FB: Duke 60, NCCU 7

[Bob Green]

Game Week has arrived! Discuss the NCCU game here.

[left_hook_lacey]

Game Week has arrived! Discuss the NCCU game here.

Well well well. Someone is an eager beaver this morning! I like it!!

Let's goooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

[OldPhiKap]

Woot woot!!!

[budwom]

I love opening day, but the NCCU games don't tend to reveal much, except for who gets time playing where.
The NW game, OTOH, is going to be ultra important and revealing.

[left_hook_lacey]

I love opening day, but the NCCU games don't tend to reveal much, except for who gets time playing where.
The NW game, OTOH, is going to be ultra important and revealing.

7605

[PDDuke85]

I love opening day, but the NCCU games don't tend to reveal much, except for who gets time playing where.
The NW game, OTOH, is going to be ultra important and revealing.

Betcha we see the field goal unit on 4th and whatever every chance they get.

[OldPhiKap]

Betcha we see the field goal unit on 4th and whatever every chance they get.

Perfect take-aways for me if all works well (in order):

1. Duke win
2. No injuries
3. FG 4-4 or 5-5, PATs 100%
4. "Holy crap, Daniel Jones looked great!"

But not assuming anything. Gotta execute the game plan, and take the opponent seriously. They're not coming across town just to see the stadium.

[chrishoke]

7606

[ramdevil]

The football game is ALMOST SOLD OUT.

If you have season tickets and are not going, please do the exchange! If you want tickets, there are only singles left.

Wow.

[devildeac]

The football game is ALMOST SOLD OUT.

If you have season tickets and are not going, please do the exchange! If you want tickets, there are only singles left.

Wow.

Must be annual Employee Appreciation Day:rolleyes:.

(still, a good thing ;))

[ipatent]

I love opening day, but the NCCU games don't tend to reveal much, except for who gets time playing where.
The NW game, OTOH, is going to be ultra important and revealing.

Agreed, especially with all the tough games on the schedule this year.

[budwom]

7605

I'm Mr. Happy Guy! I'll be coming down for four games, but the NCCU game has tended to be severely boring...if I lived closer than 800 miles, I'd surely be there...
I shall watch via the miracle of the iPad.

[Avvocato]

Perfect take-aways for me if all works well (in order):

3. FG 4-4 or 5-5, PATs 100%

All sounds good to me. Only thing is that I might prefer 2-2 or 3-3 on field goals, with at least one or two from 40+ yards. I want us to get into the end zone and not settle for field goals, but definitely want us to knock a few down to get confidence in the kicking game going right away.

[Dukelogger]

Perfect take-aways for me if all works well (in order):

1. Duke win
2. No injuries
3. FG 4-4 or 5-5, PATs 100%
4. "Holy crap, Daniel Jones looked great!"

But not assuming anything. Gotta execute the game plan, and take the opponent seriously. They're not coming across town just to see the stadium.

D-line has to dominate a team like Central. Secondary cant give up big plays either. So to piggyback, if I may:

5. Shutout
6. Packed stadium
7. Also, want to see Northwestern dominate Nevada, they can come to Durham overconfident the following week and leave with an L
8. As always, want to see the goats lose to Cal.

Is all of this too much to ask???:D

[budwom]

Must be annual Employee Appreciation Day:rolleyes:.

(still, a good thing ;))

Yes, that's what it is. They give away a ton of tickets. Nice move. But a LOT of them go unused. I'll be pleasantly surprised to see anything close to a packed stadium.

[devildeac]

Yes, that's what it is. They give away a ton of tickets. Nice move. But a LOT of them go unused. I'll be pleasantly surprised to see anything close to a packed stadium.

My suspicion will be an announced crowd of 34,000, an estimated number of 25,000 folks in seats which will likely be 12,000 after halftime. :rolleyes:

[Bob Green]

My suspicion will be an announced crowd of 34,000, an estimated number of 25,000 folks in seats which will likely be 12,000 after halftime. :rolleyes:

Your numbers are optimistic especially considering the weather forecast currently says 80 percent chance of rain Saturday night. Making predictions is a total waste of time but it is incredibly fun so I'll go with announced crowd of 34,000, estimated number of 16,000 folks in seats which will fall to 8,000 before halftime.

Apologies for my negativity; however, if it rains they will not come.

[CDu]

All three members of the CDu family will be in attendance. Well, at least for the first half. CDu Jr (just a shade under 3yo) won't last beyond 8pm.

It's looking like the temperatures will be downright pleasant, although there is a strong chance of rain. Fingers crossed!

[devildeac]

Your numbers are optimistic especially considering the weather forecast currently says 80 percent chance of rain Saturday night. Making predictions is a total waste of time but it is incredibly fun so I'll go with announced crowd of 34,000, estimated number of 16,000 folks in seats which will fall to 8,000 before halftime.

Apologies for my negativity; however, if it rains they will not come.

With that knowledge, your numbers are likely more accurate than mine. If Irma (Imafacultywyfe ?:rolleyes:) becomes a hurricane and moves inland instead of skirting the NC coast, the numbers may be more like 34,000/1600/800, similar to Matthew last year. :eek:

[Bob Green]

I'm Mr. Happy Guy! I'll be coming down for four games, but the NCCU game has tended to be severely boring...if I lived closer than 800 miles, I'd surely be there...

We've played NCCU five times:

2016: 49-6
2015: 55-0
2013: 45-0
2012: 54-17
2009: 49-14

While I'm still making the 175 mile commute from Hampton Roads, it is hard to argue with budwom. The 800 miles commute is a bit much for a game against NCCU.

EDIT: Thanks to Reilly for pointing out I omitted the 2009 game.

[loran16]

Oh man, so excited to see this thread pop up. History has shown us that little of what we see in this game will really tell us anything but I'm excited anyhow.

Let's win comfortably and with minimal injury

[BigWayne]

Yes, that's what it is. They give away a ton of tickets. Nice move. But a LOT of them go unused. I'll be pleasantly surprised to see anything close to a packed stadium.

Tickets can be had online for as little as $4. How can it be worth your time to put your tickets online for $4, even if you got them for free?

[uh_no]

Tickets can be had online for as little as $4. How can it be worth your time to put your tickets online for $4, even if you got them for free?

idk.....even assuming a dollar a minute for your free time, if you can put it online in less than 4 minutes and expect to sell it 100% of the time, it would be worth it. or perhaps the person is just altruistic and wants someone to be able to see the game who otherwise couldn't afford it!

[Bob Green]

Games notes including the Depth Chart on Page 11:

http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/attachments1/files/4200/618537.pdf

Eight true freshmen and seven redshirt freshmen listed on offense and defense combined. Surprises:

1. Mark Gilbert listed as starting cornerback. So much for the rumors he was in Coach Cutcliffe's doghouse.
2. Noah Gray listed as #3 TE above Mark Birmingham.
3. Freshman Victor Dimukeje starting at DE.

[chrishoke]

Great news about Gilbert.

[Olympic Fan]

Duke released its updated depth chart today and it contained some surprises:

True freshman Victor Dimukeye is listed as a starting DE.

He's the only freshman listed as a starter, but five others made the second team, including DE Drew Jordan, DT Derrick Tangelo, Strike safety Michael Carter II, CB Marquise Waters and OG Rakavius Chambers. The latter is interesting -- in his time at Duke only one true freshman has ever played as a true freshman (Julian Santos last year). A couple of others -- David Harding, Laken Tomlinson -- have been listed as second team as freshmen, but never got on the field. Cut told reporters that Chambers will play a lot.

Only one other big surprise on the depth chart -- at TE. Daniel Helm and Davis Koppenhaver are 1-2 as expected, but true freshman Noah Gray is No. 3, ahead of heralded redshirt freshman Mark Birmingham (and head of his more highly touted freshman classmate Jake Marwede, who is not listed)

Let's see -- special teams:

Austin Parker and William Holmquist are listed as either or at placekicker.

Shaun Wilson and Johnathan Lloyd are the top two KO return men

TJ Rahming and Shaun Wilson are the top two punt returners.

I assume Jim will be posting soon with Cut's comments. I'm sure he'll have more info, but the depth chart tells us a lot.

[chrishoke]

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Two NC Central starters suspended for season opener at Duke - DE AND WR

[Bob Green]

Tweets:


Stephen Wiseman‏
@stevewisemanNC

Cutcliffe: Expect lineup changes week-to-week not due to injuries, per se, but because the roster is deep, talented. Practice matters.


Duke Football‏Verified account
@DukeFOOTBALL

"I think we know who we are & where we are because of this camp. I think we are in a great position to go play game one,"


Stephen Wiseman‏ @stevewisemanNC 33s34 seconds ago

Cutcliffe said this is the fastest team he's had at Duke. Newcomers play big role in this.

[Bob Green]

More quotes from Coach Cutcliffe:


@DukeFOOTBALL 6m6 minutes ago

"They are doing it in every aspect of what we think the standards of what a #Duke football player are," @DavidCutcliffe on his 4 captains


@DukeFOOTBALL 5m5 minutes ago

"It would have to be practice habits because you can't hide them," @DavidCutcliffe on what one attribute he would make sure a captain had


@DukeFOOTBALL 5m5 minutes ago

"@benjamin_wyatt_ is going to be our No. 1 long snapper. Boehme is going to be our holder. He has been great in camp. As has @j_lloyd5," Cut


@DukeFOOTBALL 5m5 minutes ago

"If I had to play today, @da_finesse_kid (Austin Parker) would be the punter & place kicker. He could also kick off. Him or @JackDriggers," @DavidCutcliffe


@DukeFOOTBALL 20s20 seconds ago

"We can't turn the ball over. We have to keep ahead of the chains. On defense we cannot give up big, explosive plays," @DavidCutcliffe

[uh_no]

Tweets:

oooo. i like fast.

hopefluly we'll end our bowl drought :)

[devildeac]

oooo. i like fast.

hopefluly we'll end our bowl drought :)


Sheesh, spoiled much?

;)

[superdave]

I have not had the chance to read this yet, but this looks good. Ben Swain is a pretty active Duke fan on Twitter, if you are not already following him.

http://www.wralsportsfan.com/duke-s-daniel-jones-ready-to-be-cutcliffe-s-best-quarterback/16914635/

[Avvocato]

ESPN online's preseason ACC power rankings can be found here: http://www.espn.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/99559/acc-preseason-power-rankings-fsu-clemson-lead-the-way. Duke is listed 9th, but the author, David Hale, states:


Truth be told, we’re higher on Duke than most, but it’s tough to justify putting a 4-8 team higher than this to open the season. Daniel Jones might be the league’s best quarterback outside of defending Heisman winner Jackson, and from T.J. Rahming to Ben Humphreys, this may be David Cutcliffe’s most talented roster at Duke. The big questions are on both sides of the line of scrimmage, where the O-line struggled to open running lanes last season and the defensive front lacks a star pass-rusher.

Pretty fair preseason stance on the team. And oh, UNC is at #11.

[BoiseDevil]

D-line has to dominate a team like Central. Secondary cant give up big plays either. So to piggyback, if I may:

5. Shutout
6. Packed stadium
7. Also, want to see Northwestern dominate Nevada, they can come to Durham overconfident the following week and leave with an L
8. As always, want to see the goats lose to Cal.

Is all of this too much to ask???:D

Let's add:

In a surprising announcement, the NCAA COI hands down a UNC verdict:
- vacating wins from every game an ineligible player participated
- removing every banner earned with ineligible player (3 men's bball NC's)
- LOIC confirmed, MEGADEATH penalty levied

[devildeac]

My suspicion will be an announced crowd of 34,000, an estimated number of 25,000 folks in seats which will likely be 12,000 after halftime. :rolleyes:


Your numbers are optimistic especially considering the weather forecast currently says 80 percent chance of rain Saturday night. Making predictions is a total waste of time but it is incredibly fun so I'll go with announced crowd of 34,000, estimated number of 16,000 folks in seats which will fall to 8,000 before halftime.

Apologies for my negativity; however, if it rains they will not come.

Latest Weather Channel forecast (about an hour ago) for Derm has 90-100% chance of rain Thursday and Friday with Saturday AM showers and down to a 20% chance of rain overall for the day. That sounds much more favorable/enjoyable.

[Bob Green]

After the game is over, I will be headed to Fayetteville for the remainder of Labor Day Weekend. A question for Raleigh area residents, is there any road construction ongoing on I-40? After having to deal with the construction on I-85 during my commute from Virginia to Durham, hopefully I will not have to deal with construction on I-40 through Raleigh during my travels to Fayetteville.

[Indoor66]

After the game is over, I will be headed to Fayetteville for the remainder of Labor Day Weekend. A question for Raleigh area residents, is there any road construction ongoing on I-40? After having to deal with the construction on I-85 during my commute from Virginia to Durham, hopefully I will not have to deal with construction on I-40 through Raleigh during my travels to Fayetteville.

There is always the scenic route route of 751 to US 1 and then down through Spring Lake into Fayetteville. Sometimes more pleasant than I-40 / I-95.

[devildeac]

After the game is over, I will be headed to Fayetteville for the remainder of Labor Day Weekend. A question for Raleigh area residents, is there any road construction ongoing on I-40? After having to deal with the construction on I-85 during my commute from Virginia to Durham, hopefully I will not have to deal with construction on I-40 through Raleigh during my travels to Fayetteville.

There is construction on I-40 in the southern part of Raleigh but I'm not sure what they do with lane closures on weekends, especially after the 10 PM time you'd be traveling after the game. I-66 (that's Indoor 66) has a reasonable thought of taking the scenic route as an alternative. I hope he didn't choke on any Cheerios while pondering that option :p.

[Bob Green]

There is always the scenic route route of 751 to US 1 and then down through Spring Lake into Fayetteville. Sometimes more pleasant than I-40 / I-95.

I am certain there is some sort of severe penalty for using "scenic" and "Spring Lake" in the same sentence.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

After the game is over, I will be headed to Fayetteville for the remainder of Labor Day Weekend. A question for Raleigh area residents, is there any road construction ongoing on I-40? After having to deal with the construction on I-85 during my commute from Virginia to Durham, hopefully I will not have to deal with construction on I-40 through Raleigh during my travels to Fayetteville.

The NC DOT web site posts up to date information about construction, accidents and other factors which influence travel on Interstates and other roads.
http://tims.ncdot.gov/tims/default.aspx

[Olympic Fan]

Obviously no drama Saturday -- even Duke will win easily. Even last year's 4-8 team piled up a 49-0 halftime edge on what turned out to be a 9-3 NCCU bowl team ... it could have gotten really ugly, except Coach Cut called off the dogs and played it remarkably conservatively in the second half. He's done that before -- I suspect that he doesn't want to embarrass NCCU.

So I'm not looking at the final score (unless it is close, then I would take that as a VERY bad sign).

Realistically, I'm looking:

1. For signs that our placekicking has improved. A year ago, Cut passed up a fairly short field goal late in the game. I think the experience might have helped Reed. This time, I hate to think of our offense stopped in the red zone, but I'd like to see 2-3 field goal tries -- either by Parker or Holmquist. Just to get off on the right foot.

2. A ferocious pass rush -- without blitzing. Last year, Duke had five sacks, but one was by Giles-Harris on the blitz and two more were by DBs Devon Edwards and Corbin McCarthy. Might have been another by a safety. A year ago, 18 of our 29 sacs were by LBs and defensive backs ... 7.5 of the others were by DL who have left (Wolf, Price and Boyce). Our young pass rushers need to show up.

3. I want to see David Jones hit at least one bomb. Not a short or medium pass that the receiver breaks open for a long TD. I know Jones is accurate in the short and middle range. But how long has it been since we had a QB who could launch a long (40-50-60 yard) pass in the air and connect with a deep receiver? Do we have a receive who can get behind the secondary?

4. I want to see the new OL open holes and protect the QB. That might not tell us much. A year ago, Duke rushed for 308 yards ... but it was slightly less than 5.0 yards a carry. Duncan and backup QB Parker Boehme did most of the damage. The backup line gave up one sack in the second half.

5. I want to see Jones go to his tight ends. That should be a strength of the team. A year ago, he didn't use his tight ends early, but he did late ... I want to see that start right away.

6. I want to see the secondary -- a mix of young and old -- make plays on the ball. Breon Borders was our best coverage guy (he led the ACC in passes defended). Fields was decent (2 int; six PBU), but he was better in 2013 and 2014 before his injury ... hope he can regain that form. And a couple of young CBs need to step up.

7. I want to see backup QB Quentin Harris perform well. I've seen him look good in scrimmage situations, but the one time he got to play - against NCCU last year -- he was terrible. We need him to get some confidence and prove he can be effective -- this team's biggest vulnerability is the health of Daniel Jones. If he goes down, can Harris step up?

8. Finally, I want to see as many youngers -- both freshmen and redshirt freshmen -- play and play well. The depth chart has one true freshman starter and seven more as second-teamers. But there should be real excitement about the strongest redshirt freshman class Cut has ever had -- RB Brittain Brown, WR Scott Bracy, TE Mark Birmingham, OT Robert Kraekling, LB Xander Gangon and CB/KR Myles Hudzick are all potential standouts.

Anyway, even though I expect the NCCU game to be a lopsided blowout, I think there is a lot to learn from the game.

[budwom]

David Jones? Try to get a good look at his locker if you can

[Olympic Fan]

David Jones? Try to get a good look at his locker if you can

My bad ... apologies, Daniel

[DU82]

After the game is over, I will be headed to Fayetteville for the remainder of Labor Day Weekend. A question for Raleigh area residents, is there any road construction ongoing on I-40? After having to deal with the construction on I-85 during my commute from Virginia to Durham, hopefully I will not have to deal with construction on I-40 through Raleigh during my travels to Fayetteville.

Construction on I-40 (and most roads) is suspended during holidays. Three lanes are open in each direction. You should not have a problem, unless the State game ends as you're driving by. And (checking schedules) they're playing in Charlotte, so THAT shouldn't be a problem.

Depending on where in Fayetteville you're heading, the US 1 to Sanford then on 421 and NC 87 may be a quicker route than I-40 to I-95.

[sagegrouse]

David Jones? Try to get a good look at his locker if you can

Man, quit stealing my lines! ;)

Actually, I thought NCCU turned in an embarrassing performance last year, especially in half-hearted attempts at tackling. I am glad the Eagles had a good season in 2016, but I hope they play really hard on Saturday -- we need competition.

[jimsumner]

Obviously no drama Saturday -- even Duke will win easily. Even last year's 4-8 team piled up a 49-0 halftime edge on what turned out to be a 9-3 NCCU bowl team ... it could have gotten really ugly, except Coach Cut called off the dogs and played it remarkably conservatively in the second half. He's done that before -- I suspect that he doesn't want to embarrass NCCU.

So I'm not looking at the final score (unless it is close, then I would take that as a VERY bad sign).

Realistically, I'm looking:

1. For signs that our placekicking has improved. A year ago, Cut passed up a fairly short field goal late in the game. I think the experience might have helped Reed. This time, I hate to think of our offense stopped in the red zone, but I'd like to see 2-3 field goal tries -- either by Parker or Holmquist. Just to get off on the right foot.

.

I, too, want to see the place-kickers get off on the right foot. If they use their left feet, we're in trouble. :)

[DU82]

Uniform for Saturday - Blue, blue and white. Our best look.

https://mobile.twitter.com/DukeFBEquipment/status/903263434405498880/photo/1

[BigWayne]

Uniform for Saturday - Blue, blue and white. Our best look.

https://mobile.twitter.com/DukeFBEquipment/status/903263434405498880/photo/1

Would be nice if they would just wear that every home game.

[OldPhiKap]

Bump. 32 hours to go!!!!!

[budwom]

Man, quit stealing my lines! ;)

Actually, I thought NCCU turned in an embarrassing performance last year, especially in half-hearted attempts at tackling. I am glad the Eagles had a good season in 2016, but I hope they play really hard on Saturday -- we need competition.

I agree. At some point we need to upgrade the opponent in the opening game, while keeping it as a highly probable win. I know that getting to six wins is of paramount importance. But in the mismatches with NCCU, not much is learned, lazy habits can sprout up, the kind of habits we can't afford to have vs Northwestern.....I know Duke wants to make the NCCU a big Durham event, but frankly the attendance each year is far from impressive.

[OldPhiKap]

I agree. At some point we need to upgrade the opponent in the opening game, while keeping it as a highly probable win. I know that getting to six wins is of paramount importance. But in the mismatches with NCCU, not much is learned, lazy habits can sprout up, the kind of habits we can't afford to have vs Northwestern...I know Duke wants to make the NCCU a big Durham event, but frankly the attendance each year is far from impressive.

I like that we open with NCCU for several reasons.

1. It helps NCCU. It gets a nice check to a cross-town school, and gets them a game against a D-1 opponent.
2. It helps Duke. We should be a big favorite, and if it does get lopsided we get some reps for those deeper down the depth chart. Good experience, and less banging on the top of the rotation. If there are bad habits, iron them out before the first big test.
3. It helps Durham, I guess. At worst, it doesn't hurt.

I'd rather do that than go back to playing teams like Richmond, who can reach up and bite you. App. St. or Georgia Southern? No thanks.

[devildeac]

Chance of rain now <25% in Derm after 0800 Saturday. :D

[budwom]

^^ I hear ya, OPK, but Durham doesn't seem to care very much about the game. Attendance is typically very unimpressive, despite wads of tickets being given away...The big local turnouts I had hoped to see have not materialized.
But yeah, helping NCCU is a good thing for sure.

[Bob Green]

I hear ya, OPK, but Durham doesn't seem to care very much about the game. Attendance is typically very unimpressive, despite wads of tickets being given away...The big local turnouts I had hoped to see have not materialized. But yeah, helping NCCU is a good thing for sure.

We play NCCU again next year but then we take a three year break. The FCS opponent in coming years:

2018 - NCCU
2019 - NC A&T
2020 - Elon
2021 - NC A&T

http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa/acc/duke-blue-devils.php

[sagegrouse]

We play NCCU again next year but then we take a three year break. The FCS opponent in coming years:

2018 - NCCU
2019 - NC A&T
2020 - Elon
2021 - NC A&T

http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa/acc/duke-blue-devils.php

Holy cow! We have FCS games known in 2021, and we can't get a basketball schedule for a season starting in two months?!?!

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Holy cow! We have FCS games known in 2012, and we can't get a basketball schedule for a season starting in two months?!?!

I can do better than that... I can predict with 99% accuracy the results of every game from 2012. PM me for details.

SPOILER ALERT: It goes downhill after the UNC game.

No fair, you fixed it and killed my joke.

[sagegrouse]

I can do better than that... I can predict with 99% accuracy the results of every game from 2012. PM me for details.

SPOILER ALERT: It goes downhill after the UNC game.

No fair, you fixed it and killed my joke.

Yeah, yeah! I fixed it. The error was a result of the coincidence of the world's worst typist and the world's worst proofreader.

[arnie]

We play NCCU again next year but then we take a three year break. The FCS opponent in coming years:

2018 - NCCU
2019 - NC A&T
2020 - Elon
2021 - NC A&T

http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa/acc/duke-blue-devils.php

But we can't work out an occasional non-conference game with State who we see in Durham once every 14 years.

[camion]

Yeah, yeah! I fixed it. The error was a result of the coincidence of the world's worst typist and the world's worst proofreader.

Wait, what?? I deny any involvement with this one.

And I may be a lousy typist, but I'm a decent poorfeeder.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Wait, what?? I deny any involvement with this one.

And I may be a lousy typist, but I'm a decent poorfeeder.

Poorfeeder?

[rsvman]

Poorfeeder?

Classic.

[sagegrouse]

Poorfeeder?

Well, noone is perfcet.

[NSDukeFan]

Wait, what?? I deny any involvement with this one.

And I may be a lousy typist, but I'm a decent poorfeeder.


Poorfeeder?

I sometimes miss my mouth when I eat as weel.

[Bob Green]

Game Day has arrived!

I'll offer a few comments on OF's excellent post on today's NCCU game. All of OF's points were great but I've selected four which really standout to me.




2. A ferocious pass rush -- without blitzing. Last year, Duke had five sacks, but one was by Giles-Harris on the blitz and two more were by DBs Devon Edwards and Corbin McCarthy. Might have been another by a safety. A year ago, 18 of our 29 sacs were by LBs and defensive backs ... 7.5 of the others were by DL who have left (Wolf, Price and Boyce). Our young pass rushers need to show up.

The ability to consistently generate a pass rush without blitzing remains the biggest question mark headed into the season. The young defensive linemen on the edge must get after the opponent's quarterback.




4. I want to see the new OL open holes and protect the QB.

Offensive line play was a team strength during the four year bowl game run. Last year performance took a step back which cannot happen again this season if the team is going to win games against tough opponents. I'm optimistic the insertion of 5th year grad transfer Evan Lisle at right tackle is going to be an upgrade.

I'm an old fashioned "run to set-up the pass" guy so the OL has to give the running backs room to operate.




6. I want to see the secondary -- a mix of young and old -- make plays on the ball. Breon Borders was our best coverage guy (he led the ACC in passes defended). Fields was decent (2 int; six PBU), but he was better in 2013 and 2014 before his injury ... hope he can regain that form. And a couple of young CBs need to step up.

Our secondary was shredded last season and as OF points out we lost our best cover guy. I believe the lack of a consistent pass rush, which resulted in Duke deciding to frequently gamble with the blitz was a huge factor but it wasn't the only factor. The defensive backs must do a better job on coverage.





8. Finally, I want to see as many youngers -- both freshmen and redshirt freshmen -- play and play well. The depth chart has one true freshman starter and seven more as second-teamers. But there should be real excitement about the strongest redshirt freshman class Cut has ever had -- RB Brittain Brown, WR Scott Bracy, TE Mark Birmingham, OT Robert Kraekling, LB Xander Gangon and CB/KR Myles Hudzick are all potential standouts.

Recruiting has achieved big successes the past few seasons so it is time to get these youngster on the field and performing!

Let's Go Duke! The season has arrived and I am excited (in case anyone didn't know). ;)

[budwom]

There is just about nothing that doesn't need improving. Pass rush, defensive back play, offensive line, kicking game, wide receivers all underperformed last year. Lots of young talent this year, we'll see.

[ricks68]

David Jones? Try to get a good look at his locker if you can

Another outstanding budwom post. Even better than dd explaining that he was using I-66 as an abbreviation for Indoor66------in the same sentence. (Saved a lot of time and effort on that one, didn't you, dd?) Thanks for giving me some good laughs again from both of you guys.😊

ricks

[devildeac]

Another outstanding budwom post. Even better than dd explaining that he was using I-66 as an abbreviation for Indoor66------in the same sentence. (Saved a lot of time and effort on that one, didn't you, dd?) Thanks for giving me some good laughs again from both of you guys.😊

ricks

I'm here to serve and occasionally (infrequently? rarely?) entertain. :o

[Indoor66]

I'm here to serve and occasionally (infrequently? rarely?) entertain. :o

Is like the UnCheat motto "To Seem Rather Than To Be"?

[devildeac]

Is like the UnCheat motto "To Seem Rather Than To Be"?

Polar opposite.

[CameronBlue]

Polar opposite.

Wow, 6:01 pm and I can't believe it but....I miss Bob. Listening to Bob was kindof like looking at a Dali painting. You'd hear the unmistakeable signs that he was looking at something real and cogent, but you had to unwind the distortions and move the body parts around a bit to get the full picture.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Well, this seems to be a promising start.

[TKG]

Well, this seems to be a promising start.

At the risk of being labeled Debbie Downer, we beat the crap of Central last year, too.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

At the risk of being labeled Debbie Downer, we beat the crap of Central last year, too.

I am willing to say if we can average 21 pts a quarter, we will win a lot of games.

[Indoor66]

I am willing to say if we can average 21 pts a quarter, we will win a lot of games.

Depends on how many you give up! 😊😋😎

[YmoBeThere]

Through the goal posts but it wasn't pretty.

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

At the risk of being labeled Debbie Downer, we beat the crap of Central last year, too.
Agree. I love what we're doing but it's hard to know how good we might be b/c Central is just god awful.

[riverside6]

Some truly impressive stats for Duke thus far, live stats for Duke/NC Central here...

https://www.scacchoops.com/north-carolina-central-at-duke-football-live-stats-09022017

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Zero penalties according to ESPN.

[brlftz]

My daughter is at the game, and her key insight is that Justise Winslow is ridiculously handsome

[OldPhiKap]

Good deal, off and running right!!!!

[TKG]

In the words of Bill Belichick, we're on to Northwestern.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

A well played game by the first string on both sides of the ball, except for one missed defensive assignment. Second string played well too, third string offense not so much. I was very pleased. I'm sure Cut finds room for improvement, and there is!

On to Northwestern! LGD GTHc!

[OZ]

Zero penalties according to ESPN.


Those "zero" penalties cost us two TDs.

Quick thoughts... with the caveat - yeah, I know it was Central: Jones looked good... confidence was obvious; several freshmen played... one of whom was Brown, who looked particularly good at RB - he's a keeper; we have better depth... time will tell how much better; WW seems to be finally finished and looks great... on the East side, a totally new entrance plaza, new rest rooms and an impressive row of new lighted concession buildings... a new brick wall now circles the horse shoe with impressive columns and signs designating sections and seats... the asphalt is covered with brick and large concrete tiles. Kudos to those who drew up the plans. Next week Northwestern... hopefully not Irma.

[Devilwin]

Liked what I saw. Jones was great, Brown impressed at running back, and Fields had a good game too. Liked the young defensive line. Next week, comes a much better team into WW. That will tell us more about this Duke team. And I believe Irma may turn out to sea..

[OldPhiKap]

Jim Summer has a nice recap on the front page. My favorite part of all:


Cutcliffe says it looks like Duke suffered no significant injuries.

[Bob Green]

The running game looked very good. Shaun Wilson and Brittain Brown have the potential to be a dynamic duo.

[budwom]

Betcha we see the field goal unit on 4th and whatever every chance they get.

We didn't try a FG on 4th and 9, quite surprising (perfect opportunity).

[budwom]

The football game is ALMOST SOLD OUT.

If you have season tickets and are not going, please do the exchange! If you want tickets, there are only singles left.

Wow.

As previously discussed, another Duke created mirage. As always vs NCCU, gobs and gobs of empty seats...30k was the claimed attendance, based on tickets sold and given away via air drop.
For people there, what do you estimate, the usual 18k or so? Can't tell from TV...

[budwom]

It was disorienting listening to the new Duke announcer (once the WatchESPN app crapped out for me as it did for many others, evidently)...guy was flat out lucid.

[rtnorthrup]

I was all in favor of scheduling NCCU when the series started. It was a guaranteed win to start the season, and there is a huge psychological effect of starting 1-0. It was good for the community, and was supposed to be good for ticket sales.

I did not expect NCCU to be so non-competitive in these matchups. It really is difficult to get a read on where Duke is at the moment. This was nothing more than a glorified scrimmage, and quite frankly, I think we would have been better off scrimmaging our 1s v 2s.

Whatever questions we had going into this week, still remain.

We have a HUGE game coming up next week. NW is a winnable game, but certainly not a gimme. Given the strength of our remaining schedule, a win against NW is important if we want to go bowling this year. Cut said after the game that he felt he got a lot of good video for the team to look at. Confidence should be high for a lot of the players on the team, which will help this week.

1) Questions still remain about the kicking game
2) Still waiting for a WR to step up. Maybe Young will be the guy. He had a good Spring Showcase, and has the physical tools.
3) The young DL look good. Let's hope this keeps going.
4) Loved the tempo of the offense, especially early in the game.

[budwom]

I was all in favor of scheduling NCCU when the series started. It was a guaranteed win to start the season, and there is a huge psychological effect of starting 1-0. It was good for the community, and was supposed to be good for ticket sales.

I did not expect NCCU to be so non-competitive in these matchups. It really is difficult to get a read on where Duke is at the moment. This was nothing more than a glorified scrimmage, and quite frankly, I think we would have been better off scrimmaging our 1s v 2s.

Whatever questions we had going into this week, still remain.

We have a HUGE game coming up next week. NW is a winnable game, but certainly not a gimme. Given the strength of our remaining schedule, a win against NW is important if we want to go bowling this year. Cut said after the game that he felt he got a lot of good video for the team to look at. Confidence should be high for a lot of the players on the team, which will help this week.

1) Questions still remain about the kicking game
2) Still waiting for a WR to step up. Maybe Young will be the guy. He had a good Spring Showcase, and has the physical tools.
3) The young DL look good. Let's hope this keeps going.
4) Loved the tempo of the offense, especially early in the game.

Very good summary. I would add that while NW has had similar talent to what Duke has, they have made far fewer major mistakes in our games with them recently...last year our secondary fell apart on a number of long pass plays.
I think we may have more talent there now, but it is very inexperienced talent. We can't afford to make those mistakes this year. It's been said Cutcliffe has simplified the assignments of the secondary...let's hope that's true.
Opportunity knocks as NW is at least beatable, and our next opponent, Baylor just lost to Liberty...

[NYBri]

Weak opponent or not, I was impressed by the team speed...especially on defense. I don't recall ever seeing a Duke team that appeared to be so quick...not just the running backs, but the D-line and backers. They closed ground on NCCU's backs, WRs and QB real fast...and looked fresh.

On to NW to see how they stack up against a better (quicker?) team.

[budwom]

Weak opponent or not, I was impressed by the team speed...especially on defense. I don't recall ever seeing a Duke team that appeared to be so quick...not just the running backs, but the D-line and backers. They closed ground on NCCU's backs, WRs and QB real fast...and looked fresh.

On to NW to see how they stack up against a better (quicker?) team.

In particular (and I shall now mangle his name) Dmukeje at DE is the kind of guy we haven't had in a long long time...big, strong, and very quick...and only a freshman.

[OldPhiKap]

In particular (and I shall now mangle his name) Dmukeje at DE is the kind of guy we haven't had in a long long time...big, strong, and very quick...and only a freshman.

The depth of quality recruiting has improved every year it seems. The freshmen and redshirt freshmen that played showed a lot of promise.

We need to nail down our kicking. Then I'll be a little more comfortable.

[Reilly]

It was disorienting listening to the new Duke announcer (once the WatchESPN app crapped out for me as it did for many others, evidently)...guy was flat out lucid.

He spoke very quickly, imparted lots of information, and it all made sense. It was disorienting.

[devildeac]

As previously discussed, another Duke created mirage. As always vs NCCU, gobs and gobs of empty seats...30k was the claimed attendance, based on tickets sold and given away via air drop.
For people there, what do you estimate, the usual 18k or so? Can't tell from TV...

Bob Green and I both guessed about 24K butts in seats at KO time, maybe 10-12K after halftime and, after Bob and his lovely family left as the 4th quarter started, I'll estimate about 5K remained.

[Olympic Fan]

It was disorienting listening to the new Duke announcer (once the WatchESPN app crapped out for me as it did for many others, evidently)...guy was flat out lucid.

You too? I made it through the NCCU touchdown late in the second quarter with few problems ... but after that -- nothing.

Obviously, when evaluating the game, we have to consider that it's Central and they are non-competitive. Even so, I take some positives out of the game (based on pregame expectations listed earlier in this thread).

1. The kicking game was better -- while not perfect. I wish Parker would have gotten another couple of FG tries (and there were opportunities). Plus, the clunked EXP was a downer.

2. Quentin Harris was solid as the backup QB. That gives me hope that if we lose Jones for a brief time, we can survive.

3. Jones hit a deep ball to Aaron Young. That's something we didn't see last year or the year before.

4. A LOT of youngsters looked good -- Brittain Brown and Victor Dimukeje (1.5 sacks) most of all. And TE Noah Gray. But Drew Jordan (who teamed with Dimukeje for one sack), Deon Jackson, Rock Chambers, Derrick Tangelo, Axel Nyembwe and Marquis Waters all made positive contributions. I was glad to see redshirt freshman Scott Bracey with two midrange catches.

It was better than last year in that we actually played two halves. Interesting that in the last two years, we've outscored NCAA 96-7 in the first half and 13-6 in the second.

One other point. I was crushed Bryon Field's second pick six was called back. Not sure about the last two years, but late in the 2013 season, when Devon Edwards had two pick sixes in a game with NC State, he was just the second player in college football to have two puck sixes in a single game. The other was Duke's Leon Wright in a game at Army.

How neat would it have been to have the only THREE players with two pick sixes came from Duke? (Although I admit somebody else may have done it after Edwards).

[Reilly]

What was the spread last night?

Central's MEAC brethren Howard pulled off the largest point-spread upset (45) in CFB history last night, beating UNLV, with Mike London making his Howard debut, and Cam Newton's little brother at QB.

[Acymetric]

You too? I made it through the NCCU touchdown late in the second quarter with few problems ... but after that -- nothing.

Obviously, when evaluating the game, we have to consider that it's Central and they are non-competitive. Even so, I take some positives out of the game (based on pregame expectations listed earlier in this thread).

1. The kicking game was better -- while not perfect. I wish Parker would have gotten another couple of FG tries (and there were opportunities). Plus, the clunked EXP was a downer.

2. Quentin Harris was solid as the backup QB. That gives me hope that if we lose Jones for a brief time, we can survive.

3. Jones hit a deep ball to Aaron Young. That's something we didn't see last year or the year before.

4. A LOT of youngsters looked good -- Brittain Brown and Victor Dimukeje (1.5 sacks) most of all. And TE Noah Gray. But Drew Jordan (who teamed with Dimukeje for one sack), Deon Jackson, Rock Chambers, Derrick Tangelo, Axel Nyembwe and Marquis Waters all made positive contributions. I was glad to see redshirt freshman Scott Bracey with two midrange catches.

It was better than last year in that we actually played two halves. Interesting that in the last two years, we've outscored NCAA 96-7 in the first half and 13-6 in the second.

One other point. I was crushed Bryon Field's second pick six was called back. Not sure about the last two years, but late in the 2013 season, when Devon Edwards had two pick sixes in a game with NC State, he was just the second player in college football to have two puck sixes in a single game. The other was Duke's Leon Wright in a game at Army.

How neat would it have been to have the only THREE players with two pick sixes came from Duke? (Although I admit somebody else may have done it after Edwards).

It wasn't having two pick sixes in a game, it was having two pick sixes on BACK TO BACK plays. At least one player has had three, and probably quite a few have had two.

[Olympic Fan]

What was the spread last night?

Central's MEAC brethren Howard pulled off the largest point-spread upset (45) in CFB history last night, beating UNLV, with Mike London making his Howard debut, and Cam Newton's little brother at QB.

My friend and I were going nuts over the spread -- the game opened at 27 points ... but by kickoff, it was up to 36.

The opening spread was ridiculous -- the closest Duke-NCCU game ever was 35 points -- and that was back in 2009 when Duke was not that good. The final was still a bit low -- the last three matchups have been 45, 55 and 43 (49-0 at the halt).

Too bad I'm not a gambling man, but last night's game was free money.

[budwom]

^ I spoke with a number of people (and read on various boards) that the feed crapped out for just about everyone in the latter part of the second quarter...only tiny snippets thereafter (useless).

[loran16]

I was all in favor of scheduling NCCU when the series started. It was a guaranteed win to start the season, and there is a huge psychological effect of starting 1-0. It was good for the community, and was supposed to be good for ticket sales.

I did not expect NCCU to be so non-competitive in these matchups. It really is difficult to get a read on where Duke is at the moment. This was nothing more than a glorified scrimmage, and quite frankly, I think we would have been better off scrimmaging our 1s v 2s.

Whatever questions we had going into this week, still remain.

We have a HUGE game coming up next week. NW is a winnable game, but certainly not a gimme. Given the strength of our remaining schedule, a win against NW is important if we want to go bowling this year. Cut said after the game that he felt he got a lot of good video for the team to look at. Confidence should be high for a lot of the players on the team, which will help this week.

1) Questions still remain about the kicking game
2) Still waiting for a WR to step up. Maybe Young will be the guy. He had a good Spring Showcase, and has the physical tools.
3) The young DL look good. Let's hope this keeps going.
4) Loved the tempo of the offense, especially early in the game.

I wonder if it will be possible to move the NCCU game in the future to week 2 or beyond....it's providing us very little in terms of a test to start the season, but would be nice as a second "bye" week midseason or a place to test out players midseason we have some questions on.

[budwom]

I wonder if it will be possible to move the NCCU game in the future to week 2 or beyond...it's providing us very little in terms of a test to start the season, but would be nice as a second "bye" week midseason or a place to test out players midseason we have some questions on.

I think that's done...9/22 next year, gone thereafter....we open with Army next year, a much better choice.

[Olympic Fan]

One thing I forgot to talk about -- the offensive line.

I don't have the exact number, but a year ago, we committed 10 penalties against NCCU and most of them were procedure penalties by the OL (pretty sure Gabe Brandner in his first start had three such penalties). This year's line had none.

The first team line gave up no sacks and just one hurry. The second-team OL gave up one sack.

The run blocking was excellent -- 5.2 a carry (up from 4.9 a year ago).

Again, it's Central, so don't read too much into it ... but I would argue that the OL performed at a much higher level Saturday night than they did against Central a year ago.

[DukeDevil]

^ I spoke with a number of people (and read on various boards) that the feed crapped out for just about everyone in the latter part of the second quarter...only tiny snippets thereafter (useless).

Well, in a way, for me, that's good to hear. I'd been having internet issues for streaming live feeds recently, and I thought it was fixed until the game crapped out. A bit later I tried another game on watchespn with tennis and that seemed fine, but the Duke game still wouldn't stream, so it seemed to be limited to that feed. Good to know that it probably wasn't my internet.

I'm gonna say that this better not happen during a big time game, basketball or football or otherwise.

[Nugget]

I see that despite essentially emptying the bench last night that several returning scholarship players didn't play, including DEs Terrell Lucas and Chidi Okonya, LB Tinashe Bere and OG Reno Rosene.

Anyone closer to the scene have a sense whether they might be nicked (even though not listed on the pre-game injury report), or have they just been lapped in the rotation by younger players?

[chrishoke]

Bere not reaching the field is particularly confounding.

[chrishoke]

Stephen Wiseman
@stevewisemanNC
Duke's David Cutcliffe said team's O-line played better last night than at any time last season. Very important thing for Blue Devils
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[Richard Berg]

Weak opponent or not, I was impressed by the team speed...especially on defense. I don't recall ever seeing a Duke team that appeared to be so quick...not just the running backs, but the D-line and backers. They closed ground on NCCU's backs, WRs and QB real fast...and looked fresh.

On NCCU's one breakaway score, it looked to me like Fields was sandbagging -- at least, I hope so! Isaiah Totten is not even a starter (think the announcer said he's their #3 RB?), yet after hitting the hole, he was able to add more & more distance between the ball and our secondary for 70yd straight.

[Bob Green]

I see that despite essentially emptying the bench last night that several returning scholarship players didn't play, including DEs Terrell Lucas and Chidi Okonya, LB Tinashe Bere and OG Reno Rosene.

Chidi Okonya has had some health (foot) issues.

[chrishoke]

On NCCU's one breakaway score, it looked to me like Fields was sandbagging -- at least, I hope so! Isaiah Totten is not even a starter (think the announcer said he's their #3 RB?), yet after hitting the hole, he was able to add more & more distance between the ball and our secondary for 70yd straight.

I think that was redshirt freshman Dylan Singleton, not Fields.

[CharlestonDave]

I was all in favor of scheduling NCCU when the series started. It was a guaranteed win to start the season, and there is a huge psychological effect of starting 1-0. It was good for the community, and was supposed to be good for ticket sales.

I did not expect NCCU to be so non-competitive in these matchups. It really is difficult to get a read on where Duke is at the moment. This was nothing more than a glorified scrimmage, and quite frankly, I think we would have been better off scrimmaging our 1s v 2s.

Whatever questions we had going into this week, still remain.

We have a HUGE game coming up next week. NW is a winnable game, but certainly not a gimme. Given the strength of our remaining schedule, a win against NW is important if we want to go bowling this year. Cut said after the game that he felt he got a lot of good video for the team to look at. Confidence should be high for a lot of the players on the team, which will help this week.

1) Questions still remain about the kicking game
2) Still waiting for a WR to step up. Maybe Young will be the guy. He had a good Spring Showcase, and has the physical tools.
3) The young DL look good. Let's hope this keeps going.
4) Loved the tempo of the offense, especially early in the game.

Yes Northwestern is a winnable but this is not your father's Northwestern team. Pat Fitzgerald is an excellent coach and he is building a winning tradition at Evanston. They have a running back, ( don't know his name , think Jackson is his last name ) who is NFL material. I would be surprised if Northwestern is not the favorite going into the game.

[budwom]

Chidi Okonya has had some health (foot) issues.

In the case of some of the guys, e.g. Rosene and Bere, the younger guys are just better. We currently have the effects of two things: 1) our last two recruiting classes have been especially good, so we have
more very good young players, and 2) without getting into names (someone on the Devils Den did a very good analysis) we had quite a few guys in the 2013 and 2014 classes who have not panned out. Some of
them still could, of course, but there are a number of guys in those classes who are unlikely to play going forward.

[Olympic Fan]

In the case of some of the guys, e.g. Rosene and Bere, the younger guys are just better. We currently have the effects of two things: 1) our last two recruiting classes have been especially good, so we have
more very good young players, and 2) without getting into names (someone on the Devils Den did a very good analysis) we had quite a few guys in the 2013 and 2014 classes who have not panned out. Some of
them still could, of course, but there are a number of guys in those classes who are unlikely to play going forward.

Rosene has been a major disappointment ... kind of like Trevon Lee. They are sitting because other kids are better.

Bere has been passed by a bunch of younger guys. But before4 his injury, he was a decent player. I'm surprised he hasn't found a role -- he still has the best size of any linebacker. Maybe he could move to DE?

But we're now loaded with good young players at DE. That includes Okonya, who has as much experience as any of our true freshmen last year. I don't know if he's hurt (not mentioned on the injury lists) or didn't play well in camp. Same for Lucas, who seemed to be a promising player as a true freshman.

[budwom]

^he's had a minor injury.

[mwharrington]

I agree. At some point we need to upgrade the opponent in the opening game, while keeping it as a highly probable win. I know that getting to six wins is of paramount importance. But in the mismatches with NCCU, not much is learned, lazy habits can sprout up, the kind of habits we can't afford to have vs Northwestern....I know Duke wants to make the NCCU a big Durham event, but frankly the attendance each year is far from impressive.

We open with Army next year, a definite upgrade from NCCU. IN 2019, we open with Alabama.