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jimsumner
01-11-2013, 11:48 AM
Pretty tough for Duke. Again, no Maryland. Again, no BC. But no FSU or Clemson, either.

From press release/

"The Duke football team will host Georgia Tech, Miami, NC State and ACC newcomer Pittsburgh in Wallace Wade Stadium in 2013 while traveling to face North Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, as announced on Friday by the Atlantic Coast Conference office.

Six of Duke’s eight 2013 ACC opponents, including all four home opponents, won at least six games in 2012. The eight teams combined for a 51-50 record last season with ACC Championship Game representative from the Coastal Division Georgia Tech (7-7), Miami (7-5), North Carolina (8-4), NC State (7-6) and Virginia Tech (7-6) finishing with winning percentages of .500 or better.

With the addition of Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the ACC in 2013, the league expands to 14 teams and will switch to a new regular season scheduling format that pits each league member against six divisional opponents, one primary crossover opponent and one rotating crossover opponent from the opposing division. Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Virginia and Virginia Tech represent Duke’s 2013 ACC Coastal Division matchups, while Wake Forest will serve as Duke’s primary crossover and NC State will serve as the Blue Devils’ rotating crossover.

The new scheduling format will also force several repeat site games from 2012, including repeat visits to Virginia Tech and Wake Forest for Duke as well as a repeat home matchup against Miami.

The ACC will release the complete 2013 league football schedule, complete with dates and times, in February."

Dev11
01-11-2013, 12:13 PM
Pretty tough for Duke. Again, no Maryland. Again, no BC. But no FSU or Clemson, either.

From press release/

"The Duke football team will host Georgia Tech, Miami, NC State and ACC newcomer Pittsburgh in Wallace Wade Stadium in 2013 while traveling to face North Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, as announced on Friday by the Atlantic Coast Conference office.

Six of Duke’s eight 2013 ACC opponents, including all four home opponents, won at least six games in 2012. The eight teams combined for a 51-50 record last season with ACC Championship Game representative from the Coastal Division Georgia Tech (7-7), Miami (7-5), North Carolina (8-4), NC State (7-6) and Virginia Tech (7-6) finishing with winning percentages of .500 or better.

With the addition of Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the ACC in 2013, the league expands to 14 teams and will switch to a new regular season scheduling format that pits each league member against six divisional opponents, one primary crossover opponent and one rotating crossover opponent from the opposing division. Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Virginia and Virginia Tech represent Duke’s 2013 ACC Coastal Division matchups, while Wake Forest will serve as Duke’s primary crossover and NC State will serve as the Blue Devils’ rotating crossover.

The new scheduling format will also force several repeat site games from 2012, including repeat visits to Virginia Tech and Wake Forest for Duke as well as a repeat home matchup against Miami.

The ACC will release the complete 2013 league football schedule, complete with dates and times, in February."

First, I suppose the Monogahela counts as a coastline. (+1 to me for spelling that right before I looked it up)

No bad teams, no really great teams, that is, we don't get FSU or Clemson but we also don't get Maryland or BC. It's also a great trade to get Wake again on the road for another shot at Miami at home. I also like how we get to play all of the NC schools in one year. Let's get that sweep.

If you live in NC or VA, no reason you can't attend 8 Duke football games this year. Get to it!

Olympic Fan
01-11-2013, 12:20 PM
A couple of observations:

-- While the schedule is still tough, I think it is a LOT softer than a year ago -- we trade Florida State and Clemson for NC State and Pitt

-- While it would be great to get BC -- which should be pretty terrible -- not so sure missing Maryland is so bad. Last year -- when they lost all their quarterbacks -- it would have been great to play them. But I think Edsall is upgrading their talent. They'll be pretty good in 2013.

-- On the other hand, I think this coming season is a great time to get NC State .... new coach, new quarterback. Not saying easy win or anything, but I don't think they look as good on paper as they did last year with a senior NFL prospect at QB.

-- Weird that Duke has to play back-to-back road games at Virginia Tech and Wake. Don't mind the repeat trip to Winston-Salem (home field doesn't mean much in that series -- Duke has actually played better AT Wake in the last decade), but the trip to VPI could be a pain -- they are MUCH better in Blacksburg than on the road.

-- On the other hand, I like getting Miami at home again. With major NCAA penalties looming, not sure where that program is going ... and we played them tough last year -- even with our defense in a shambles.

-- Still need one more non-conference game to complete the schedule. We hae NCCU and Navy at home and Memphis on the road. If we could get a fourth winnable non-ACC game, I could see Duke going to the first back-to-back bowls in school history.

budwom
01-11-2013, 12:37 PM
A couple of observations:

-- While the schedule is still tough, I think it is a LOT softer than a year ago -- we trade Florida State and Clemson for NC State and Pitt

-- While it would be great to get BC -- which should be pretty terrible -- not so sure missing Maryland is so bad. Last year -- when they lost all their quarterbacks -- it would have been great to play them. But I think Edsall is upgrading their talent. They'll be pretty good in 2013.

-- On the other hand, I think this coming season is a great time to get NC State .... new coach, new quarterback. Not saying easy win or anything, but I don't think they look as good on paper as they did last year with a senior NFL prospect at QB.

-- Weird that Duke has to play back-to-back road games at Virginia Tech and Wake. Don't mind the repeat trip to Winston-Salem (home field doesn't mean much in that series -- Duke has actually played better AT Wake in the last decade), but the trip to VPI could be a pain -- they are MUCH better in Blacksburg than on the road.

-- On the other hand, I like getting Miami at home again. With major NCAA penalties looming, not sure where that program is going ... and we played them tough last year -- even with our defense in a shambles.

-- Still need one more non-conference game to complete the schedule. We hae NCCU and Navy at home and Memphis on the road. If we could get a fourth winnable non-ACC game, I could see Duke going to the first back-to-back bowls in school history.

Yeah, I'll take the State and Pitt trade for FSU and Clemmons any day of the week.
I've seen a rumor about Troy State being a fourth OOC opponent. Whoever it is, I just hope it's winnable.

A-Tex Devil
01-11-2013, 01:32 PM
Look for the 6 wins. First -- great news -- we are going the chicken^&*% route of the SEC and only scheduling 8 conference games. I hate this as a rule, but it is good for Duke. This gives Duke the chance to schedule 4 winnable non-cons. It looks like NCCU, Memphis and Navy both are on the schedule. Memphis on the road should be a win, as should Navy at home. So while not guarantees, these are must wins in my mind to make a bowl.

Anyone know who the other 2 non-cons are?

So let's say worst case non-conference is 3-1. Look for 3 wins on the ACC schedule -- 3 of Wake, NC State, Virginia, Miami and Pitt are what I'd focus on. Carolina is always a possibility.

Anyone know when we find out what that last non-con game is?

BigWayne
01-11-2013, 01:43 PM
Yeah, I'll take the State and Pitt trade for FSU and Clemmons any day of the week.
I've seen a rumor about Troy State being a fourth OOC opponent. Whoever it is, I just hope it's winnable.
Troy already has their 4 non-con opponents scheduled.
teams with openings on their schedules are:

Wake (possible home and home)
New Mexico State
Texas State
Missouri
Army (can add 13th game since they play at Hawaii)
BYU 11 games scheduled (can also add 13th game since they play at Hawaii)
Marshall (previously scheduled game with Navy postponed)
Tulane
Syracuse

fidel
01-11-2013, 02:04 PM
First, I suppose the Monogahela counts as a coastline. (+1 to me for spelling that right before I looked it up)

Assuming you refer to Pitt, its MonoNgahela. Always makes me think of Joe Montana (from town of same name).

CDu
01-11-2013, 02:10 PM
Yeah, I'll take the State and Pitt trade for FSU and Clemmons any day of the week.
I've seen a rumor about Troy State being a fourth OOC opponent. Whoever it is, I just hope it's winnable.

Agreed. Assuming that we replace Stanford with an easier out of conference opponent, next year's schedule will look MUCH better. Nearly every game could be winnable (obviously we won't win them all), as opposed to this year when Clemson, FSU, and Stanford were almost-certain losses.

CDu
01-11-2013, 02:12 PM
Look for the 6 wins. First -- great news -- we are going the chicken^&*% route of the SEC and only scheduling 8 conference games. I hate this as a rule, but it is good for Duke. This gives Duke the chance to schedule 4 winnable non-cons. It looks like NCCU, Memphis and Navy both are on the schedule. Memphis on the road should be a win, as should Navy at home. So while not guarantees, these are must wins in my mind to make a bowl.

Anyone know who the other 2 non-cons are?

Wouldn't NCCU, Navy, and Memphis be 3 of the 4 non-conference games? If so, then we'd only need one additional team on our schedule.

A-Tex Devil
01-11-2013, 02:42 PM
Wouldn't NCCU, Navy, and Memphis be 3 of the 4 non-conference games? If so, then we'd only need one additional team on our schedule.

Yeah -- meant to edit that to one. We need to schedule that game. It will not be good if that's another FCS team as it wouldn't count toward bowl eligibility. Texas St. in San Marcos? (And no, they aren't the Armadillos and Kathy Ireland isn't their kicker. Although Kathy Ireland in her prime would be about a 7.5 on the Texas St. campus :cool:)

Dev11
01-11-2013, 02:49 PM
Assuming you refer to Pitt, its MonoNgahela. Always makes me think of Joe Montana (from town of same name).

The sad thing I read my post and thought the N was in there. I am ashamed.

budwom
01-11-2013, 03:01 PM
Troy already has their 4 non-con opponents scheduled.
teams with openings on their schedules are:

Wake (possible home and home)
New Mexico State
Texas State
Missouri
Army (can add 13th game since they play at Hawaii)
BYU 11 games scheduled (can also add 13th game since they play at Hawaii)
Marshall (previously scheduled game with Navy postponed)
Tulane
Syracuse

Tulane would be wonderful if they're half as bad as they were when we played them a year or two ago. Plus it could be a fun road trip.
I'd avoid Syracuse and BYU, not to mention Mizzoo.

Bob Green
01-11-2013, 03:21 PM
Tulane would be wonderful if they're half as bad as they were when we played them a year or two ago. Plus it could be a fun road trip.

I'd like to see the fourth non-conference opponent to be Tulane or Army. We play Tulane at home in 2014 and both teams on the road in 2015. As far as the conference schedule goes, I'm ecstatic FSU and Clemson are gone, gone away. We should be able to go 4-4 in conference. Depending upon who is the fourth non-conference foe, we should be setting our sights on 7 or 8 victories in 2013. Of course, we have some big shoes to fill on offense and the defense must get much better.

J_C_Steel
01-11-2013, 03:35 PM
First, I suppose the Monogahela counts as a coastline. (+1 to me for spelling that right before I looked it up)

I'm from Pittsburgh. You were close, but you didn't get it. It's "Monongahela." You missed the second "n."

The Monongahela and Allegheny rivers form the Ohio river at the confluence.

J_C_Steel
01-11-2013, 03:37 PM
The sad thing I read my post and thought the N was in there. I am ashamed.

It's all good. There are lots of weird things in Pittsburgh. Look up "yinz" and "Pittsburgh left."

jimsumner
01-11-2013, 03:40 PM
Folks, you do realize Syracuse is not a non-conference option next season?

loran16
01-11-2013, 03:42 PM
Folks, you do realize Syracuse is not a non-conference option next season?

It's happened before where conference does have a nonconfernce game.

jimsumner
01-11-2013, 03:44 PM
It's happened before where conference does have a nonconfernce game.

Duke is not going to play Wake Forest twice next season. Duke is not going to play Syracuse as a non-conference opponent.

loran16
01-11-2013, 04:05 PM
Duke is not going to play Wake Forest twice next season. Duke is not going to play Syracuse as a non-conference opponent.

Agreed on the former and the latter but it doesn't have to be that way. If the choices are that or a second d1aa game why not? Limited supply here of opponents

Bob Green
01-11-2013, 04:21 PM
Agreed on the former and the latter but it doesn't have to be that way. If the choices are that or a second d1aa game why not? Limited supply here of opponents

I would be really shocked if Kevin White and Coach Cutcliffe scheduled a second FCS opponent. Somehow, someway, Duke will line up a FBS team for the 4th non-conference game.

devildeac
01-11-2013, 04:26 PM
It's all good. There are lots of weird things in Pittsburgh. Look up "yinz" and "Pittsburgh left."

Here's a Pittsburghese conversation:

http://pittsburgh.about.com/library/weekly/aa071200a.htm

I need my Google translator for that one:rolleyes:;).

I like the Army idea. If we beat Army and Navy, do we crown ourselves Service Academy champions? :eek: Well, we were North Carolina champions last year;).

-bdbd
01-11-2013, 06:17 PM
A couple of observations:

-- While the schedule is still tough, I think it is a LOT softer than a year ago -- we trade Florida State and Clemson for NC State and Pitt

-- While it would be great to get BC -- which should be pretty terrible -- not so sure missing Maryland is so bad. Last year -- when they lost all their quarterbacks -- it would have been great to play them. But I think Edsall is upgrading their talent. They'll be pretty good in 2013.

-- On the other hand, I think this coming season is a great time to get NC State .... new coach, new quarterback. Not saying easy win or anything, but I don't think they look as good on paper as they did last year with a senior NFL prospect at QB.

-- Weird that Duke has to play back-to-back road games at Virginia Tech and Wake. Don't mind the repeat trip to Winston-Salem (home field doesn't mean much in that series -- Duke has actually played better AT Wake in the last decade), but the trip to VPI could be a pain -- they are MUCH better in Blacksburg than on the road.

-- On the other hand, I like getting Miami at home again. With major NCAA penalties looming, not sure where that program is going ... and we played them tough last year -- even with our defense in a shambles.

-- Still need one more non-conference game to complete the schedule. We hae NCCU and Navy at home and Memphis on the road. If we could get a fourth winnable non-ACC game, I could see Duke going to the first back-to-back bowls in school history.

Generally agree with Olympic. While not the "easiest possible," this schedule is clearly much easier than 2012. Assuming Troy is the 4th non-con (see below), we have essentially replaced FSU, Clemson and Stanford with NCSU (on a down year), Pitt and Troy State. Everything else aside, that is guaranteed to move the over/under wins expectations up a notch or two. Unlike most years, pundits will look at this slate and say, "all but one of these games are "reasonably winable." (For my purposes, I think of "reasonably reasonable" as a spread of under ten. Using that metric, assuming they return to the mean, @ VPI might be our only ten-point-underdog situation. Most writers I respect effectively had Duke's 2012 over-under pegged around 4 wins, and then we pulled a couple of surprises to get to six wins. Looking at this slate for 2013, assuming that we find a good replacement at QB, I think our over-under becomes around 7, or certainly no worse than 6. Think that Duke will be favored in all four non-con games and then just needs 2 in-conference (out of 8). I'll take another bowl trip, thank you very much... :rolleyes:


Troy already has their 4 non-con opponents scheduled.
teams with openings on their schedules are:

Wake (possible home and home)
New Mexico State
Texas State
Missouri
Army (can add 13th game since they play at Hawaii)
BYU 11 games scheduled (can also add 13th game since they play at Hawaii)
Marshall (previously scheduled game with Navy postponed)
Tulane
Syracuse

As Budwom states, there is a pretty solid rumor of Troy. A Duke fan/poster on the TDD site (Free Football threads) recently posted that he stayed in the same hotel as the Duke coaches during the Belk Bowl, and that more than one of them had said "Troy State - it's a done deal for 2013." The question would be, in my mind, who does Troy dump/postpone to do the Duke game in 2013. If you look up Troy, they have a decent record, but play a much weaker schedule than us. Duke would certainly be favored. Troy beat Navy by ten and FIU by 11, both at home in AL, but had an overall record of 5-7, losing to Louisiana, Miss St., North Texas, Westen KY, Florida Atlantic, Tenn., Ark. State and Middle Tenn.

http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-12/sun-belt/2012-troy-trojans-football-schedule.php

Devil in the Blue Dress
01-11-2013, 06:27 PM
Here's a Pittsburghese conversation:

http://pittsburgh.about.com/library/weekly/aa071200a.htm

I need my Google translator for that one:rolleyes:;).

I like the Army idea. If we beat Army and Navy, do we crown ourselves Service Academy champions? :eek: Well, we were North Carolina champions last year;).

For the service academy crown, don't we also need to add the Air Force Academy to qualify for that crown?

A-Tex Devil
01-11-2013, 06:52 PM
As Budwom states, there is a pretty solid rumor of Troy. A Duke fan/poster on the TDD site (Free Football threads) recently posted that he stayed in the same hotel as the Duke coaches during the Belk Bowl, and that more than one of them had said "Troy State - it's a done deal for 2013." The question would be, in my mind, who does Troy dump/postpone to do the Duke game in 2013. If you look up Troy, they have a decent record, but play a much weaker schedule than us. Duke would certainly be favored. Troy beat Navy by ten and FIU by 11, both at home in AL, but had an overall record of 5-7, losing to Louisiana, Miss St., North Texas, Westen KY, Florida Atlantic, Tenn., Ark. State and Middle Tenn.

http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-12/sun-belt/2012-troy-trojans-football-schedule.php

Troy historically has some upsets and were running a gimmicky offense (not sure if they still are) that gave some teams trouble. They were the best team in the Sun Belt for a 5 year stretch, but they've been surpassed by Arkie St., MTSU and La-Monroe more recently. That said, the team is usually chock full of former Jucos and transfers that were initially recruited to play at SEC schools and it just didn't work out for one or more of a variety of reasons. We should win that game if it were to be played, but it probably won't be a cakewalk.

-bdbd
01-11-2013, 07:01 PM
For the service academy crown, don't we also need to add the Air Force Academy to qualify for that crown?

Just FYI, it is called the "Commander-in-Chief's Trophy." And the three Service Acadamies really take it quite seriously.
:)

Devil in the Blue Dress
01-11-2013, 08:17 PM
Just FYI, it is called the "Commander-in-Chief's Trophy." And the three Service Acadamies really take it quite seriously.
:)

I wasn't referring to the Commander in Chief's Trophy. Only the service academies compete for that one.

I was responding to devildeac's post about some sort of title which Duke might attain by beating multiple service academies in one season.:cool:

OZZIE4DUKE
01-11-2013, 09:25 PM
Nearly every game could be winnable (obviously we won't win them all)

Obviously, I must ask "Why not?" If every game is winnable, why won't we win them all? We're learning how to win. It will be contagious! :cool:

BigWayne
01-12-2013, 02:59 AM
Folks, you do realize Syracuse is not a non-conference option next season?

Yes, I just went through the schedules and found the teams that need another game. It's not a long list and 3/8 of the list is ACC, so a non-con game against an ACC team is far from out of the question. I did make a mistake and list NMSU, which actually already has a full schedule. Since I posted this earlier today, the fbs schedule site did an article on the teams needing games:

http://www.fbschedules.com/2013/01/2013-college-football-schedule-teams-need-non-conference-games/

BigWayne
01-12-2013, 03:05 AM
BTW - From the link above, Syracuse, Wake, Marshall, Tulane, and Texas State all have the option to add an FCS team.
Assuming they want to do that, we would be down to Missouri or BYU or a 2nd FCS team.

Struggling golfer
01-12-2013, 05:04 AM
How about Alabama as our 4th Non Conference game? Or maybe Oregon? We are ready !!!

roywhite
01-12-2013, 06:31 AM
Interesting to see the new schedule, and a bonus to read the comments about Pittsburgh; it's my old home town, but don't get there much any more.

Should the Devils happen to play there in future years, I highly recommend Pittsburgh for a road trip. Lots to do, see, eat, and drink.

A few pics of Pittsburgh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Montage_Pittsburgh.jpg)

devildeac
01-12-2013, 08:52 AM
For the service academy crown, don't we also need to add the Air Force Academy to qualify for that crown?

Not necessarily. We won the "North Carolina championship" this year w/o playing/beating NCSU and going 2-0. WFU lost 2 "in-state" games, NCSU lost 1 and who cares about the other school who had 2 "in-state" losses also ;). I guess we would have a tie if one service academy beat the other two and didn't have to play us;).

devildeac
01-12-2013, 08:54 AM
Just FYI, it is called the "Commander-in-Chief's Trophy." And the three Service Acadamies really take it quite seriously.
:)

Oooh, another way we could win that trophy is to beat Army and Navy and then play the AFA in a bowl game and beat them, too.

Struggling golfer
01-12-2013, 08:55 AM
I'd like to see the fourth non-conference opponent to be Tulane or Army. We play Tulane at home in 2014 and both teams on the road in 2015. As far as the conference schedule goes, I'm ecstatic FSU and Clemson are gone, gone away. We should be able to go 4-4 in conference. Depending upon who is the fourth non-conference foe, we should be setting our sights on 7 or 8 victories in 2013. Of course, we have some big shoes to fill on offense and the defense must get much better.

I would endorse Army especially if it were an away game as Duke has a great alumni following in the Metro NY area and I remember the last time Duke played at West Point there was a very respectable Duke section. With the football program on the up-swing we could expect a really good turnout.

Coupling that with a football game at West Point is special if you get there early and watch the parade of cadets and get a chance to tour West Point.

Reilly
01-12-2013, 09:34 AM
BTW - From the link above, Syracuse, Wake, Marshall, Tulane, and Texas State all have the option to add an FCS team.
Assuming they want to do that, we would be down to Missouri or BYU or a 2nd FCS team.

Is doing nothing an option? That is, play 11?

-bdbd
01-12-2013, 10:59 AM
Is doing nothing an option? That is, play 11?


Yes, it is an option, but the requirement is still 6-wins to be bowl-eligible. So it is clearly in one's best interest to schedule the full 12.

Reilly
01-12-2013, 09:36 PM
Yes, it is an option, but the requirement is still 6-wins to be bowl-eligible. So it is clearly in one's best interest to schedule the full 12.

If the 12th is a I-A foe ... I could see choosing a second bye rather than having a second I-AA school on the schedule.

Duvall
01-12-2013, 10:04 PM
If the 12th is a I-A foe ... I could see choosing a second bye rather than having a second I-AA school on the schedule.

That would a chance to compete away from the players and take a game's worth of ticket sales and concessions from the athletic budget to get nothing other than an extra bye week at a time when it isn't needed.

Reilly
01-12-2013, 10:30 PM
That would a chance to compete away from the players and take a game's worth of ticket sales and concessions from the athletic budget to get nothing other than an extra bye week at a time when it isn't needed.

That would save a building program that suffered a lot of injuries in 2012 from a meaningless game where more might be injured, and save the athletic department from busting the budget to pay a I-AA team to come to Durham in a game that would have zero bowl eligibility implications.

Atldukie79
01-13-2013, 10:20 AM
I had not realized we were short a game until I noticed this thread. HIstorically non-con games are scheduled years in advance. Can anyone descibe the circumstances that caused us to be one game short?

DueBlevil
01-13-2013, 11:11 AM
I had not realized we were short a game until I noticed this thread. HIstorically non-con games are scheduled years in advance. Can anyone descibe the circumstances that caused us to be one game short?

My understanding is that ACC schools held off on scheduling a 4th non-con game because the ACC was considering adding a 9th conference game. With the addition of ND to the schedule, the conference recently decided to stay at 8, leaving the schools to scramble to find that 4th non-con game

Bob Green
01-13-2013, 12:09 PM
I moved the quote below from a different thread as I expect my question about it would fit in to the ongoing schedule talk:


I also happen to believe that Sirk is going to be a star -- a run/pass guy in the mold of Kapernick or Manziel (not saying he's as good as those two guys ... just style)...I think he's the future of this proram -- sharing the job with Boone (and with Connette in some shart-yardage situations) and then being the fulltime starter in 2014-16.

After watching Colin Kaepernick execute the Pistol Formation read/option to the tune of 182 yards rushing and two touchdowns, in San Francisco's win over Green Bay, I woke up this morning and wondered what offense Duke would emphasize in 2013. We have utilized the Pistol Formation at times over the past few seasons and with Boone being a strong runner, and the scouting reports on Sirk saying he is a run/pass QB I am wondering if we will see the read/option next season. The offensive line has shown steady improvement and we have solid running backs in Jela Duncan and Josh Snead so it seems as if all the pieces are in place.

Thoughts?

budwom
01-13-2013, 12:52 PM
It's an appealing option (so to speak) but carries a serious risk of injury to your most important player. Connette certainly got dinged up more than a
few times this year...isn't he having shoulder surgery or something?

I think it makes sense, but you probably don't want your QB running 15 times a game. We should be able to use it in moderation
considering our running back depth and ability to throw the ball.

DukeSean
01-13-2013, 02:11 PM
I think with Sirk/Boone it is a different situation than with Connette. The latter usually comes in for red zone/goal line sets, where defenses knew he was going to run. And because of that, he'd be more likely to get injured. Whereas for Sirk and Boone with the read/option, it won't necessarily be a run. I agree with you though, we don't want our QB running too much -- it just adds another dimension for defenses and opens up other possibilities.

BigWayne
01-14-2013, 02:26 AM
My understanding is that ACC schools held off on scheduling a 4th non-con game because the ACC was considering adding a 9th conference game. With the addition of ND to the schedule, the conference recently decided to stay at 8, leaving the schools to scramble to find that 4th non-con game

It's a little stronger than that. The ACC made plans after adding Pitt and Syracuse to have a 9 game schedule. Many teams cancelled or postponed games that had been scheduled years in advance to be able to accommodate it. Then when they made the deal with ND, they announced going back to 8 game schedules. This forced almost every ACC school to go out and find a new non-con opponent for this year.

CameronBornAndBred
01-14-2013, 08:37 AM
That would a chance to compete away from the players and take a game's worth of ticket sales and concessions from the athletic budget to get nothing other than an extra bye week at a time when it isn't needed.
And it also would kill a tailgate. I'll happily play any scrub team if it saves a tailgate.

Reilly
01-14-2013, 09:09 AM
It's a little stronger than that. The ACC made plans after adding Pitt and Syracuse to have a 9 game schedule. ....

More on that:

http://articles.dailypress.com/2013-01-13/sports/dp-spt-teel-column-vt-acc-sked-20130113_1_acc-football-schedule-coastal-division-frank-beamer

So the 5 games that ND plays will not count as conference games for either team, right?

Dev11
01-14-2013, 09:42 AM
For the service academy crown, don't we also need to add the Air Force Academy to qualify for that crown?

If Duke is playing a road game in Colorado Springs, I will host the tailgate.

BigWayne
01-14-2013, 02:05 PM
More on that:

http://articles.dailypress.com/2013-01-13/sports/dp-spt-teel-column-vt-acc-sked-20130113_1_acc-football-schedule-coastal-division-frank-beamer

So the 5 games that ND plays will not count as conference games for either team, right?
Yes, ND football is still a non-conference game and ND is still independent in football.
Games at ND are part of their TV package and games ND plays at ACC sites are part of the ACC TV package.

Dev11
01-22-2013, 03:27 PM
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20130122/NEWS/130122011/Troy-schedules-home-home-series-Duke

I saw tweets about it; I do not frequent the Montgomery Advertiser site.

We get Troy at home this coming year, my guess based on that article and our schedule on fbschedules.com being that game is on 9/14, Week 3.

It looks like Troy has been a consistent 8-9 win team under Larry Blakeney. These should be good tests for the team in the early season.

EDIT: whoops, looks like the Wiki page I was looking at just broke out 'championship years' in its list. Troy went 5-7 last year.

-bdbd
01-22-2013, 04:11 PM
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20130122/NEWS/130122011/Troy-schedules-home-home-series-Duke

I saw tweets about it; I do not frequent the Montgomery Advertiser site.

We get Troy at home this coming year, my guess based on that article and our schedule on fbschedules.com being that game is on 9/14, Week 3.

It looks like Troy has been a consistent 8-9 win team under Larry Blakeney. These should be good tests for the team in the early season.

EDIT: whoops, looks like the Wiki page I was looking at just broke out 'championship years' in its list. Troy went 5-7 last year.

Per my posting in this thread on the 11th, I'd expect Duke to be a clear favorite vs. Troy. But maybe only by 6-7 points or so. The key past from that post talked about their schedule being, overall, quite a bit softer than Duke's, yet they went 5-7. :
Troy beat Navy by ten and FIU by 11, both at home in AL, but had an overall record of 5-7, losing to Louisiana, Miss St., North Texas, Westen KY, Florida Atlantic, Tenn., Ark. State and Middle Tenn.

As Budwom states, there is a pretty solid rumor of Troy. A Duke fan/poster on the TDD site (Free Football threads) recently posted that he stayed in the same hotel as the Duke coaches during the Belk Bowl, and that more than one of them had said "Troy State - it's a done deal for 2013." The question would be, in my mind, who does Troy dump/postpone to do the Duke game in 2013. If you look up Troy, they have a decent record, but play a much weaker schedule than us. Duke would certainly be favored. Troy beat Navy by ten and FIU by 11, both at home in AL, but had an overall record of 5-7, losing to Louisiana, Miss St., North Texas, Westen KY, Florida Atlantic, Tenn., Ark. State and Middle Tenn.

http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-12/s...l-schedule.php

I go back to my prediction that, even with a couple of key player departures, Duke's over/under for 2013 will be around 6-7 wins, simply b/c of the much easier overall slate. This sounds promising for our bowl prospects... :D

Bob Green
01-23-2013, 06:29 PM
Troy is confirmed as our fourth non-conference foe. They will visit Durham in 2013 and we will head to Alabama in 2014 for the second game in the series:

http://www.fbschedules.com/2013/01/troy-duke-schedule-2013-14-home-and-home-football-series/

throatybeard
01-24-2013, 12:29 AM
Troy is confirmed as our fourth non-conference foe. They will visit Durham in 2013 and we will head to Alabama in 2014 for the second game in the series:

http://www.fbschedules.com/2013/01/troy-duke-schedule-2013-14-home-and-home-football-series/

I mean no disrespect to Troy, but if you're a BCS school and can't get a 2-for-1 with Troy, you ain't hardly a BCS school.

loran16
01-24-2013, 07:21 AM
I mean no disrespect to Troy, but if you're a BCS school and can't get a 2-for-1 with Troy, you ain't hardly a BCS school.

When it comes last minute and you're desperate to make a deal, you get worse deals. Cmon Throaty.

CameronBornAndBred
01-24-2013, 08:32 AM
Troy is confirmed as our fourth non-conference foe. They will visit Durham in 2013 and we will head to Alabama in 2014 for the second game in the series:

http://www.fbschedules.com/2013/01/troy-duke-schedule-2013-14-home-and-home-football-series/
Who will be joining us for the 'Bama Roadtrip Tailgate?

budwom
01-24-2013, 09:55 AM
When it comes last minute and you're desperate to make a deal, you get worse deals. Cmon Throaty.

Absolutely. Duke has little margin for error as we try for another bowl. It's WAY more important to get a winnable game on the schedule than to seek a lopsided deal.

We have things set up properly now: four winnable (though at least two won't be easy) games in the OOC schedule. Win 3-4 of those, 2-3 ACC games, and there you go.

Reilly
01-24-2013, 10:19 AM
Who will be joining us for the 'Bama Roadtrip Tailgate?

Before Alabama in 2014, isn't there @Memphis in 2013? Yes, a city w/ some problems, but I think the combination of Duke football, Beale Street, blues and bbq make for a must-do roadrip.

Devil in the Blue Dress
01-24-2013, 10:40 AM
Before Alabama in 2014, isn't there @Memphis in 2013? Yes, a city w/ some problems, but I think the combination of Duke football, Beale Street, blues and bbq make for a must-do roadrip.

I think that in 2015 we play Tulane in New Orleans... another place worthy of a visit!:cool:

dpslaw
01-24-2013, 12:55 PM
It appears that we open with NCCU, since all of our other home opponents have games scheduled for that day.

BigWayne
02-06-2013, 03:40 PM
I mean no disrespect to Troy, but if you're a BCS school and can't get a 2-for-1 with Troy, you ain't hardly a BCS school.

Wake had to do the same thing with a SunBelt school.

http://www.fbschedules.com/2013/02/four-teams-need-a-2013-non-conference-football-game/

To be honest, we are lucky the Sunbelt schools needed a game last minute, or we could have been stuck with a road game at Missouri or BYU.

throatybeard
02-06-2013, 06:47 PM
Wake had to do the same thing with a SunBelt school.

http://www.fbschedules.com/2013/02/four-teams-need-a-2013-non-conference-football-game/

To be honest, we are lucky the Sunbelt schools needed a game last minute, or we could have been stuck with a road game at Missouri or BYU.

Mizzou needs a winnable game. They are learning what the SEC is all about, the hard way.

CameronBornAndBred
06-03-2013, 12:57 PM
Athlon Sports has their predictions up for 2013, and surprise!!! We are picked last!!! How shocking.....


Well at least in the Coastal, they do predict us to better than BC overall. I expect we'll see more of the same from other sites and pundits. It will take a couple years of winning to finally give these people something to believe in.


At least they take the time out to explain why they think Duke will struggle.

Duke was a nice story last year, but the Blue Devils weren’t a very good team when you really look at the numbers. They managed a respectable 3–5 record in the ACC but were outgained by an average of 140.5 yards in those eight conference games — the biggest margin in the league. (Wake Forest was next at minus-127.7). And they lost six of their last seven games, with the six defeats coming by an average of 21.7 points. Veteran coach David Cutcliffe has done a very good job elevating the profile of this program, but Duke will have a tough time reaching bowl-eligibility for the second straight season.


http://www.athlonsports.com/college-football/acc-football-2013-predictions

loran16
06-03-2013, 04:28 PM
Athlon Sports has their predictions up for 2013, and surprise!!! We are picked last!!! How shocking.....


Well at least in the Coastal, they do predict us to better than BC overall. I expect we'll see more of the same from other sites and pundits. It will take a couple years of winning to finally give these people something to believe in.


At least they take the time out to explain why they think Duke will struggle.



http://www.athlonsports.com/college-football/acc-football-2013-predictions

To be fair, I agree with them. From an objective standpoint, the Defense was Horrendous last year (ranking in the 100s among like 120 football teams). And the O is losing its 3 year starting QB and its 4 year star WR.

The schedule is easier, which is one cause for hope, but the team hasn't really made an obvious improvement objectively.

EDIT: They have us 5-7 the season after we went 6-6 and with us experiencing turnover at QB and WR1. I don't think this is anything close to an unfair assessment.

Duvall
06-03-2013, 04:30 PM
To be fair, I agree with them. From an objective standpoint, the Defense was Horrendous last year (ranking in the 100s among like 120 football teams). And the O is losing its 3 year starting QB and its 4 year star WR.

The schedule is easier, which is one cause for hope, but the team hasn't really made an obvious improvement objectively.

EDIT: They have us 5-7 the season after we went 6-6 and with us experiencing turnover at QB and WR1. I don't think this is anything close to an unfair assessment.

Well, aside from the three top 10 teams Duke won't be playing next season.

CDu
06-03-2013, 04:39 PM
Well, aside from the three top 10 teams Duke won't be playing next season.

Exactly. We will be replacing FSU, Clemson, and Stanford with 3 winnable games. So even if we're worse in our other 9 games (in which we went 6-3), we could conceivably be 2-3 games better by facing Pitt, NC State, and Troy State in the remaining games.

Games we have a very good chance of winning next year: NCCU, @Memphis, Pitt, Troy, Navy, State
Games we stand a reasonable chance at winning next year: @Wake, @UNC
Games we'll probably lose, but you just never know: Miami, Ga Tech, @UVa
Games I'd bet money we'll lose: @Va Tech

I'm not saying we're a lock to go 6-6 (far from it), but our schedule added 3 winnable games in place of 3 games we were absolutely going to lose.

Bob Green
06-03-2013, 04:44 PM
Games we'll probably lose, but you just never know: Miami, Ga Tech, @UVa

Seriously? We beat Virginia 42-17 last season. We are 4-1 against Virginia under Coach Cutcliffe. QB Michael Rocco (started 8 games) has transferred to Richmond and QB Phillip Sims (started the other 4 games) has been declared academically ineligible.

I would put Virginia in the "very good chance of winning" category.

CDu
06-03-2013, 04:51 PM
Seriously? We beat Virginia 42-17 last season. We are 4-1 against Virginia under Coach Cutcliffe. QB Michael Rocco (started 8 games) has transferred to Richmond and QB Phillip Sims (started the other 4 games) has been declared academically ineligible.

I would put Virginia in the "very good chance of winning" category.

Fair enough. Even better odds of us making it to a bowl then.

CameronBornAndBred
06-03-2013, 05:47 PM
Games we have a very good chance of winning next year: NCCU, @Memphis, Pitt, Troy, Navy, State




I would put Virginia in the "very good chance of winning" category.

And of course they (Athlon) have BOTH Pitt and UVA ahead of us. I agree with both CDu and Bob on Pitt and with Bob about UVA about those games being winnable; I think we will come out ahead of both in the final standings.

dukeofcalabash
06-03-2013, 05:59 PM
Look for the 6 wins. First -- great news -- we are going the chicken^&*% route of the SEC and only scheduling 8 conference games. I hate this as a rule, but it is good for Duke. This gives Duke the chance to schedule 4 winnable non-cons. It looks like NCCU, Memphis and Navy both are on the schedule. Memphis on the road should be a win, as should Navy at home. So while not guarantees, these are must wins in my mind to make a bowl.

Anyone know who the other 2 non-cons are?

So let's say worst case non-conference is 3-1. Look for 3 wins on the ACC schedule -- 3 of Wake, NC State, Virginia, Miami and Pitt are what I'd focus on. Carolina is always a possibility.

Anyone know when we find out what that last non-con game is?

If Duke football is going up then they need to win more than 6 games! How about 8 or 9 wins a year starting NOW and quit settling for 6 wins months before the season even starts?

mkline09
06-03-2013, 08:17 PM
If Duke football is going up then they need to win more than 6 games! How about 8 or 9 wins a year starting NOW and quit settling for 6 wins months before the season even starts?

I agree with the sentiment but considering how bad Duke Football has been until recently two straight 6-win seasons is a vast improvement. Should fans settle for 6 wins, no way, but it is a real start. This program was no where close to winning 6 games in one season much less back to back seasons before Cutcliffe arrived. Considering Duke lost its starting QB and Boone is an unproven commodity and you have to replace two of your top three receivers I like the fact that fans are giving Duke a chance to win 6 games. I personally think if everything goes right (which hardly ever happens with Duke FB) Duke has the schedule to win 8 games but that will require a lot to go right.

Bob Green
06-03-2013, 08:34 PM
From an objective standpoint, the Defense was Horrendous last year (ranking in the 100s among like 120 football teams).

To be exact:

Total Defense: 105/120
Scoring Defense: 107/120
Rushing Defense: 101/120
Passing Defense: 101/120

http://web1.ncaa.org/mfb/natlRank.jsp?year=2012&div=IA&site=org

But throwing these stats around without context is unfair to the team as the defense experienced a Horrendous number of injuries to key defensive players. The team should be commended for overcoming adversity and qualifying for a bowl game.

I'm optimistic we will be healthy in 2013 and win 7 or 8 games, but then I'm always optimistic (except during chat).

BigWayne
06-03-2013, 10:37 PM
But throwing these stats around without context is unfair to the team as the defense experienced a Horrendous number of injuries to key defensive players. The team should be commended for overcoming adversity and qualifying for a bowl game.


Schedules with top 10 teams usually hurt you physically as well as in the W-L column. I'm hoping we will fare better on both counts this year.

OldPhiKap
06-03-2013, 10:48 PM
Schedules with top 10 teams usually hurt you physically as well as in the W-L column. I'm hoping we will fare better on both counts this year.

That, and increased depth helps you deal with injuries. I hope we improve on both fronts.

matt1
06-03-2013, 11:58 PM
I say we go 7-5, but, again just 3-5 in the ACC.

loran16
06-04-2013, 12:47 PM
Well, aside from the three top 10 teams Duke won't be playing next season.

I think most of you guys underestimate the drop off from Renfree to Boone (and the loss of Vernon). We went from 5-7 in Thad's senior year to 3-9 the next year, and like Boone, Renfree had had good in-game experience the prior year. And that was with a bunch of winnable games that Duke lost that year.

The schedule will help a lot. But the team is very likely to take a step back. A temporary one, but a step back nonetheless.

@Bob: Duke's D by Football Outsider's advanced F+ metric (which attempts to take into account quality of competition0 was 116th out of 124 measured teams. In 2011, Duke's D was 95th. In 2010, Duke's D was 90th. In 2009, the D was 81st.

So perhaps the beyond awfulness of our D was due to injuries last year (I'm not a believer in this btw). But under Cut the last 3 years, the D has never been close to average, always in the bottom quarter of the NCAA. And Cut's best d performances (it was 57th his first year actually!) was with mainly Roof D recruits, the one area Roof did well.

jafarr1
06-04-2013, 01:24 PM
To be exact:

Total Defense: 105/120
Scoring Defense: 107/120
Rushing Defense: 101/120
Passing Defense: 101/120

http://web1.ncaa.org/mfb/natlRank.jsp?year=2012&div=IA&site=org

But throwing these stats around without context is unfair to the team as the defense experienced a Horrendous number of injuries to key defensive players. The team should be commended for overcoming adversity and qualifying for a bowl game.

I'm optimistic we will be healthy in 2013 and win 7 or 8 games, but then I'm always optimistic (except during chat).

Yes, we had a horrendous number of injuries to defensive players, and the defense should be commended for overcoming that. However, a number of those injuries were in the secondary, and when we look at this season, the secondary remains a source of concern for us. We lose our two leading tacklers, both secondary players (Canty and Byas, where Byas was easily in second place despite missing the first three games). Cockrell is obviously great, Cash looks like the real deal, and Norman was reasonably solid last year, but that still leaves two question marks and some big shoes to fill. There are potential answers, but it's betting on the come to assume we'll be OK there.

For our defense to improve, we need our front six to make up the difference and more. That may be possible. If we enter the season fully healthy (fingers crossed, knocking on wood, etc.), that would mean we should be better at every front six position. We lose only Gamble, and Kelby is a likely upgrade there even if he isn't 100% after his injuries. Every other position should be filled by a player that's a year more experienced or by a younger player that emerges to take over.

That means we should be better at 8 defensive positions: the front six, plus Cockrell and Norman are a year more experienced. Cash can do a reasonable job replacing Canty, but that's probably still a small step back at least, and that still leaves two DB slots to fill. That's when it gets really interesting. We need our front six to take some pressure off the secondary. We need our DL to get into the backfield and our LBs can make a greater share of the tackles. With our LB depth, we might even be able to show more true 4-3 looks, which would help manage the inexperience in the secondary.

It's possible to see how our defense could end up better. But if our front six players only take incremental steps forward, our defense may not improve much, if at all.

Olympic Fan
06-04-2013, 01:33 PM
I think most of you guys underestimate the drop off from Renfree to Boone (and the loss of Vernon). We went from 5-7 in Thad's senior year to 3-9 the next year, and like Boone, Renfree had had good in-game experience the prior year. And that was with a bunch of winnable games that Duke lost that year.

The schedule will help a lot. But the team is very likely to take a step back. A temporary one, but a step back nonetheless.

@Bob: Duke's D by Football Outsider's advanced F+ metric (which attempts to take into account quality of competition0 was 116th out of 124 measured teams. In 2011, Duke's D was 95th. In 2010, Duke's D was 90th. In 2009, the D was 81st.

So perhaps the beyond awfulness of our D was due to injuries last year (I'm not a believer in this btw). But under Cut the last 3 years, the D has never been close to average, always in the bottom quarter of the NCAA. And Cut's best d performances (it was 57th his first year actually!) was with mainly Roof D recruits, the one area Roof did well.

Allow me to suggest that you might be missing the real picture.

Yes, Duke dropped from 5-7 in Thad's last year to 3-9 in Sean's first year as a starter. How much of that was the switch at QB?

Well, the fact is that Duke went from 368.5 yards a game with Thad to 381.3 a game with Sean -- a 13-yard INCREASE in average total offense.

The big change was on defense -- the 2009 team allowed 368 yards a game ... the 2010 allowed 450 yards a game -- an 82-yard difference.

So let's not try to suggest that the Lewis to Renfree switch was the problem.

The fact that the 2009 team boasted a strong, veteran defensive line -- Vince Oghobasse, Ayanga Okpokoworuk and several other guys. That group graduated and there was nothing behind them -- well, there was Charlie Hatcher who was a nice tackle, but nothing else. That year, Cut recruiting a huge class of defensive lineman, then he had the guts to redshirt them in 2010. They played as redshirt freshmen in 2011 and as redshirt sophs in 2012. There should have been progress last year, but injuries DID hurt. Bruce, the most promising tackle, for instance, missed most of the year and was not 100 percent when he returned. Foxx, DeWalt-Ondijio missed sub substantial portions of the season.

Is it any wonder that Duke's defense lost ground over the last three seasons?

Duke will go into the 2013 season with about as veteran a d-line as it's possible to have. Annunike is a sixth year guy at DE. Foxx and Sarmiento are fifth year guys. Bruce, Johnson, Wallace, DeWalt-Ondijo and Ingram are all fourth year guys (so is Sink, although now he's at TE). Rebuilding the defensive line has been a long and difficult -- and painful -- process.

But we've seen the success Cut has had in building a deep, talented, experienced offensive line -- that was a long and painful process too. I think the defensive line is almost there.

Now, I don't think our frontline is going to be the Fearsome Foursome or anything like that, but I think it's reasonable -- with reasonable health -- to expect a much better unit.

And for the Boone to Renfree switch, I AM confident. I know Boone is not the passer that Renfree was, but he's good. And he is much more of a running threat. He might be a dropoff if Duke was running the same offense this season that we've run the last five years. But he's going to be a better fit in the read option -- an offense that will take advantage of our strong offensive line and our deep crop of running backs -- and the ability of Boone and Connette to run out of the QB spot.

I'm reminded of what happened at Tennessee when Cut was the offensive coordinator there. The Vols had a lot of success with Peyton Manning at QB, but always came up short in the SEC race. When he left, along with his two best receivers, a lot of people expected a dropoff. Cut replaced Manning with Tee Martin, who was a good passer, but nowhere near Manning's class, and went to more of a run-oriented game. Tennessee won the national championship with Martin at the helm.

Not saying Duke reaches that level with Boone -- we won't -- but every chance Duke is BETTER overall on offense with Boone at QB.

I will say, Boone's track record is not bad. Not talking numbers so much as the two chances he got to play extended minutes last season. He had to replace an injured Renfree at the start of the fourth quarter at Wake Forest. The score was tied at the time and he directed two TD drives (scoring the second himself). To give Duke the win. A week later, against Virginia, Boone started and went the distance in a 42-17 victory. He threw four TD passes, no INTs.

I think 6-7 last year against almost the toughest schedule it was possible for us to play and with a nightmare year for injuries was a major step forward. This year -- with a deeper, more physically talented team overall, against a much weaker schedule, we should take another step ... especially if we can have a reasonable year vis a vis injuries.

loran16
06-05-2013, 10:27 AM
Allow me to suggest that you might be missing the real picture.

Yes, Duke dropped from 5-7 in Thad's last year to 3-9 in Sean's first year as a starter. How much of that was the switch at QB?

Well, the fact is that Duke went from 368.5 yards a game with Thad to 381.3 a game with Sean -- a 13-yard INCREASE in average total offense.

The big change was on defense -- the 2009 team allowed 368 yards a game ... the 2010 allowed 450 yards a game -- an 82-yard difference.

So let's not try to suggest that the Lewis to Renfree switch was the problem.

The fact that the 2009 team boasted a strong, veteran defensive line -- Vince Oghobasse, Ayanga Okpokoworuk and several other guys. That group graduated and there was nothing behind them -- well, there was Charlie Hatcher who was a nice tackle, but nothing else. That year, Cut recruiting a huge class of defensive lineman, then he had the guts to redshirt them in 2010. They played as redshirt freshmen in 2011 and as redshirt sophs in 2012. There should have been progress last year, but injuries DID hurt. Bruce, the most promising tackle, for instance, missed most of the year and was not 100 percent when he returned. Foxx, DeWalt-Ondijio missed sub substantial portions of the season.

Is it any wonder that Duke's defense lost ground over the last three seasons?

Duke will go into the 2013 season with about as veteran a d-line as it's possible to have. Annunike is a sixth year guy at DE. Foxx and Sarmiento are fifth year guys. Bruce, Johnson, Wallace, DeWalt-Ondijo and Ingram are all fourth year guys (so is Sink, although now he's at TE). Rebuilding the defensive line has been a long and difficult -- and painful -- process.

But we've seen the success Cut has had in building a deep, talented, experienced offensive line -- that was a long and painful process too. I think the defensive line is almost there.

Now, I don't think our frontline is going to be the Fearsome Foursome or anything like that, but I think it's reasonable -- with reasonable health -- to expect a much better unit.

And for the Boone to Renfree switch, I AM confident. I know Boone is not the passer that Renfree was, but he's good. And he is much more of a running threat. He might be a dropoff if Duke was running the same offense this season that we've run the last five years. But he's going to be a better fit in the read option -- an offense that will take advantage of our strong offensive line and our deep crop of running backs -- and the ability of Boone and Connette to run out of the QB spot.

I'm reminded of what happened at Tennessee when Cut was the offensive coordinator there. The Vols had a lot of success with Peyton Manning at QB, but always came up short in the SEC race. When he left, along with his two best receivers, a lot of people expected a dropoff. Cut replaced Manning with Tee Martin, who was a good passer, but nowhere near Manning's class, and went to more of a run-oriented game. Tennessee won the national championship with Martin at the helm.

Not saying Duke reaches that level with Boone -- we won't -- but every chance Duke is BETTER overall on offense with Boone at QB.

I will say, Boone's track record is not bad. Not talking numbers so much as the two chances he got to play extended minutes last season. He had to replace an injured Renfree at the start of the fourth quarter at Wake Forest. The score was tied at the time and he directed two TD drives (scoring the second himself). To give Duke the win. A week later, against Virginia, Boone started and went the distance in a 42-17 victory. He threw four TD passes, no INTs.

I think 6-7 last year against almost the toughest schedule it was possible for us to play and with a nightmare year for injuries was a major step forward. This year -- with a deeper, more physically talented team overall, against a much weaker schedule, we should take another step ... especially if we can have a reasonable year vis a vis injuries.


Yardage of course doesn't tell the whole story. Via Football Outsiders' stats (again taking competition into account), our offensive ranking dropped from 64th to 78th from those two years. Our D dropped from 81 to 90. Both hurt.

Bob Green
06-05-2013, 07:31 PM
@Bob: Duke's D by Football Outsider's advanced F+ metric (which attempts to take into account quality of competition0 was 116th out of 124 measured teams. In 2011, Duke's D was 95th. In 2010, Duke's D was 90th. In 2009, the D was 81st.


Our D dropped from 81 to 90.

I'll concede to you Duke's D needs to be better. I'll go as far as saying it needs to be a lot better. But I remain optimistic 2013 will be the year the D turns it around. I suggest you read the Duke preview in the ACC Sports Journal Summer Edition. Al Featherston makes a solid case for improvement on the front six due to the return of a healthy Kelby Brown at LB and Jamal Bruce at DT. Al's preview contains quotes from Coach Cutcliffe where coach points out all the experience Duke has on the defensive line with players such as Sydney Sarmiento, Dezmond Johnson, JDO, Jamal Wallace and the aforementioned Jamal Bruce. Moreover, Ohio State transfer Jeremy Cash has a potentially huge upside at the Bandit Safety position previously occupied by Walt Canty (2012) and Matt Daniels (2011).

EDIT: I didn't intend for this post to be a comprehensive statement on our defensive strengths, and I still don't, but upon rereading it I realized I absolutely had to edit my comments to include Ross Cockrell being a 1st Team All-ACC cornerback. His impact cannot be overstated!