Great appreciation of this Duke football team and bowl win

[rthomas]

I love this win. First bowl game win since I was 6. So happy for the Duke team and their coaches!

[OldPhiKap]

So glad for the seniors and for Cut. May it be the first of many!

[Devilwin]

Love the win, and the helmets. Great job, fellas!

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

I love this win. First bowl game win since I was 6. So happy for the Duke team and their coaches!

Yer old. :)

Happy to have seen it happen.

Baby giant steps.

[mattman91]

I love this win. First bowl game win since I was 6. So happy for the Duke team and their coaches!


Yer old. :)

Happy to have seen it happen.

Baby giant steps.

My parents weren't even alive the last time we won a bowl. Sorry if I made any of you feel old.

Go Duke!

[ricks68]

My parents weren't even alive the last time we won a bowl. Sorry if I made any of you feel old.

Go Duke!

Thanks, Matt.:p

(And by the way, they told us tonight over at ABC that they are beginning to run out of the bottled Ninjabread Man because of all the favorable publicity from last year and this year.:( It would seem advisable to obtain a few more bottles for future enjoyment. (Plenty on draft, however.)

ricks

[martydoesntfoul]

Nothing beat my not-yet 7 year-old in a Duke jersey explaining to a restaurant maitre d' that Duke had just won its first bowl game since 1961.

[jv001]

Congratulations to all the guys, especially the seniors. I'm glad we pulled out a victory because I was sure upset over the poor play calling and the trick plays. Wilson deserved the MOP award with two great plays. GoDuke!

[Indoor66]

My parents weren't even alive the last time we won a bowl. Sorry if I made any of you feel old.

Go Duke!

That was TOTALLY uncalled for. :mad::o:p:cool:

[OldPhiKap]

That was TOTALLY uncalled for. :mad::o:p:cool:

Agreed, except of course that I need my grandkids to explain the emojis to me.

[Devilsforlife]

Well that was a thrilling, at times frustrating, and decidedly nail-biting end to a very up-and-down, but successful season. Some thoughts below:

-Say what you want about Sirk and his lack of accuracy and fluidity at the quarterback position, but the kid has guts and is a gamer. He willed us to victory against VT, Miami (yes, that was a win, I could care less about what any incompetent refs and replay officials say), and finally, Indiana. If he can become more accurate and maintain his running ability, watch out in 2016.

-Shaun Wilson is a beast. Hopefully he keeps the mojo going into 2016 and we're able to maximize his abilities.

-So thrilled for the players and the seniors especially to finally snap this awful bowl drought. For all that they had accomplished in their careers, the bowl win was the one achievement that had proved elusive. Congrats to them, and may our next bowl win arrive much sooner.

-This win should hopefully cement our stellar 2016 recruiting class. What better recruiting tool to lock them up than witnessing a thrilling bowl victory on national TV, in what has been deemed by most pundits one of the most exciting bowl games of the season? Huge for us, for sure.

-Somewhat akin to that, I'll be interested in seeing how the momentum from this victory carries into next season, especially with the tough schedule to start the year. If we can win either @Northwestern or @Notre Dame in the first month of the season, that should portend well for us. The schedule is tougher overall next season (this year, we really got lucky with our crossover Atlantic opponents -- BC and Wake -- who went a combined 1-15 in the league), hopefully our guys are up to the task.

2015 Pinstripe Champs! Go Duke!

[arnie]

Well that was a thrilling, at times frustrating, and decidedly nail-biting end to a very up-and-down, but successful season. Some thoughts below:

-Say what you want about Sirk and his lack of accuracy and fluidity at the quarterback position, but the kid has guts and is a gamer. He willed us to victory against VT, Miami (yes, that was a win, I could care less about what any incompetent refs and replay officials say), and finally, Indiana. If he can become more accurate and maintain his running ability, watch out in 2016.

-Shaun Wilson is a beast. Hopefully he keeps the mojo going into 2016 and we're able to maximize his abilities.

-So thrilled for the players and the seniors especially to finally snap this awful bowl drought. For all that they had accomplished in their careers, the bowl win was the one achievement that had proved elusive. Congrats to them, and may our next bowl win arrive much sooner.

-This win should hopefully cement our stellar 2016 recruiting class. What better recruiting tool to lock them up than witnessing a thrilling bowl victory on national TV, in what has been deemed by most pundits one of the most exciting bowl games of the season? Huge for us, for sure.

-Somewhat akin to that, I'll be interested in seeing how the momentum from this victory carries into next season, especially with the tough schedule to start the year. If we can win either @Northwestern or @Notre Dame in the first month of the season, that should portend well for us. The schedule is tougher overall next season (this year, we really got lucky with our crossover Atlantic opponents -- BC and Wake -- who went a combined 1-15 in the league), hopefully our guys are up to the task.

2015 Pinstripe Champs! Go Duke!

Really nice to get the monkey off our back re: bowl wins. We did this in part because our late season swoon gave us a beatable opponent. So maybe the Miami "loss" became a blessing.

Replicating our recent success (8+ wins) will be very difficult next year. We replace BC with Louisville and Tulane with Notre Dame. I also doubt GaT will rollover for Coastal teams next year. Cut's improved recruiting will help, but don't think will see fruits from that until 2017. As noted above, improved passing game is key since we should be able to run the ball and hopefully defense is better as DL play stronger.

[OldPhiKap]

Really nice to get the monkey off our back re: bowl wins. We did this in part because our late season swoon gave us a beatable opponent. So maybe the Miami "loss" became a blessing.

Replicating our recent success (8+ wins) will be very difficult next year. We replace BC with Louisville and Tulane with Notre Dame. I also doubt GaT will rollover for Coastal teams next year. Cut's improved recruiting will help, but don't think will see fruits from that until 2017. As noted above, improved passing game is key since we should be able to run the ball and hopefully defense is better as DL play stronger.

Miamiand Virginia also improved their coaching by big steps. Maybe VT too (love Beamer, but his last few years we're obviously below his expectations in result). The Coastal is suddenly a damn difficult division up and down the board.

[Bob Green]

-Shaun Wilson is a beast. Hopefully he keeps the mojo going into 2016 and we're able to maximize his abilities.



How great is it to be able to replace DeVon Edwards as kick return specialist with a talent such as Wilson? Edwards was limping a bit while playing defense so I assume he got banged up so the staff decided to stick Wilson out there to return kicks, which was a wise decision. Wilson almost broke the first one he returned but was knocked off balance by one defender. He was untouched on the return he took to the house.

[duke blue brewcrew]

Agreed, except of course that I need my grandkids to explain the emojis to me.

Great comment. Love the Coach K commercial with Chief Justise!

[nocilla]

A tribute to the senior Jeremy Cash from the ACC DN.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLRLkUapXnQ

[Mike Corey]

A quick reminder of one of Coach Cutcliffe's greatest streaks at Duke: The number of All Americans (from any publication or at any level) he's churned out.

2008: Michael Tauiliili
2009: Vince Oghobaase
2010: Will Snyder
2011: Matt Daniels
2012: Ross Martin
2013: Jeremy Cash, Jamison Crowder, DeVon Edwards
2014: Jeremy Cash, Ross Martin, Laken Tomlinson*, DeVon Edwards, Will Monday
2015: Jeremy Cash*, Matt Skura, Ross Martin, DeVon Edwards

Am I missing anyone? I'm sure I am...

* - Consensus 1st Team All-Americans

[duke09hms]

We're almost 2 weeks out from the Pinstripe Bowl WIN (!!!!), any word on injuries? Anyone hear the diagnosis/prognosis on Sirk? If we want to make it back to a bowl game, he's going to need a lot of practice time this winter/spring/summer.

Not losing sight of all that Cutcliffe has done in resurrecting us, but this season and last season could be legitimately viewed as frustrating precisely because of the prime opportunity we had from 2013-2015. There was a small window of time where everything lined up for us to be relevant, win the Coastal Division and get back to the ACC CG where anything can happen in one game. Ridiculously easy schedule. Cupcake OOC, avoid FSU/ND/Clemson/Louisville. Most of the other Coastal teams were mired with terrible coaches (UVA, Miami) or in transition periods (VT, Pitt). Then we lose a bunch of games by shooting ourselves in the foot and don't show up mentally or emotionally to the UNC games where we get blown out in embarrassing fashion.

We had a three-year window to win the Coastal and cashed in once. Now that small window seems to have closed. Miami and UVA get coaching upgrades, VT and Pitt get back on stable ground. UNC finally turned their recruiting gold into on-field results, and our schedule gets way harder the next few years. Unless we take another similarly huge stride forward (which is possible in 2017 onward given our awesome 2016 recruiting class), I'd be happy just continuing our bowl streak next year.

Cut's done an amazing job for us, and I'm eternally grateful. But at the same time, it burns to know we could have had another Coastal title if it weren't for self-inflicted wounds.

[OldPhiKap]

We're almost 2 weeks out from the Pinstripe Bowl WIN (!!!!), any word on injuries? Anyone hear the diagnosis/prognosis on Sirk? If we want to make it back to a bowl game, he's going to need a lot of practice time this winter/spring/summer.

Not losing sight of all that Cutcliffe has done in resurrecting us, but this season and last season could be legitimately viewed as frustrating precisely because of the prime opportunity we had from 2013-2015. There was a small window of time where everything lined up for us to be relevant, win the Coastal Division and get back to the ACC CG where anything can happen in one game. Ridiculously easy schedule. Cupcake OOC, avoid FSU/ND/Clemson/Louisville. Most of the other Coastal teams were mired with terrible coaches (UVA, Miami) or in transition periods (VT, Pitt). Then we lose a bunch of games by shooting ourselves in the foot and don't show up mentally or emotionally to the UNC games where we get blown out in embarrassing fashion.

We had a three-year window to win the Coastal and cashed in once. Now that small window seems to have closed. Miami and UVA get coaching upgrades, VT and Pitt get back on stable ground. UNC finally turned their recruiting gold into on-field results, and our schedule gets way harder the next few years. Unless we take another similarly huge stride forward (which is possible in 2017 onward given our awesome 2016 recruiting class), I'd be happy just continuing our bowl streak next year.

Cut's done an amazing job for us, and I'm eternally grateful. But at the same time, it burns to know we could have had another Coastal title if it weren't for self-inflicted wounds.

It is nice that we have had the potential to compete for the division title all three years, agreed.

As for the season, we had a few key preseason injuries in the secondary on D although they largely acquitted themselves well. On offense, I have to keep reminding myself that Thomas played very little QB in high school, and Cut recruited him for QB based in large part on potential. He has obvious areas which need improvement. But he was a leader when it counted, making last-stand drives against VT, Miami and Indiana. If he can work on his read preogressions and his downfield accuracy, we could be a much better team next year. Which, as you point out, will be necessary because the schedule gets tougher too.

I sort of look at the last few years of "easier" schedules a bit differently. It allowed a once-dormant program the opportunity to find its feet, gain confidence, and accomplish things that had not been done in more than a generation. We are now on solid footing as we step up the level of competition. We are no longer one of the worst teams in Division I by our own admission, but instead a school that has appeared in four straight bowls. We needed some breathing space to get up and running, and here we are.

Where do we go from here? Well -- kickoff is less than nine months away.

[sagegrouse]

Not losing sight of all that Cutcliffe has done in resurrecting us, but this season and last season could be legitimately viewed as frustrating precisely because of the prime opportunity we had from 2013-2015. There was a small window of time where everything lined up for us to be relevant, win the Coastal Division and get back to the ACC CG where anything can happen in one game. Ridiculously easy schedule. Cupcake OOC, avoid FSU/ND/Clemson/Louisville. Most of the other Coastal teams were mired with terrible coaches (UVA, Miami) or in transition periods (VT, Pitt). Then we lose a bunch of games by shooting ourselves in the foot and don't show up mentally or emotionally to the UNC games where we get blown out in embarrassing fashion.

We had a three-year window to win the Coastal and cashed in once. Now that small window seems to have closed. Miami and UVA get coaching upgrades, VT and Pitt get back on stable ground. UNC finally turned their recruiting gold into on-field results, and our schedule gets way harder the next few years. Unless we take another similarly huge stride forward (which is possible in 2017 onward given our awesome 2016 recruiting class), I'd be happy just continuing our bowl streak next year.

Cut's done an amazing job for us, and I'm eternally grateful. But at the same time, it burns to know we could have had another Coastal title if it weren't for self-inflicted wounds.

Is it self-inflicted if you get clobbered by the opposition, which happened both years against UNC and this year against Pitt? And Virginia scored 21 points in the first quarter, including two 80-yard drives.

Northwestern was arguably a winnable game, and Miami was a win in every way except the final score -- but in both cases we could have played much better.

I am not so pessimistic about the next two years. Every team has problems, and maybe we will have fewer than the teams we wplay. Mark Richt outght to be able to make a good football team out of the undisciplined and out-of-shape talent at Miami -- but who knows, and I don't automatically think that Virginia and Virginia Tech improve with new coaches.

Duke needs some "go-to" players to show up on offense and continued progress on defense.

[budwom]

I think we have two new trends developing. The first (mentioned above) is that our division is going to be improving.
The second is that, for the most part, Cut and staff have maximized output from some fairly middling recruiting classes. Yes, he's
found some diamonds in the rough, to his great credit, but the fact remains that by and large (no matter which recruiting
service you look at) our recruiting classes for the past 4-5 years have been in the 50-60 range. (Yes, the services DO miss
out on some individual kids, but by and large there's a very strong correlation between the top classes and the ratings of
recruiting classes.

But this year's recruiting class (should it hold together) is truly a major step up from what we've had in the past. Something like
a dozen players who have been rated as four stars by at least one service at some point.....while in the past we've been lucky
to get one or two four stars in a class.

Recruits are seeing Duke in a different light now....our success has been consistent, not just a one or two year fluke. As such, Cut
has made us highly attractive to the pool of players who are both good on the field, and value a superior education.

If we can hold this class together and continue our recruiting momentum, I think we'll be well positioned even as our intradivisional competition (and OOC schedule) improve.

[jv001]

I think we have two new trends developing. The first (mentioned above) is that our division is going to be improving.
The second is that, for the most part, Cut and staff have maximized output from some fairly middling recruiting classes. Yes, he's
found some diamonds in the rough, to his great credit, but the fact remains that by and large (no matter which recruiting
service you look at) our recruiting classes for the past 4-5 years have been in the 50-60 range. (Yes, the services DO miss
out on some individual kids, but by and large there's a very strong correlation between the top classes and the ratings of
recruiting classes.

But this year's recruiting class (should it hold together) is truly a major step up from what we've had in the past. Something like
a dozen players who have been rated as four stars by at least one service at some point....while in the past we've been lucky
to get one or two four stars in a class.

Recruits are seeing Duke in a different light now...our success has been consistent, not just a one or two year fluke. As such, Cut
has made us highly attractive to the pool of players who are both good on the field, and value a superior education.

If we can hold this class together and continue our recruiting momentum, I think we'll be well positioned even as our intradivisional competition (and OOC schedule) improve.

Good take on Duke football and I would add that Cut has recruited faster players since he arrived at Duke. Now if we can get a few studs on the defensive front. GoDuke!

[johnb]

It's great that we can feel wistful about only winning our division once and going to 4 straight bowl games. And it's great that we can feel some optimism about beating Notre Dame next year.

That got me to thinking about recruiting, and it's difficulties. It seems much easier in basketball where a trained recruiter can probably assess a Brandon Ingram as a 5 star player within 20 minutes.

So I went looking for more thought about winning football games. Here are some links:
5 hardest positions to recruit: http://www.sbnation.com/college-football-recruiting/2014/1/27/5330708/college-football-hardest-position
Winning measurements: http://www.footballstudyhall.com/2014/1/24/5337968/college-football-five-factors?_ga=1.73685969.2119329522.1452089823
Alabama's practice of oversigning recruits and just throwing off expendable players before they get their degrees (lots of such articles, and another reason to root for Clemson): http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/eye-on-college-football/21733077

back to work..

[budwom]

It's great that we can feel wistful about only winning our division once and going to 4 straight bowl games. And it's great that we can feel some optimism about beating Notre Dame next year.

That got me to thinking about recruiting, and it's difficulties. It seems much easier in basketball where a trained recruiter can probably assess a Brandon Ingram as a 5 star player within 20 minutes.

So I went looking for more thought about winning football games. Here are some links:
5 hardest positions to recruit: http://www.sbnation.com/college-football-recruiting/2014/1/27/5330708/college-football-hardest-position
Winning measurements: http://www.footballstudyhall.com/2014/1/24/5337968/college-football-five-factors?_ga=1.73685969.2119329522.1452089823
Alabama's practice of oversigning recruits and just throwing off expendable players before they get their degrees (lots of such articles, and another reason to root for Clemson): http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/eye-on-college-football/21733077

back to work..

Some good points...first, hoops is much easier because hundreds of kids play each other all the time in AAU and other non-school events, so it's
relatively easy to see how kids compete with other top kids. A lot of the top kids have played vs other top kids MANY times. It makes comparisons far easier, if not foolproof.

In football, you have few of those actual one on one events...how good is a kid at a tiny 1A school....he may be 6-6, 300 lbs, but everyone he plays is outmatched.

A number of non Duke schools do have somewhat inflated football recruiting class rankings, because a fair number of kids don't qualify and they have to go to JCs or lower division schools.

[Mike Corey]

In basketball, a handful of great recruits can win you a lot of games over the course of several seasons.

In footbal, you need a handful of great recruits across a few classes to win you a lot of games over the course of several seasons.

This incoming class represents a huge step forward on paper. Now what will we do with the opportunity?

With this staff, and this culture they've built, I'm confident in being optimistic.

[Tom B.]

A tribute to the senior Jeremy Cash from the ACC DN.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLRLkUapXnQ



Watching that video, it's amazing how many tackles Cash made with just one arm. That dude is strong.

[duke blue brewcrew]

Is it self-inflicted if you get clobbered by the opposition, which happened both years against UNC and this year against Pitt? And Virginia scored 21 points in the first quarter, including two 80-yard drives.

Northwestern was arguably a winnable game, and Miami was a win in every way except the final score -- but in both cases we could have played much better.

I am not so pessimistic about the next two years. Every team has problems, and maybe we will have fewer than the teams we wplay. Mark Richt outght to be able to make a good football team out of the undisciplined and out-of-shape talent at Miami -- but who knows, and I don't automatically think that Virginia and Virginia Tech improve with new coaches.

Duke needs some "go-to" players to show up on offense and continued progress on defense.

I agree with your comment as a whole SG, and place a special emphasis on that bold final sentence. As has been discussed earlier in this thread, Sirk has some areas of improvement. That said, he's a great leader, and plays with a lot of heart. If he can fine tune the areas of opportunity in his game, making his arm an equal threat to his legs, he could be a special player. He will need some special play-making receivers. He has at least two projected studs at TE to work with next year in Schneider and Helm, with more talent at the position behind them. I would like to see a significant leap by the WRs going into next year. No one from that group seemed to be able to step up in the big moment and deliver a game winner type performance. I think Duke has two very talented RBs in Wilson and Duncan returning, both with the ability to deliver knock-out performances.

On D, Duke must continue to get better in the box. The Blue Devils must be able to get reliable pressure on the opposing QB w/o having to blitz. They continue to build depth at the DE position, and seem to have a reliable rotation at DT. It will be nice to see what impact an additional year of experience has for both groups. They also need to continue to mine for that coveted combination of size and speed at the LB position, to aid in run stopping. There's a lot of young talent chomping at the bit to prove they can do it. Also, it will be interesting to see who gets tabbed to fill Cash's shoes, and to see how well the Duke D adjusts to the post-Jeremy era.

Given the more difficult schedule next year, there's no time like the present for all of this to come true, and for Duke Football to take another significant step forward as a program. I'm excited to see what happens, and am enjoying Duke being relevant again in the world of big time college football. Not in my lifetime has Duke won a Bowl game until now. Thank you Coach Cut and #DukeGang for making that a reality! It goes without saying that as a fan,it sure would be fun to see Duke get a bowl winning streak started...LGD!!!

[arnie]

I agree with your comment as a whole SG, and place a special emphasis on that bold final sentence. As has been discussed earlier in this thread, Sirk has some areas of improvement. That said, he's a great leader, and plays with a lot of heart. If he can fine tune the areas of opportunity in his game, making his arm an equal threat to his legs, he could be a special player. He will need some special play-making receivers. He has at least two projected studs at TE to work with next year in Schneider and Helm, with more talent at the position behind them. I would like to see a significant leap by the WRs going into next year. No one from that group seemed to be able to step up in the big moment and deliver a game winner type performance. I think Duke has two very talented RBs in Wilson and Duncan returning, both with the ability to deliver knock-out performances.

On D, Duke must continue to get better in the box. The Blue Devils must be able to get reliable pressure on the opposing QB w/o having to blitz. They continue to build depth at the DE position, and seem to have a reliable rotation at DT. It will be nice to see what impact an additional year of experience has for both groups. They also need to continue to mine for that coveted combination of size and speed at the LB position, to aid in run stopping. There's a lot of young talent chomping at the bit to prove they can do it. Also, it will be interesting to see who gets tabbed to fill Cash's shoes, and to see how well the Duke D adjusts to the post-Jeremy era.

Given the more difficult schedule next year, there's no time like the present for all of this to come true, and for Duke Football to take another significant step forward as a program. I'm excited to see what happens, and am enjoying Duke being relevant again in the world of big time college football. Not in my lifetime has Duke won a Bowl game until now. Thank you Coach Cut and #DukeGang for making that a reality! It goes without saying that as a fan,it sure would be fun to see Duke get a bowl winning streak started...LGD!!!

Good summary and really agree that our wr's and te's will likely show the most improvement. I'm not quite as optimistic re Sirk fine tuning - his touch on long throws is way off and I don't think that changes dramatically. However I'm also encouraged by all other fball areas including recruiting.

[nocilla]

I hadn't seen this posted before.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZLfj2U1i4s