Duke football notes, 10-30-12

[jimsumner]

Much different atmosphere from last week.

Duke got "some work" from Renfree and Thompson today.

Cut excited about night football in November. November football at night means television which means meaningful football games.

Cut says he coached "a helluva bad game" against FSU and says the team followed its lead. Duke wasn't flat, wasn't unpepared, just "every portion of our team didn't play well." Duke not discouraged, not embarrassed. Just disappointed. Looking forward to a chance to redeem themselves in a high-profile game.

Keys to beating Clemson? Play well in all three phases of the game. Don't allow big plays. Sustain drives and keep Clemson off the field. Compete every play. Is Duke mentally tough enough to play every snap? Cut acknowledges that Hopkins and Watkins have speed that Duke simply cannot simulate in practice.

Cut said he told his freshmen kickers that no one ever achieved greatness without failure. Said Monday and Martin had great practices today and he expects them to play well Saturday.

Vernon has been sick.

Sarmineto says Clemson will get big plays. The key is to keep them out of the end zone.

He and Foxx note that Duke has been resilient after losses this season and has not lost consecutive games. Duke has to get pressure on Boyd and take pressure off Duke's DBs.

[Dev11]

Duke got "some work" from Renfree and Thompson today.

...

[Sarmiento] and Foxx note that Duke has been resilient after losses this season and has not lost consecutive games.

Two most important things to glean from the comments. That Renfree got work in on Tuesday is a great sign that if healthy, he'll be productive this week. I am sure any defensive practice squad player who so much as stares at Sean for more than a second is getting tossed out of practice. Do the walk-throughs, know the playbook, and hope the symptoms are ok by Saturday. Boone is a very capable backup but we want Sean in there.

Avoiding consecutive losses has been key. Granted, there was little chance of us losing to Central following Stanford, but the Carolina win after the VT loss was, among other things, the first time we looked so confident against an equally if not more talented team following a big loss in Cut's tenure. It was definitely a big step as far as beating our recently unbeatable rival, and getting the elusive 6th win, but being able to bounce back after a tough loss where we looked flat for 3 quarters was a new experience for everybody on this team, and that feeling may end up paying greater dividends as the years roll on. Cut can always throw on the tape of the first half against Carolina after a tough loss and remind everybody that they CAN be better than they were last week.

It's time for Cut to get that victory over a ranked opponent. Winning this game also significantly increases the odds of playing that 14th game. I would LOVE to have that 14th game.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Beat the Tigers!

[OldPhiKap]

Beat the Tigers!

Fill the stands!

[-bdbd]

Beat the Tigers!


Fill the stands!

Then fill the field (afterwards)!!! :eek:

[mkline09]

Then fill the field (afterwards)!!! :eek:

Not that I'm superstitious or anything but the last Duke-Clemson game at Wallace Wade I attended was the one where Duke won it on a last second kick and the students rushed the field. I'll be there Saturday night hoping for a repeat.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Not that I'm superstitious or anything but the last Duke-Clemson game at Wallace Wade I attended was the one where Duke won it on a last second kick and the students rushed the field. I'll be there Saturday night hoping for a repeat.
You better be there then! I really hope we get another crowd like we had for UNC, the atmosphere in Wallace Wade was like no other time I can remember. I've been to games more packed (with Duke fans) than two weeks ago, but I was a kid so I don't remember them well. I probably remember the splinters in my butt from the wooden bleachers more than the action on the field.
Let's have another great night on national TV!

[BigWayne]

You better be there then! I really hope we get another crowd like we had for UNC, the atmosphere in Wallace Wade was like no other time I can remember. I've been to games more packed (with Duke fans) than two weeks ago, but I was a kid so I don't remember them well. I probably remember the splinters in my butt from the wooden bleachers more than the action on the field.
Let's have another great night on national TV!
Well that was a while ago. They replaced the wood bleachers with aluminum in 1980. I remember it well because we had a big snowstorm and we used the loose wooden seats to make a huge snow ramp down the aisle in the end zone.

[CameronBlue]

Well that was a while ago. They replaced the wood bleachers with aluminum in 1980. I remember it well because we had a big snowstorm and we used the loose wooden seats to make a huge snow ramp down the aisle in the end zone.

I still have some souvenir splinters up my bum from those old wooden bleachers...fans these days don't know lucky they have it (and and we used to walk through 6 feet of snow to get to Wade back then).

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

I still have some souvenir splinters up my bum from those old wooden bleachers...fans these days don't know lucky they have it (and and we used to walk through 6 feet of snow to get to Wade back then).

Don't leave out the gravel concourse which could be difficult to navigate in high heels. (Attire for games was different then, too!)

[killerleft]

You better be there then! I really hope we get another crowd like we had for UNC, the atmosphere in Wallace Wade was like no other time I can remember. I've been to games more packed (with Duke fans) than two weeks ago, but I was a kid so I don't remember them well. I probably remember the splinters in my butt from the wooden bleachers more than the action on the field.
Let's have another great night on national TV!

LOL on the splinters, they were very real, weren't they?

If there has been a Duke game with that kind of electricity, I don't remember it, either. '94 had a couple great crowds, but not that special feel that the Carolina game had. Never thought I could say this, but happily, the students were the instigators of the whole deal. Kudos to us all, though.

Now we need some extra people to fill up those seats that the enemy used. Duke has played well at home this year, and it would not be a surprise (to me, anyway) to see us have a chance to win. This could be a signature win for us, and a great game to say, "I was there." The '89 win against Clemson was awesome, even with maybe 17000 people who actually showed up in rainy weather to see it firsthand.

And Conner Vernon may be breaking the ACC record for receiving yards as an additional bonus.

Go, Blue Devils!

[jimsumner]

I still have some souvenir splinters up my bum from those old wooden bleachers...fans these days don't know lucky they have it (and and we used to walk through 6 feet of snow to get to Wade back then).

And it was all uphill. There and back.

[BigWayne]

And it was all uphill. There and back.

But there was also a place in the fence back in the woods where you could slide a keg underneath it and bring it into the stands.

[devildeac]

I still have some souvenir splinters up my bum from those old wooden bleachers...fans these days don't know lucky they have it (and and we used to walk through 6 feet of snow to get to Wade back then).


And it was all uphill. There and back.

In our stocking feet.

[BigWayne]

Well that was a while ago. They replaced the wood bleachers with aluminum in 1980. I remember it well because we had a big snowstorm and we used the loose wooden seats to make a huge snow ramp down the aisle in the end zone.

Very off topic.....but I found the pics of the snowramp in action while looking for something else.

http://archive.org/stream/chanticleerseria1980duke#page/136/mode/2up

Few pages later you can see a pic of one of the construction workers working on changing the seats out while the field is still covered in snow.

[nyesq83]

The sophistication and expense of the player uniform/pad combinations is something to marvel.

These things are made of space-age material, stretchy, lightweight, allowing maximum mobility.

Incredibly impressive battle gear.

Hope our team is healing and prepping well for GaTech, we are overdue to beat them.

Keeping the faith, Let's Go Duke!

DMcG