and learning. So long as their play is based on the Coach's decision, and not forced by injuries, I am content to watch them both develop over the next few years.

As much as I want to get it all back in one year, we are building a program. Construction takes time and patience. I love the fact that we are discussing whic hpromising players to put on the field, as opposed to griping about who we have to suffer through.

The road may be bumpy, but I've bought my ticket and I'm ready to ride. Come Hell or high water, I'm behind this TEAM and this coaching STAFF. As long as the AD and administration are behind them as well, the sky's the limit.

Now, let's beat Wake -- we've been so close for the last few years -- break on through to the other side!!!!

-- OPK

Dev11
09-07-2010, 11:30 PM
Now, let's beat Wake -- we've been so close for the last few years -- break on through to the other side!!!!

-- OPK

This is the key, win this week and keep the optimism up! Hopefully we go into Winston Salem with a chip on our shoulder over all the missed opportunities in recent years.

Bob Green
09-08-2010, 08:20 AM
Here is a nice article on Wake QB Ted Stachitas:

http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2010/sep/08/so-far-so-good-for-stachitas/sports/

the article also contains some verbiage from Jim Grobe on his decision not to redshirt freshman QB Tanner Price. I believe this article will add to the ongoing discussion in this thread.

Bob Green
09-08-2010, 11:51 AM
Here are the Game Notes from GoDuke:

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=204989305

Acymetric
09-08-2010, 12:42 PM
"If you're scared, say you're scared." Wake's calling in reinforcements already.




(Acy -- how was the view of the game from the folks in Elon?)

Well of course there are the "well we were pretty close, if we hadn't made mistakes..." type of comments, but for the most part everyone was impressed by three things:

1) Passing game, particularly Renfree and Vernon (both his play and his mouth ;))
2) Pass rush (we were hitting Riddle just about every play)
3) Fan attendance

It'll be interesting to see if we can keep numbers 2 and 3 going the rest of the season, I feel pretty comfortable our passing game will be strong all year.

Everyone here is pretty optimistic about the rest of Elon's season as well, with big games at Richmond and App. State highlighting the schedule...hopefully we make the playoffs again this year for the 2nd time in school history (last year being the first time, ending in a loss to Richmond in the 1st round).

Oh, and people that didn't grow up going to games at big time football programs seemed to think we had a nice stadium, so at least to the casual observer we apparently have a respectable stadium too!

CameronBornAndBred
09-08-2010, 12:48 PM
Everyone here is pretty optimistic about the rest of Elon's season as well
They should be, with that quarterback good things will happen. I think that game will prove advantageous for us as well, it was good to be exposed to a solid QB so early in the season. We know Wake will be doing a lot of passing, I'm sure our secondary is having some very lively practices this week.

Bob Green
09-08-2010, 01:06 PM
We know Wake will be doing a lot of passing, I'm sure our secondary is having some very lively practices this week.

I'm not so sure Wake will do a lot of passing. They rushed for 415 yards, while passing for only 94 in Week 1. I believe Wake will run right at us until we prove we can stop their ground attack. Hopefully, we can jump out to an early lead and force the Demon Deacons to have to pass the ball.

Bob Green
09-08-2010, 01:18 PM
Interview with Wake coach Jim Grobe:

http://www.accsports.com/articles/201009078486/taylor-zarzour-talks-with-jim-grobe.php

CameronBornAndBred
09-08-2010, 01:27 PM
I'm not so sure Wake will do a lot of passing. They rushed for 415 yards, while passing for only 94 in Week 1. I believe Wake will run right at us until we prove we can stop their ground attack. Hopefully, we can jump out to an early lead and force the Demon Deacons to have to pass the ball.

I'm guessing that after seeing us against Elon, they will have the ball in the air alot. They would be insane not to. They are tough to guess, they often play us differently than others. Of course we knew for sure that they'd be airing it out last year, and they did. 372 passing yards vs. only 127 rushing. One factor for last year though was that they had a proven QB. Also, Wake now has Givens back, which is even further encouragement for them to throw the ball. They may run it, but I don't expect to see them have more rushing than passing yards. My guess it won't even be close.

Acymetric
09-08-2010, 01:34 PM
I'm guessing that after seeing us against Elon, they will have the ball in the air alot. They would be insane not to. They are tough to guess, they often play us differently than others. Of course we knew for sure that they'd be airing it out last year, and they did. 372 passing yards vs. only 127 rushing. One factor for last year though was that they had a proven QB. Also, Wake now has Givens back, which is even further encouragement for them to throw the ball. They may run it, but I don't expect to see them have more rushing than passing yards. My guess it won't even be close.

Its worth noting that Elon averaged 6.0 yards per rush, they just didn't run it very much because they're a better passing team (myself and several friends argued that running more would have been wise, especially considering the results from the few runs we did attempt). I'm not sure you can infer the success of a first year starter based on the success of a 4-year starter/all-conference QB in Riddle. I think Wake takes it straight at us on the ground and tests whether we can stop the run when we're expecting it (clearly we couldn't when we weren't expecting it). They only air it out if they can't get it done on the ground, IMO.

OldPhiKap
09-08-2010, 01:39 PM
Well of course there are the "well we were pretty close, if we hadn't made mistakes..." type of comments, but for the most part everyone was impressed by three things:

1) Passing game, particularly Renfree and Vernon (both his play and his mouth ;))
2) Pass rush (we were hitting Riddle just about every play)
3) Fan attendance

It'll be interesting to see if we can keep numbers 2 and 3 going the rest of the season, I feel pretty comfortable our passing game will be strong all year.

Everyone here is pretty optimistic about the rest of Elon's season as well, with big games at Richmond and App. State highlighting the schedule...hopefully we make the playoffs again this year for the 2nd time in school history (last year being the first time, ending in a loss to Richmond in the 1st round).

Oh, and people that didn't grow up going to games at big time football programs seemed to think we had a nice stadium, so at least to the casual observer we apparently have a respectable stadium too!

Thanks, Acy. -- OPK

CameronBornAndBred
09-10-2010, 08:41 AM
I'm not so sure Wake will do a lot of passing. They rushed for 415 yards, while passing for only 94 in Week 1. I believe Wake will run right at us until we prove we can stop their ground attack. Hopefully, we can jump out to an early lead and force the Demon Deacons to have to pass the ball.
Coach Cut thinks that you're right and I'm wrong.

"They've gone back to Jim's roots," Duke coach David Cutcliffe said. "They are going to run the football. They are going to run the option. Riley wasn't going to run the football. He was too good and too important to get hit. In Stachitas, they've got a good physical guy who is used to running the ball."
http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/9462204/article-Devils-get-new-look-from-the-Deacs?instance=main_article

Geez, if they're gonna run the option that will make Wake the first of three teams we'll see this year. (Navy and GT being the other two.) I've got it in my gut that we'll see them air it out much more than expected though. Either way, I'm just damn excited to see them start the ACC schedule so early, and against Wake to boot. A victory over them is a long time coming.

Olympic Fan
09-10-2010, 10:21 AM
Just a tip to anyone driving to the game Saturday from Durham (or anywhere East of Greensboro).

The westbound lane of I-40 will be closed Saturday just west if the I-85 Business/I-40 split for bridge constriction. There will be a very awkward detour -- sure to be a mess,

It's easy to avoid. Just east of Greensboro, take the I-85 South bypass to the left (not the I-85 Business/I-40 split to the right). Where I-85 merges with I-85 Business at Grandover (about 10-12 miles), you'll see signs for Winston-Salem .... you'll get on of I-73, which completes the southern loop around Greensboro and dumps you back on I-40 near the airport (beyond the construction).

Good luck.

devildeac
09-10-2010, 10:39 AM
Just a tip to anyone driving to the game Saturday from Durham (or anywhere East of Greensboro).

The westbound lane of I-40 will be closed Saturday just west if the I-85 Business/I-40 split for bridge constriction. There will be a very awkward detour -- sure to be a mess,

It's easy to avoid. Just east of Greensboro, take the I-85 South bypass to the left (not the I-85 Business/I-40 split to the right). Where I-85 merges with I-85 Business at Grandover (about 10-12 miles), you'll see signs for Winston-Salem .... you'll get on of I-73, which completes the southern loop around Greensboro and dumps you back on I-40 near the airport (beyond the construction).

Good luck.

Plus, there is a 5K race scheduled from about 8-930AM and my wife notified me Cherry St. will be closed.

watzone
09-10-2010, 10:49 AM
Here is a game preview focusing mainly on the Duke side of the ball I did for Raycom Sports who will televise the game - http://duke.raycomsports.com/blog/2010/09/09/duke-set-to-take-on-wake-forest-in-the-acc-raycom-game-of-the-week-mark-watson-of-blue-devil-nation/?keepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&height=650&width=850

watzone
09-10-2010, 11:22 AM
http://bluedevilnation.net/2010/09/bdn-previews-duke-at-wake-forest/ Here is the BDN Preview with a consensus pick.

CameronBornAndBred
09-10-2010, 11:27 AM
Here is a game preview focusing mainly on the Duke side of the ball I did for Raycom Sports who will televise the game - http://duke.raycomsports.com/blog/2010/09/09/duke-set-to-take-on-wake-forest-in-the-acc-raycom-game-of-the-week-mark-watson-of-blue-devil-nation/?keepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&height=650&width=850
Nice writeup Watzone, thanks. My one argument would be that I don't think Renfree's play was the "main positive" of that win, but rather our running game. We knew our receivers would be ready for Renfree's passes, and while this was his first start, we also knew that Renfree was capable of throwing the ball well. What we didn't know was if we could run the ball, and happily we proved we could. True, both phases of the offense will face a stiffer test against Wake, but I think you have to look back on the running game vs. Elon as finally the equalizer that Cutcliffe has been looking for. The running backs will at least keep the Wake defense honest.

Dukeface88
09-10-2010, 12:08 PM
Coach Cut thinks that you're right and I'm wrong.

http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/9462204/article-Devils-get-new-look-from-the-Deacs?instance=main_article

Geez, if they're gonna run the option that will make Wake the first of three teams we'll see this year. (Navy and GT being the other two.) I've got it in my gut that we'll see them air it out much more than expected though. Either way, I'm just damn excited to see them start the ACC schedule so early, and against Wake to boot. A victory over them is a long time coming.

Army runs the option as well. I'm not sure if Wake can really be classified with the others though. They use a shotgun spread, rather than the more traditional flexbone/I triple option used by the service acadamies and Tech. That's a pretty significant distinction.

watzone
09-10-2010, 01:55 PM
The backs missed some holes vs Elon and even Coach Cut himself said that improvement is still needed in that area. It was better for sure, but if a back doesn't go for 100 vs Elon then it will sure as heck be hard the rest of the way. The potential is there but the players need to think like they can get it done when they need to. It will be very important for Duke to establish the run vs Wake to keep pressure off Renfree who they will go after hard. Can't wait for the game.

Bob Green
09-10-2010, 03:13 PM
I really enjoyed the Al Featherston article linked on the front page:

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=204990372

Now I know to focus on the way Duke lines up the backfield while watching the game on ESPN3 tomorrow. The "Pistol" shows you learn something new everyday. I guess I was focused on the wide receivers, during the Elon game, as I didn't notice Sean Renfree lining up closer to the line of scrimmage than a QB would in the traditional "Shotgun" formation. I'll pay closer attention tomorrow.

CLT Devil
09-10-2010, 04:48 PM
If there is such a thing as Football Karma then we win this game. We are due...make that way overdue. I think this is the first time that we have played WF without Riley Skinner since the Reagan Administration. They have a talented running game and we had trouble with Elon's, so I am curious to see how we do there.

If Renfree can play like he did last week we will be in this game, and most others, but we really need to run it well. Did we find our 'back in Snead last week?

CameronBornAndBred
09-10-2010, 10:51 PM
The game is a sellout. This will make three sold out games in a row that Duke will be involved in. Happily, 2 of them are at home.

http://www.wralsportsfan.com/voices/blog/5192119/#blogpost_id_8271693

Dukeface88
09-11-2010, 12:06 AM
I really enjoyed the Al Featherston article linked on the front page:

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=204990372

Now I know to focus on the way Duke lines up the backfield while watching the game on ESPN3 tomorrow. The "Pistol" shows you learn something new everyday. I guess I was focused on the wide receivers, during the Elon game, as I didn't notice Sean Renfree lining up closer to the line of scrimmage than a QB would in the traditional "Shotgun" formation. I'll pay closer attention tomorrow.

That is interesting. I noticed that we used it, but would not have guessed we did on anything close to 70-80% of our plays.

We'll find out a lot about our potential for successful running this weekend. Wake's starting DT's are both redshirt freshmen, and their back ups are another rs-frosh and a rs-sophmore. Their linebackers, as near as I can tell, had 6 starts between them coming into this season. Wake's front 7 are also rather small. One of their starting DTs, Nikita Whitlock, is only 235 (and he played linebacker in practice according to his bio - a textbook eagleback); his backup is 255. For comparison, our smallest defensive tackles are 280. If we can't pound it up the gut here, we could be in trouble.

On a side note, I went back and watched Wake's game last week on espn3. PC had a really sweet fumblerooski play that would be fun for us to steal for later in the season.

-bdbd
09-11-2010, 12:12 AM
Anybody know what the official line is on this game?
Should be close.

Bob Green
09-11-2010, 12:43 AM
Anybody know what the official line is on this game?
Should be close.

Wake is a six point favorite:

http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-football/teams/team-page.cfm/team/duke

The over/under is 52. I'll take the over.

RelativeWays
09-11-2010, 08:58 AM
Looks like rain today, which will definitely favor the deacs. Lets hope the skies stay clear until about 3pm.

CameronBornAndBred
09-11-2010, 09:21 AM
Looks like rain today, which will definitely favor the deacs. Lets hope the skies stay clear until about 3pm.
Why would the rain favor Wake? I know they don't have any more experience in it than we do...and we got tons of experience last year. (Which has no bearing on this year, but damn we got some drenchings last year!)

Bob Green
09-11-2010, 10:04 AM
Why would the rain favor Wake?

It is easier to run the ball in the rain than throw it. However, the winds are currently only 5 mph so our Air Attack should be okay:

http://weather.journalnow.com/

it is really the wind that makes it hard to throw the ball.

riverside6
09-11-2010, 12:12 PM
Most of you are familiar with our tempo-based live basketball stats, we recently developed college football stats as well. Check out the live stats for Duke/Wake Forest here...

Duke/Wake Forest Live Stats (http://www.scacchoops.com/FB_ViewHDGame.asp?hGame=88)

We've received some good feedback on the Play Analysis tab, check it out.

Check out the full NCAA Scoreboard (http://www.scacchoops.com/NCAA-Football-Scoreboard.asp) here.

Acymetric
09-11-2010, 12:14 PM
Is anyone chatting for this game anywhere?

4decadedukie
09-11-2010, 12:21 PM
TERRIBLE opening series for our Devils. Wake's offensive line is opening LARGE holes through our defensive line and well into our secondary, seemingly at will. We need to resolve this problem now and successfully, or it is liable to be a long, dismal afternoon.

Acymetric
09-11-2010, 12:22 PM
C'mon Connor stay on your feet!

Acymetric
09-11-2010, 12:23 PM
Sounds like a good Duke contingent there too. We traveled to Wake really well 2 years ago as well.

4decadedukie
09-11-2010, 12:29 PM
Score tied (7 - 7), at 7:34 in the first quarter. Our initial possession looked good, although very pass-dominated (no surprise). I would speculate that turnovers (always) and DEFENSE will determine the outcome, although -- obviously -- it is very early in the game.

4decadedukie
09-11-2010, 12:33 PM
"Three and out" for Wake's second series; kudos to Duke's defense for greatly improved play and for a rapid adjustment after Wake's first possession (and score).

CameronBornAndBred
09-11-2010, 12:34 PM
Is anyone chatting for this game anywhere?
We are in CTN's chat room...www.crazietalk.net/ourhouse/chat (http://www.crazietalk.net/ourhouse/chat)
Snrub wouldn't load for me. just pick a username, no password needed.

arnie
09-11-2010, 01:17 PM
"Three and out" for Wake's second series; kudos to Duke's defense for greatly improved play and for a rapid adjustment after Wake's first possession (and score).

Shaky defense and too many mistakes, but offense can't be stopped: 21-21

PSurprise
09-11-2010, 01:21 PM
Any guesses on the final score? I'll say 56-52 Wake...

arnie
09-11-2010, 01:21 PM
Shaky defense and too many mistakes, but offense can't be stopped: 21-21

Correction - make that horrible defense, no pressure on qb, no coverage. Offense will have to be superb today.

grossbus
09-11-2010, 01:36 PM
We keep making killer mistakes.

dukelifer
09-11-2010, 01:53 PM
Wake is a six point favorite:

http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-football/teams/team-page.cfm/team/duke

The over/under is 52. I'll take the over.

You got it.

Mabdul Doobakus
09-11-2010, 01:56 PM
This is going to be a really interesting season. The offense looks dangerous. So does the defense, only not in a good way. There could be a lot of basketball type final scores.

I'm actually impressed by the offense's resiliency because I was certainly feeling pretty frustrated that we were down 14 despite looking nearly unstoppable on offense. The turnovers were just terrible, absolute gifts.

I think we look like the better team so far, but we have to cut down on the mistakes.

SharkD
09-11-2010, 02:03 PM
Anyone know of a place in D.C./Arlington to watch the game? My hotel doesn't have DC20, and Penatgon City Champps Praxtisally turned up their noses when I asked if the game was on one of their screens.

Thanks.

DevilHorns
09-11-2010, 02:04 PM
We keep making killer mistakes.

But somehow we are still in it. We should be up by 1-2 touchdowns if the receivers did not flick up the ball on the two miscatches and if our punter didn't freeze.

If we hold the mistakes this half, I feel good about our chances.

Mabdul Doobakus
09-11-2010, 02:52 PM
We need to get back to being a little more aggressive on offense. Too many of those short 5 yard hitches which Wake is defending pretty well at this point. I can't recall seeing a ball thrown more than 10 yards downfield this half, except on a throwaway. We had some nice downfield success in the first half. I also can't remember if Desmond Scott has gotten any carries this half. A couple of other guys have been in there, but I don't recall hearing Scott's name. He was doing a nice job in the first half, too. I don't know why we started calling 5-yard hitches on 75% of our downs.

Duvall
09-11-2010, 03:03 PM
We need to get back to being a little more aggressive on offense. Too many of those short 5 yard hitches which Wake is defending pretty well at this point. I can't recall seeing a ball thrown more than 10 yards downfield this half, except on a throwaway. We had some nice downfield success in the first half. I also can't remember if Desmond Scott has gotten any carries this half. A couple of other guys have been in there, but I don't recall hearing Scott's name. He was doing a nice job in the first half, too. I don't know why we started calling 5-yard hitches on 75% of our downs.

Pressure. A lot of those 5-yard passes were dumpoffs.

Mabdul Doobakus
09-11-2010, 03:18 PM
Pressure. A lot of those 5-yard passes were dumpoffs.

Obviously, there were some checkdowns, but I'm just talking about the large number of plays that were clearly designed to be short throws. Wakes safeties have been cheating up and cutting those off all half.

cbnaylor
09-11-2010, 03:19 PM
Is it just me or is Wake getting away with a lot of holding!

cspan37421
09-11-2010, 03:21 PM
And aggressive on defense. We had just pulled to within 7 on a FG (I would have gone for it on 4th and 1 inside the 20!) and we forced wake into a 3rd and 4. Our defense played 10 yards off their receivers! Why did they not line up closer to them? Receivers ran 5 yards, got the pass, tackle ensued, first down. We are playing almost like a prevent defense, and we're down. They're getting short passes and 6 yard runs all day long.

If Wake can hang 48+ on us, what on earth is going to happen when we have to face Alabama, VT, Miami? Scoreboard is going to need more digits. Maybe they can borrow the one from Cameron.

BlueintheFace
09-11-2010, 03:23 PM
Worst Defense in Football. It is really really hard to support this team sometimes

grossbus
09-11-2010, 03:24 PM
Our PAT defense is good. Rest of it is suspect next week could be major ugly.

loran16
09-11-2010, 03:31 PM
I've been saying this is in chat, but this bears repeating:

The Offense is great. But it has to be incredible for us to have a chance at 6 wins this year. The Defense is terrible....we are EXACTLY looking like NC State did last year.

Remember? They had a pretty decent to good passing offense, but couldnt stop anyone worth a damn. So's our Defense. They won 4 games, mainly by outscoring the opponents.

And that's what we got to do. ESPECIALLY IN THE SECOND HALF. Last week, the offense went dead in the 3rd quarter, allowing Elon to make it close.

This week, the 3rd quarter was HORRIBLE. The D actually did its job somewhat...Duke had 3 ENTIRE OFFENSIVE POSSESSIONS without Wake scoring a point. Duke got 1 first down and punted all 3 times. The next 2 possessions (one in the 4th quarter) the team only got Field goals.

This can't continue. The offense, it's sad to say, needs to click on all cylinders on EVERY POSSESSION for Duke to win the ballgame. I'd like to say that Renfree should have some time to rest, but he doesn't. The offense has no time to mess around (well they should during the Bama game). If the 2nd half, comes around and the offense fails even for a few possessions, it doesn't matter how well the O has been playing, it's not gonna be enough.

cspan37421
09-11-2010, 03:33 PM
I also wonder what happened on that TD that broke the 35-35 tie. Someone missed an assignment, big consequences. At that point, the game started to look like a mismatch. We could not stop #25 (well, once - on 2nd down and 4, to make it the 3rd and 4 I wrote about above).

Hate to see Coach Cut looking like Wade Phillips out there. We've got to put the D back in Duke!

Mabdul Doobakus
09-11-2010, 03:34 PM
And aggressive on defense. We had just pulled to within 7 on a FG (I would have gone for it on 4th and 1 inside the 20!) and we forced wake into a 3rd and 4. Our defense played 10 yards off their receivers! Why did they not line up closer to them? Receivers ran 5 yards, got the pass, tackle ensued, first down. We are playing almost like a prevent defense, and we're down. They're getting short passes and 6 yard runs all day long.

If Wake can hang 48+ on us, what on earth is going to happen when we have to face Alabama, VT, Miami? Scoreboard is going to need more digits. Maybe they can borrow the one from Cameron.

Yeah, I agree with this. I was saying go for it inside the 20. You should be able to pick up 1 yard since it hasn't been much of a problem all day. It's a risk because you're probably done if you don't pick it up. But I think overall it increases your chance of getting a W, and that's the whole point after all.

And the D was way too soft on that last drive, letting Wake pick up chunks of yards on the ground and eat up clock. You gotta apply some pressure and make Wake take some chances. They may beat you long, but they might not. And even if they do, at least they haven't bled 5 minutes off the clock. They just took what we were giving them, which was way too much.

Hey, look, touchdown.

Mabdul Doobakus
09-11-2010, 03:46 PM
On a somewhat related note, I hope the ACC doesn't get completely embarrassed this week.

Georgia Tech has already lost to Kansas, who lost to North Dakota State last week.

Virginia Tech is losing to James Madison in the 4th quarter.

It would be nice to see Miami or FSU get a win.

dukelifer
09-11-2010, 03:46 PM
I've been saying this is in chat, but this bears repeating:

The Offense is great. But it has to be incredible for us to have a chance at 6 wins this year. The Defense is terrible....we are EXACTLY looking like NC State did last year.

Remember? They had a pretty decent to good passing offense, but couldnt stop anyone worth a damn. So's our Defense. They won 4 games, mainly by outscoring the opponents.

And that's what we got to do. ESPECIALLY IN THE SECOND HALF. Last week, the offense went dead in the 3rd quarter, allowing Elon to make it close.

This week, the 3rd quarter was HORRIBLE. The D actually did its job somewhat...Duke had 3 ENTIRE OFFENSIVE POSSESSIONS without Wake scoring a point. Duke got 1 first down and punted all 3 times. The next 2 possessions (one in the 4th quarter) the team only got Field goals.

This can't continue. The offense, it's sad to say, needs to click on all cylinders on EVERY POSSESSION for Duke to win the ballgame. I'd like to say that Renfree should have some time to rest, but he doesn't. The offense has no time to mess around (well they should during the Bama game). If the 2nd half, comes around and the offense fails even for a few possessions, it doesn't matter how well the O has been playing, it's not gonna be enough.

The O did contribute to the loss- a few big miscues - the bumbled punt and some drop/tips that got intercepted hurt a lot. But you are right- the D is just not good enough. They will be manhandled next week. This Duke team is exciting to watch- but if you cannot make key stops you will not win. Most teams in the ACC have O's as good or better than Wake and many have much better D- so it could be a tough year unless the D learns very fast to correct some things.