PDA

View Full Version : FB: Duke 45, Pitt 54



devildeac
10-22-2018, 10:54 PM
I thought there was a thread on this already:confused:. Must have been keelhauled or my eyes and/or reading comprehension is not too good this evening :rolleyes::o.

Bob Green claims Duke opens as a 2.5 point favorite;). What do y'all think?

Someone can add the network to the thread title if you'd like.

Reilly
10-23-2018, 05:48 AM
Wasn't it @Pitt that Jamison Crowder, after a stellar performance, ended his post-game, on-field interview with "P.O.P., hold it down"?

Reilly
10-23-2018, 06:01 AM
This year, Pitt has played three teams that were ranked in the AP top 25 at game time.

Pitt lost by 45 to #13 Penn State
Pitt lost by 31 @ #13 UCF
Pitt lost by 5 to #5 ND

Duke has not played a team that was ranked at game time.

As for a common opponent,

Pitt won over GT by 5
Duke won @GT by 14

Duke is #31 in the SRS and is a 6-ish point favorite over #74 Pitt after giving 3 for home field.

https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/2018-ratings.html

dukie’s_daughter
10-23-2018, 07:12 AM
Is it wrong to be really p*ssed at Pitt for losing to the cheats?

75Crazie
10-23-2018, 09:05 AM
Is it wrong to be really p*ssed at Pitt for losing to the cheats?
Absolutely not … it would only be wrong if that did NOT p*ss you off.

rtnorthrup
10-23-2018, 10:57 AM
Duke-Pitt games have tended to be wild affairs, usually with plenty of offense. Ollison will be the best RB we have seen this season, and Pitt loves to line up and run straight at Duke. I still have PTSD of watching Duke teams try to tackle James Connor. The good news is that Pitt's QB is not necessarily a threat to run. If Humphries is healthy, we may finally have a Defensive front 7 that can compete on a physical level with Pitt. Losing Cerenord hurt, and it showed last week against UVa. UVa's RB would consistently get 4-5 yards after first contact. 1st down is going to be big for Duke's D. If we can manage first down, I think we can defend them on obvious passing situations. If Ollison controls the game and keeps them ahead of the chains, it will be up to our offense to win a shootout (I don't think anyone feels good about that option at the moment).

Likewise, I expect Duke to try and establish a run game early. I am even expecting Daniel Jones to run the ball more as we move forward in the season. This is going to be a test for our Oline. Quite honestly, Pitt's defense has been poor this season, and this needs to be a "get well" game for Duke's offense. I would love to see Brittain Brown back. I would love to see Daniel Helm step up in this game. He hasn't been as dominant as I believe he can be. He has dropped some easy passes this season and needs to become a reliable option for Jones.

For some reason, I actually feel a little optimistic about this game. I think Cut will have this team ready to go.

HereBeforeCoachK
10-23-2018, 12:49 PM
Duke-Pitt games have tended to be wild affairs, usually with plenty of offense. .

I think Connette put up 55 a few years ago.....in a losing effort....

budwom
10-23-2018, 12:52 PM
I think Connette put up 55 a few years ago....in a losing effort...

Duke was utterly defenseless that game, Pitt had something in the vicinity of 40 pts at the half, yet somehow we came back and made a (losing) game of it...

HereBeforeCoachK
10-23-2018, 12:55 PM
Duke was utterly defenseless that game, Pitt had something in the vicinity of 40 pts at the half, yet somehow we came back and made a (losing) game of it...

I was listening to this game on radio driving up to DC.....getting poor reception. As I recall, Duke actually took the lead late, but Pitt executed an impossible third or fourth and long, and won late.

Acymetric
10-23-2018, 12:57 PM
Duke was utterly defenseless that game, Pitt had something in the vicinity of 40 pts at the half, yet somehow we came back and made a (losing) game of it...

I believe we broke our own record for points scored in a loss in the history of the ACC that game (previous record against Wake possibly). I also believe Syracuse broke (and still has) the record also against Pitt a year or two later.

OldPhiKap
10-23-2018, 01:13 PM
I still chuckle about the game we won up there a few years ago, when they had a field goal kicker named Blewitt. Of course, we won when he missed a field goal at the end.

devildeac
10-23-2018, 01:51 PM
I still chuckle about the game we won up there a few years ago, when they had a field goal kicker named Blewitt. Of course, we won when he missed a field goal at the end.

One of the few bright spots in recent Duke-Pitt FB games.

Reilly
10-23-2018, 04:24 PM
One of the few bright spots in recent Duke-Pitt FB games.

Didn't realize we've lost all but one game against Pitt since they joined the ACC.


2013: L by 3 pts
2014: W by 3 pts
2015: L by 18 pts
2016: L by 42 pts
2017: L by 7 pts

So, like with the UVa game, our seniors can claim their first win against a divisional foe.

Most of all, we need to get some payback for the October 5, 1929 52-7 loss (first Duke Stadium game).

Devil in the Blue Dress
10-23-2018, 04:46 PM
Most of all, we need to get some payback for the October 5, 1929 52-7 loss (first Duke Stadium game).

Two years after that first game, Wallace Wade moved in and changed things in so many ways.:cool:

Bob Green
10-23-2018, 05:15 PM
As I recall, Duke actually took the lead late, but Pitt executed an impossible third or fourth and long, and won late.

Your memory fails you as Duke never led in the game. Duke scored the last 14 points in the game to cut a 58-41 deficit to 58-55.

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=209264820

HereBeforeCoachK
10-23-2018, 05:43 PM
Your memory fails you as Duke never led in the game. Duke scored the last 14 points in the game to cut a 58-41 deficit to 58-55.

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=209264820

Yeah well, that happens.....with the memory - but tell me, didn't Pitt execute a very difficult third and long to keep the final drive alive? I heard the game on radio but it seems I later saw a video of a Pitt first down that required an impossible pass into a tiny window near the sidelines. Maybe right after Duke cut it to 58-55?

HereBeforeCoachK
10-23-2018, 05:44 PM
Two years after that first game, Wallace Wade moved in and changed things in so many ways.:cool:

Then Tom Harp, Ted Roof, Barry Wilson, Carl Franks, Mike McGee, Steve Sloan (not in order, but am I missing someone?) changed it back....with short reprieves from Red Wilson, Steve Spurrier, and one oddly successful year with Fred Goldsmith.

Bob Green
10-23-2018, 06:12 PM
I listened to Coach Cutcliffe's press conference and he had no health update on Brittain Brown and Aaron Young, and stated Ben Humphreys was day to day.

duke2x
10-23-2018, 08:12 PM
Duke-Pitt games have tended to be wild affairs, usually with plenty of offense...For some reason, I actually feel a little optimistic about this game. I think Cut will have this team ready to go.

Good analysis but too long to quote in full. Pitt under Chryst (1-1) was offensive fireworks. Pitt under Narduzzi (0-3) has been a domination of our offense. On a macro level, I would put Pitt on the same level as VT and UVA, but Pitt is getting punished in the computers for a much tougher schedule and PSU running up the score. Similarly, I would also compare Pitt more to Northwestern using their 2nd string QB.

I think we need a quick start in this one. Pitt might throw the kitchen sink at us with a bye week, but we need to take advantage of bye week rust.

Reilly
10-23-2018, 11:57 PM
Pitt's game notes:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/pittsburghpanthers.com/documents/2018/10/22/DUKE_Notes_18_COMPLETE_.pdf

Bob Green
10-24-2018, 07:05 PM
Blue Devil Briefs - Road Games:

http://www.goduke.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&id=6295003

Coach Cutcliffe talks about the enjoyment of taking the team on the road.

p.s. You sure can tell basketball season has arrived, the football game thread promptly falls to Page 2. That's okay, I'll bump it back to the top! :cool:

Acymetric
10-24-2018, 07:30 PM
Blue Devil Briefs - Road Games:

http://www.goduke.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&id=6295003

Coach Cutcliffe talks about the enjoyment of taking the team on the road.

p.s. You sure can tell basketball season has arrived, the football game thread promptly falls to Page 2. That's okay, I'll bump it back to the top! :cool:

Well, I think people are a little down in the dumps at the moment. Not much to talk about until we see how we look Saturday at this point.

Bob Green
10-24-2018, 07:50 PM
Not much to talk about until we see how we look Saturday at this point.

Au contraire...

Lots of things to talk about such as the Over/Under being set at 46 points. What do you think? Over? Under? How about injuries: what's the effect if Ben Humphreys is out? Will Brittain Brown and/or Aaron Young play this week? Or tactics: does Duke try to pound it out on the ground or pass 50 times?

One just has to want to talk about it.

HereBeforeCoachK
10-24-2018, 07:52 PM
Well, I think people are a little down in the dumps at the moment. Not much to talk about until we see how we look Saturday at this point.

I agree....the start of hoop season PLUS a really disappointing 2 weeks out of three....and take out 5 minutes of the Georgia Tech game, and it's a team that's really not been good for the vast majority of their last three games. I'm really bearish on the future of Duke FB to tell the truth.

hallcity
10-24-2018, 08:29 PM
I have to keep asking. Why is Duke playing an exhibition basketball while this football game is being played?

Pghdukie
10-24-2018, 09:01 PM
If Duke can't stop Pitt's running game - it could end up being a long afternoon.

Reilly
10-24-2018, 09:20 PM
... Over/Under being set at 46 points. What do you think? Over? Under? How about injuries: what's the effect if Ben Humphreys is out? Will Brittain Brown and/or Aaron Young play this week? Or tactics: does Duke try to pound it out on the ground or pass 50 times?...

Under. If BH is out, #96 roams like a wild dog. Yes BB plays (just a bit); no for AY. Neither pound nor air it out -- WR screens! [All guesses; well, except the WR screen part.]

devildeac
10-24-2018, 10:20 PM
Au contraire...

Lots of things to talk about such as the Over/Under being set at 46 points. What do you think? Over? Under? How about injuries: what's the effect if Ben Humphreys is out? Will Brittain Brown and/or Aaron Young play this week? Or tactics: does Duke try to pound it out on the ground or pass 50 times?

One just has to want to talk about it.

Yea, Bob, I got no idea about this one. Pitt has owned us pretty much except when they Blewitt several years ago. I'm somewhat optimistic but the UVa performance sure put a damper (pun intended) on my overall outlook for the last 5 regular season games.

duke2x
10-24-2018, 10:48 PM
I have to keep asking. Why is Duke playing an exhibition basketball while this football game is being played?

My educated guess: it's a road game. Duke already announced the basketball time and did not expect it to be a 3:30 game. This is about as much cooperation as you'll see between the basketball and football programs. Coach K won't schedule stuff on Saturdays of home football games, particularly now that the season can start on Election Day.

You have Coach K's approval to support the football team first. :D

Reilly
10-24-2018, 11:06 PM
From the Duke game notes (http://www.goduke.com/pdf9/5478093.pdf)


Duke joins Alabama (3-0), Clemson (3-0), Florida
(3-0), Northwestern (3-0) and Penn State (3-0) as
the lone Power 5 programs to be 3-0 or better in
true road games this season.

OldPhiKap
10-24-2018, 11:08 PM
My educated guess: it's a road game. Duke already announced the basketball time and did not expect it to be a 3:30 game. This is about as much cooperation as you'll see between the basketball and football programs. Coach K won't schedule stuff on Saturdays of home football games, particularly now that the season can start on Election Day.

You have Coach K's approval to support the football team first. :D

Duke likely could not deal with traffic and parking fort both a football game at Wallace Wade and a basketball game next door at Cameron on the same day. And as you you allude to, football times are not known until a few weeks before the game due to TV.

duke2x
10-24-2018, 11:22 PM
It's been done twice in 2014 and 2015. The football game was at noon, and the basketball game was at 7:00. It was a fun day. I just parked on Central and stayed on West until 9:00. Switching Iron Dukes in Cameron probably caused us to play UNC on Thursday in 2016 before the season started (F/Sat) and Army on the road last year.

Acymetric
10-25-2018, 12:00 AM
It's been done twice in 2014 and 2015. The football game was at noon, and the basketball game was at 7:00. It was a fun day. I just parked on Central and stayed on West until 9:00. Switching Iron Dukes in Cameron probably caused us to play UNC on Thursday in 2016 before the season started (F/Sat) and Army on the road last year.

It has definitely been done, but that is definitely not why we played unc on Thursday, and I doubt its why we played @Army last year either.

Devil in the Blue Dress
10-25-2018, 12:27 AM
It's been done twice in 2014 and 2015. The football game was at noon, and the basketball game was at 7:00. It was a fun day. I just parked on Central and stayed on West until 9:00. Switching Iron Dukes in Cameron probably caused us to play UNC on Thursday in 2016 before the season started (F/Sat) and Army on the road last year.

The TV contracts pretty much determine the kickoff times and day of the week for football games. Generally speaking Thursday or Friday evening games are announced well ahead of time. Rescheduling the 2018 Army game to a Friday evening was a decision made by ESPN et al.

Acymetric
10-25-2018, 11:28 AM
Au contraire...

Lots of things to talk about such as the Over/Under being set at 46 points. What do you think? Over? Under? How about injuries: what's the effect if Ben Humphreys is out? Will Brittain Brown and/or Aaron Young play this week? Or tactics: does Duke try to pound it out on the ground or pass 50 times?

One just has to want to talk about it.

If you look at past history, that line wouldn't be high enough to cover the score of one of the teams, let alone both. Of course, these two teams managed to have a fairly normal football game last year so who knows. This is probably the most promising line of discussion I guess.

As far as injuries, the discussion is: we have no idea, and probably won't hear much from the team before gameday. I'm not sure this line of discussion goes much further than that.

Tactics: We will probably have a fairly balanced attack unless the game is a blowout.

Atldukie79
10-25-2018, 12:26 PM
Then Tom Harp, Ted Roof, Barry Wilson, Carl Franks, Mike McGee, Steve Sloan (not in order, but am I missing someone?) changed it back...with short reprieves from Red Wilson, Steve Spurrier, and one oddly successful year with Fred Goldsmith.

Yes....2 rather prominent names.
Eddie Cameron was HC during WW2 in Wade's absence.

And Bill Murray....the most successful Duke HC not named Wade.

budwom
10-25-2018, 12:53 PM
If you look at past history, that line wouldn't be high enough to cover the score of one of the teams, let alone both. Of course, these two teams managed to have a fairly normal football game last year so who knows. This is probably the most promising line of discussion I guess.

As far as injuries, the discussion is: we have no idea, and probably won't hear much from the team before gameday. I'm not sure this line of discussion goes much further than that.

Tactics: We will probably have a fairly balanced attack unless the game is a blowout.

Our attack was pretty balanced vs UVA: we had trouble running, and we had trouble passing.
I would like to see more signs of life from the offense, and some third down prowess on defense...we've been getting killed on third and longs for several weeks now...

Might could see Daniel Jones running the ball more now unless our WRs somehow manage to get more separation than they have...hope springs eternal!
What was our running back's (there was only one) longest run from scrimmage last week, something like six yards? Ack!

jimsumner
10-25-2018, 02:38 PM
My biggest play-calling complaint for several years has been the under-utilization of the tight ends. Go to Helm, Koppenhaver or Gray on first down. Use some jet sweeps, some end-arounds. The Rahming pass showed that Duke has some stuff in the playbook. Johnathan Lloyd, Scott Bracey and Nico Pierre were all high-school quarterbacks. Anything in the playbook to exploit that?

You can be predictable if you have a talent edge. But this isn't the Lombardi-era Packers we're sending out there. Got to mix it up.

And, for darn tooting, got to get some yards on first down. Duke can't keep sending Jones out on 2nd and 10s.

Bob Green
10-25-2018, 03:14 PM
My biggest play-calling complaint for several years has been the under-utilization of the tight ends. Go to Helm, Koppenhaver or Gray on first down. Use some jet sweeps, some end-arounds. The Rahming pass showed that Duke has some stuff in the playbook. Johnathan Lloyd, Scott Bracey and Nico Pierre were all high-school quarterbacks. Anything in the playbook to exploit that?

There was a video clip interview of Coach Cutcliffe discussing the Rahming pass play and he said a couple of things: 1) they set that play up by running the end around with Rahming in a previous game, 2) we need to continue to run the end around because Rahming is a darn good football player.

Or words to that effect...

I'll go hunt for the video at GoDuke.com and post a link.

rtnorthrup
10-25-2018, 03:39 PM
There was a video clip interview of Coach Cutcliffe discussing the Rahming pass play and he said a couple of things: 1) they set that play up by running the end around with Rahming in a previous game, 2) we need to continue to run the end around because Rahming is a darn good football player.

Or words to that effect...

I'll go hunt for the video at GoDuke.com and post a link.

Ive said it a million times, Duke does not use enough pre-snap motion. There has to be a reason, but I have seen it used so many times against us to get specific WR matchups for the opposing teams. I think it makes the LBs and S lose eye discipline at the start of a play, and it also helps WR get early separation at the line. The jet sweep and faking the jet sweep have become a staple of spread offenses around the country and we need to incorporate it more often.

budwom
10-25-2018, 03:56 PM
My biggest play-calling complaint for several years has been the under-utilization of the tight ends. Go to Helm, Koppenhaver or Gray on first down. Use some jet sweeps, some end-arounds. The Rahming pass showed that Duke has some stuff in the playbook. Johnathan Lloyd, Scott Bracey and Nico Pierre were all high-school quarterbacks. Anything in the playbook to exploit that?

You can be predictable if you have a talent edge. But this isn't the Lombardi-era Packers we're sending out there. Got to mix it up.

And, for darn tooting, got to get some yards on first down. Duke can't keep sending Jones out on 2nd and 10s.

Sit with us in Section 26 and you can hear us whining about insufficient tight end use as much as you like. Same thing last year, finally later in the year they used more two, and even three tight end sets, logical when your
other receivers can't get open and aren't large.

What was the game a year or two ago where Duke had a hail mary opportunity in the end zone, and the guy they threw to (surrounded by half a team, perhaps FSU) was Rahming? Good grief.
Might get a bit creative and let a couple of 6-5 tight ends join the fray...

Bob Green
10-25-2018, 05:50 PM
Uniform: Blue Pants, White Jersey, Gray Helmet.

jimsumner
10-25-2018, 06:45 PM
Sit with us in Section 26 and you can hear us whining about insufficient tight end use as much as you like. Same thing last year, finally later in the year they used more two, and even three tight end sets, logical when your
other receivers can't get open and aren't large.

What was the game a year or two ago where Duke had a hail mary opportunity in the end zone, and the guy they threw to (surrounded by half a team, perhaps FSU) was Rahming? Good grief.
Might get a bit creative and let a couple of 6-5 tight ends join the fray...

That was the FSU game last year. Yes, throwing a jump ball to a 5-8 (and that's generous) wide receiver in that situation strains credulity.

HereBeforeCoachK
10-25-2018, 07:53 PM
My biggest play-calling complaint for several years has been the under-utilization of the tight ends. Go to Helm, Koppenhaver or Gray on first down. Use some jet sweeps, some end-arounds. The Rahming pass showed that Duke has some stuff in the playbook. Johnathan Lloyd, Scott Bracey and Nico Pierre were all high-school quarterbacks. Anything in the playbook to exploit that?

You can be predictable if you have a talent edge. But this isn't the Lombardi-era Packers we're sending out there. Got to mix it up.

And, for darn tooting, got to get some yards on first down. Duke can't keep sending Jones out on 2nd and 10s.

FWIW, Steve Logan seems to agree with you.....he also said Duke does better in the two TE sets.

devilirium
10-26-2018, 12:09 AM
Sit with us in Section 26 and you can hear us whining about insufficient tight end use as much as you like. Same thing last year, finally later in the year they used more two, and even three tight end sets, logical when your
other receivers can't get open and aren't large.

What was the game a year or two ago where Duke had a hail mary opportunity in the end zone, and the guy they threw to (surrounded by half a team, perhaps FSU) was Rahming? Good grief.
Might get a bit creative and let a couple of 6-5 tight ends join the fray...


It was FSU, and the receiver was Jonathan Lloyd.

budwom
10-26-2018, 08:27 AM
It was FSU, and the receiver was Jonathan Lloyd.

Absolutely not. Just watched it again on replay, it was Rahming, double teamed.

Acymetric
10-26-2018, 09:17 AM
That is the most recent/prominent example, but I'm pretty sure we have run that play to that type of receiver several times over the years.

TruBlu
10-26-2018, 10:00 AM
Our attack was pretty balanced vs UVA: we had trouble running, and we had trouble passing.
I would like to see more signs of life from the offense, and some third down prowess on defense...we've been getting killed on third and longs for several weeks* now...

Might could see Daniel Jones running the ball more now unless our WRs somehow manage to get more separation than they have...hope springs eternal!
What was our running back's (there was only one) longest run from scrimmage last week, something like six yards? Ack!

*Decades, not weeks

OldPhiKap
10-26-2018, 10:01 AM
*Decades, not weeks

Yes, third and long has been our nemesis for as long as I can remember.

Except for the years when we couldn't even get teams into a third and long situation, of course.

HereBeforeCoachK
10-26-2018, 10:37 AM
Yes, third and long has been our nemesis for as long as I can remember.

Except for the years when we couldn't even get teams into a third and long situation, of course.

I would say in the Knowles era - we started getting teams into more third and longs. If I had to guess off top of my head, I would think we have done much better when we are aggressive, and have done poorly when we drop back and play conservative. (yes, I know, last year in the Pitt game aggression did not work out...but over the years I think it did.)

OldPhiKap
10-26-2018, 10:41 AM
I would say in the Knowles era - we started getting teams into more third and longs. If I had to guess off top of my head, I would think we have done much better when we are aggressive, and have done poorly when we drop back and play conservative. (yes, I know, last year in the Pitt game aggression did not work out...but over the years I think it did.)

I agree with this. Also, having to blitz on third and long predictably hurts us in years when our front four cannot generate sufficient pressure.

Acymetric
10-26-2018, 12:30 PM
I agree with this. Also, having to blitz on third and long predictably hurts us in years when our front four cannot generate sufficient pressure.

At least this year, we seem to fairly regularly only rush three on 3rd and medium/long. This is a massive mistake (in my opinion). It doesn't matter how many guys you drop back, if you give the QB all day to throw someone is going to get open. And it is really hard to get pressure with only three guys, regardless of how improved our d-line is.

HereBeforeCoachK
10-26-2018, 01:46 PM
At least this year, we seem to fairly regularly only rush three on 3rd and medium/long. This is a massive mistake (in my opinion). It doesn't matter how many guys you drop back, if you give the QB all day to throw someone is going to get open. And it is really hard to get pressure with only three guys, regardless of how improved our d-line is.

That's my observation too......I have to wonder, are they still suffering from that 93 yard run at Pitt last season - hope that run doesn't beat us a few more times.....

budwom
10-26-2018, 02:06 PM
*Decades, not weeks

and here I am trying to be positive! (I can't argue with you, trying not to dredge up The Dark Years)..

budwom
10-26-2018, 02:07 PM
That's my observation too...I have to wonder, are they still suffering from that 93 yard run at Pitt last season - hope that run doesn't beat us a few more times....

possibly, though that was a Humphreys blitz....I want at least four guys rushing every time, including two of our best at getting pressure on the QB, Dimukeje and Rumph.

Acymetric
10-26-2018, 02:12 PM
possibly, though that was a Humphreys blitz...I want at least four guys rushing every time, including two of our best at getting pressure on the QB, Dimukeje and Rumph.

Right, you have to have serious talent on the d-line to get away with dropping 8 into coverage unless your goal is solely to prevent the team from getting into the end-zone (last play of the game for example) and you don't care how many yards they gain as long as that is accomplished.

Bob Green
10-26-2018, 02:20 PM
It is time for my weekly prediction: Duke 21, Pitt 20.

We will have to successfully run the ball to win. The battle of the 11s, Duke is 11 of 14, in the ACC, in Rushing Offense at 157.9 yards per game, while Pitt is 11 of 14 in Rushing Defense allowing 180.1 yards per game.

If we establish the run, it will open up the passing game and Duke will win.

budwom
10-26-2018, 02:29 PM
It is time for my weekly prediction: Duke 21, Pitt 20.

We will have to successfully run the ball to win. The battle of the 11s, Duke is 11 of 14, in the ACC, in Rushing Offense at 157.9 yards per game, while Pitt is 11 of 14 in Rushing Defense allowing 180.1 yards per game.

If we establish the run, it will open up the passing game and Duke will win.

having Brittain Brown back sure would be nice...

duke2x
10-26-2018, 07:47 PM
It is time for my weekly prediction: Duke 21, Pitt 20.

We will have to successfully run the ball to win. The battle of the 11s, Duke is 11 of 14, in the ACC, in Rushing Offense at 157.9 yards per game, while Pitt is 11 of 14 in Rushing Defense allowing 180.1 yards per game.

If we establish the run, it will open up the passing game and Duke will win.

That's about right. Pitt is not good at passing offense (Army/GT-level) or defense (NW) but has the best PK we have faced all year. Trade 7 for 3 or 6, bend without breaking, etc.

awhom111
10-26-2018, 09:17 PM
For whatever reason, nobody seems wants to provide any viewing information about this game.

The list of channels carrying the game appears to be here:
http://www.raycomsports.com/theacc/grids/printRSNMatch/1138?_ga=2.138997430.408679796.1540602254-1894100057.1515378669

We are missing a blackout map, but it should probably be the same as the one for last week so your viewing options should not be different.

Within the conference footprint you can watch on one of the channels in the list linked above or on the online service of one of those channels.

Outside of it, you have the same options, but also can watch online via WatchESPN and on television via ESPN College Extra (looks like DirecTV 795/Verizon FIOS 828).

DU82
10-26-2018, 09:50 PM
For whatever reason, nobody seems wants to provide any viewing information about this game.

The list of channels carrying the game appears to be here:
http://www.raycomsports.com/theacc/grids/printRSNMatch/1138?_ga=2.138997430.408679796.1540602254-1894100057.1515378669

We are missing a blackout map, but it should probably be the same as the one for last week so your viewing options should not be different.

Within the conference footprint you can watch on one of the channels in the list linked above or on the online service of one of those channels.

Outside of it, you have the same options, but also can watch online via WatchESPN and on television via ESPN College Extra (looks like DirecTV 795/Verizon FIOS 828).

Spectrum in Durham still isn’t showing the game on their broadcast guide for Fox Sports South (50, 318). I hope I’ll be able to watch on the Fox Sports Go app (the game does show up there) since I’ll be in Cameron. It’ll be blacked out on WatchESPN here.

brevity
10-26-2018, 09:59 PM
Most of all, we need to get some payback for the October 5, 1929 52-7 loss (first Duke Stadium game).

I guess that's one approach. When I post a vintage program (https://repository.duke.edu/dc/dfp?_=1540604652412&f%5Bcategory_facet_sim%5D%5B%5D=Pittsburgh) for the pregame thread, I pick a game that Duke actually won.

8751

On September 29, 1951, Duke went into Pittsburgh and came up with a 19-14 win. A few days later the AP Poll ranked Duke #16, which was nice. A few days after that Duke lost at #3 Tennessee, and they were not ranked again until the 1952 preseason.

OZZIE4DUKE
10-27-2018, 08:22 AM
In Greensboro for Spectrum customers the football game is on channel 67. I’ve got it set to record while I’m in Cameron! LGD GTHc! Beat Pitt!

Bob Green
10-27-2018, 08:40 AM
Steve Wiseman on the offensive line:

https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/article220633680.html


The team’s offensive line, battling injury and inconsistent play, remains a major reason Duke has yet to reach its potential on offense.

DU82
10-27-2018, 08:54 AM
In Greensboro for Spectrum customers the football game is on channel 67. I’ve got it set to record while I’m in Cameron! LGD GTHc! Beat Pitt!

The game on Spectrum in Durham now shows up on ESPN extra channel 399. Still not on Fox Sports South.

arnie
10-27-2018, 09:34 AM
Steve Wiseman on the offensive line:

https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/article220633680.html

A bleak analysis particularly wrt rushing yards before contact. Some of this is injury related, but most issues point to simply poor play by the OL. Don’t know that this can be fixed in 2018.

HereBeforeCoachK
10-27-2018, 09:43 AM
A bleak analysis particularly wrt rushing yards before contact. Some of this is injury related, but most issues point to simply poor play by the OL. Don’t know that this can be fixed in 2018.

You may be right. And not to deny the problems the OL has caused, but they've done their jobs on about 4 or 5 bomb plays perfectly - only to see an easy pass dropped or an overthrown open receiver. The OL is a problem, but the skill people have let them down some too. I wonder what our season would look like if only half of those plays had been converted?

Pghdukie
10-27-2018, 10:22 AM
Weather report not very good. 47° and rain. Light winds. But playing on an NFL field.

OldPhiKap
10-27-2018, 11:20 AM
Game day whoop!

DU82
10-27-2018, 11:30 AM
Weather report not very good. 47° and rain. Light winds. But playing on an NFL field.

One of worst, if not the worst, in the NFL. Our home field is so much better. Let’s hope no punts embed in the field.

budwom
10-27-2018, 11:41 AM
A bleak analysis particularly wrt rushing yards before contact. Some of this is injury related, but most issues point to simply poor play by the OL. Don’t know that this can be fixed in 2018.

The problems all began a few years ago when we had some recruiting classes with a bunch of OL with good offer sheets who just never panned out....everyone has a miss or two, or loses guys to injury, but we had a number of OL who just never developed, good example being Reno Rosene, 4 star recruit, Notre Dame offer among many more, just never made it...others include Jake Sanders, Trip McNeil, to a great extent Christian Harris (who now starts somewhat by default)..
Good offer sheets, essentially no production.

What's especially disappointing about this current group is that most of them have experience...Santos, Harmon, Chambers all played a lot last year...Kraeling was heavily recruited...we ought to be getting more out of this group. Maybe today?

jimsumner
10-27-2018, 01:24 PM
The problems all began a few years ago when we had some recruiting classes with a bunch of OL with good offer sheets who just never panned out...everyone has a miss or two, or loses guys to injury, but we had a number of OL who just never developed, good example being Reno Rosene, 4 star recruit, Notre Dame offer among many more, just never made it...others include Jake Sanders, Trip McNeil, to a great extent Christian Harris (who now starts somewhat by default)..
Good offer sheets, essentially no production.

What's especially disappointing about this current group is that most of them have experience...Santos, Harmon, Chambers all played a lot last year...Kraeling was heavily recruited...we ought to be getting more out of this group. Maybe today?

Sanders, McNeil and Kammeron Schroeder had significant injury histories. Rosene was just a miss, a big, 340-pound miss. Liam Smith has also under-achieved relative to expectations.

budwom
10-27-2018, 01:42 PM
Sanders, McNeil and Kammeron Schroeder had significant injury histories. Rosene was just a miss, a big, 340-pound miss. Liam Smith has also under-achieved relative to expectations.

yup, no matter the cause, you can't afford that number of misses in OL recruiting...

richardjackson199
10-27-2018, 02:00 PM
Vegas has Duke as 2.5 point favorites (was 3). I'd love nothing more than for Duke to win, but that just seems wrong. I think Vegas oddsmakers see our 5-2 record and wins over Ga Tech, Northwestern, and Army. But they're not appreciating how much injuries have decimated our once promising team.

I really hope Duke proves me wrong. But taking Pitt and 2.5 points seems like easy money (or easy as pie). I just don't think Cut can fix the problems with our offensive line, lack of stud receivers, and special teams in 1 week. I'll be watching basketball vs Ferris State.

Sorry for the negativity, I just don't see 2.5 point favorite.

HereBeforeCoachK
10-27-2018, 02:18 PM
Vegas has Duke as 2.5 point favorites (was 3). I'd love nothing more than for Duke to win, but that just seems wrong. I think Vegas oddsmakers see our 5-2 record and wins over Ga Tech, Northwestern, and Army. But they're not appreciating how much injuries have decimated our once promising team.

I really hope Duke proves me wrong. But taking Pitt and 2.5 points seems like easy money (or easy as pie). I just don't think Cut can fix the problems with our offensive line, lack of stud receivers, and special teams in 1 week. I'll be watching basketball vs Ferris State.

Sorry for the negativity, I just don't see 2.5 point favorite.

Well, what Vegas sees is that the gamblers will see the wins over GaT, NW and Army....who keep making us look good with how they are playing (NW leading Wiscy 21-10 in the third)....even as we're not always making ourselves look so good.

richardjackson199
10-27-2018, 02:22 PM
Well, what Vegas sees is that the gamblers will see the wins over GaT, NW and Army...who keep making us look good with how they are playing (NW leading Wiscy 21-10 in the third)...even as we're not always making ourselves look so good.

I fully admit I'm guilty of recency bias seeing us try to play these last few games with so many injured players out. Because I just can't see any way Duke is a 2.5 point favorite or favorite at all to win this game.

Please prove me wrong and get bowl eligible today. My sports predictions are usually wrong so hopefully that is the case again.

peloton
10-27-2018, 02:36 PM
...This is a massive mistake (in my opinion). It doesn't matter how many guys you drop back, if you give the QB all day to throw someone is going to get open.

I totally agree. Yeah, we'll occasionally get burned by blitzing/trying to put more pressure on the opposing QB, but I feel like we don't have much choice. With our secondary underperforming and without Gilbert (man, are we missing him), we really have to at least try to "turn up the heat a bit". I know it's been mentioned several times before, but why oh why do our secondary guys almost never look back at the ball when it's a 50-50 ball? I guess this is basically a rhetorical question but it's really frustrating to watch.

Consider this a semi-rant...I could certainly go on the way we're playing right now. Negativity aside though, there are opportunities for the taking to right this ship. We have a great one today if this team plays better as a whole. How bad do the guys want this win? We'll soon find out. Let's go Blue Devils!

richardjackson199
10-27-2018, 02:42 PM
Meanwhile in happier ACC football news, Larry Fedora has to be fired right? UNCheat about to be 1-6, and this game is over.

(Yes I get that many would probably prefer they keep Fedora and continue to suck. I just mean if they're bad enough to need to fire their coach after 7 games that is a happy thing.)

tteettimes
10-27-2018, 02:42 PM
DirecTV 646-5
FSSO HD——-guide says that anyway
Wake/lville is on now

HereBeforeCoachK
10-27-2018, 02:45 PM
I fully admit I'm guilty of recency bias seeing us try to play these last few games with so many injured players out. Because I just can't see any way Duke is a 2.5 point favorite or favorite at all to win this game.

Please prove me wrong and get bowl eligible today. My sports predictions are usually wrong so hopefully that is the case again.

I was just explaining why Vegas has Duke favored. I agree with you, and in assessing teams, I think recency bias is a VERY VALID consideration.

Avvocato
10-27-2018, 02:48 PM
Lot of negativity here. I’m disappointed too after the UVA loss. But I’ll throw out the old if you told me we’d be 5-2 after 7 games, I would have taken it. I didn’t expect to go undefeated. Virginia is actually a pretty solid team that outplayed us. Same with Va Tech. I think everyone has assessed our issues. Injuries, which many deal with, O line issues, which has impacted our running game in particular, which has impacted our offense in general, etc. I think many here gave our defense a pass last week, blaming our offense for the time of possession battle we lost. The offense didn’t do it’s jon, as many have discussed, but I think the defense was equally guilty. They have to get off the field. If the offense struggles, they need the ball back to get into a rhythm. But whatever. Next game. We’re 5-2 and time to man up. I think the team will respond. It usually starts up front. Stop the run, and see if Pitt can beat us through the air. No turnovers and limit mistakes. I see more aggressive running from DJ. I think he’s going to have to do more to wake the offense up. I agree we should find our tight ends. I think we will score enough. I think we will respond and win 24-17. Let’s go Duke.

P.S.

If we can’t cover a kick again, I’ll lose it. No excuse for it.

richardjackson199
10-27-2018, 03:02 PM
Lot of negativity here. I’m disappointed too after the UVA loss. But I’ll throw out the old if you told me we’d be 5-2 after 7 games, I would have taken it. I didn’t expect to go undefeated. Virginia is actually a pretty solid team that outplayed us. Same with Va Tech. I think everyone has assessed our issues. Injuries, which many deal with, O line issues, which has impacted our running game in particular, which has impacted our offense in general, etc. I think many here gave our defense a pass last week, blaming our offense for the time of possession battle we lost. The offense didn’t do it’s jon, as many have discussed, but I think the defense was equally guilty. They have to get off the field. If the offense struggles, they need the ball back to get into a rhythm. But whatever. Next game. We’re 5-2 and time to man up. I think the team will respond. It usually starts up front. Stop the run, and see if Pitt can beat us through the air. No turnovers and limit mistakes. I see more aggressive running from DJ. I think he’s going to have to do more to wake the offense up. I agree we should find our tight ends. I think we will score enough. I think we will respond and win 24-17. Let’s go Duke.

P.S.

If we can’t cover a kick again, I’ll lose it. No excuse for it.

Agreed and great post. Let's go Duke.

You wanna bet a friendly pie on the game? I'll take Pitt and the 2.5 points Vegas is giving. You get Duke -2.5. No pressure. I just really think the line is wrong, by a lot. Pitt should have beaten Notre Dame. (But they did lose to the Cheats.) And I see it as a win-win bet for me. I'm ready to win a pie. Or if Duke wins and gets bowl eligible, I'll be shocked and ecstatic. I'd be rooting 100% for you to win the bet. I never root against Duke, even a little. (But I'll bet against them to hedge emotions if I feel certain the bet is smart money).

Go Duke regardless!

richardjackson199
10-27-2018, 03:18 PM
Agreed and great post. Let's go Duke.

You wanna bet a friendly pie on the game? I'll take Pitt and the 2.5 points Vegas is giving. You get Duke -2.5. No pressure. I just really think the line is wrong, by a lot. Pitt should have beaten Notre Dame. (But they did lose to the Cheats.) And I see it as a win-win bet for me. I'm ready to win a pie. Or if Duke wins and gets bowl eligible, I'll be shocked and ecstatic. I'd be rooting 100% for you to win the bet. I never root against Duke, even a little. (But I'll bet against them to hedge emotions if I feel certain the bet is smart money).

Go Duke regardless!

I'll open this Pie Bet opportunity to the first taker. Jason Evans may have sworn off pie bets, but I say never. Pie is tasty and gambling is fun. Any takers? Optimists? The bakery is open. You get Duke -2.5. I get Pitt + 2.5. Bet must be agreed upon prior to start of game of course.

4Gen
10-27-2018, 03:27 PM
I'll take it Richard. And with that I say, with extra enthusiasm. Go Duke!

richardjackson199
10-27-2018, 03:29 PM
I'll take it Richard. And with that I say, with extra enthusiasm. Go Duke!

Shakes on it. All of DBR including myself are rooting for you. Thanks for putting some faith in Duke and taking a fun risk. I've never won a pie bet. Something has to give.

Go Duke!

-jk
10-27-2018, 03:30 PM
DBR Chat (http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/misc.php?do=cchatbox) is open!

If it gets a bit slow, refresh the page. If you're on a mobile device, you'll need to select "Blue" at the bottom.

As always - please follow the DBR Posting Guidelines.

Let's Go Duke!

-jk

Acymetric
10-27-2018, 03:32 PM
Anyone able to get this game on TV in the triangle? 399 is blacked out here (TWC/Spectrum)

richardjackson199
10-27-2018, 03:35 PM
Anyone able to get this game on TV in the triangle? 399 is blacked out here (TWC/Spectrum)

I'm getting it on Fox Sports South 319 in Winston (Spectrum Cable).

Acymetric
10-27-2018, 03:37 PM
I'm getting it on Fox Sports South 319 in Winston (Spectrum Cable).

Yeah, just found it on Fox Sports Carolinas (channel 50) here, despite the guide saying "Golf Life" is on.

Son of Jarhead
10-27-2018, 03:39 PM
Yeah, just found it on Fox Sports Carolinas (channel 50) here, despite the guide saying "Golf Life" is on.

Yeah, Spectrum channel #50 in the Triangle. Their "Guide" is wrong.

HereBeforeCoachK
10-27-2018, 03:40 PM
I got it on Hulu....normally a few seconds behind actual.....

Devil in the Blue Dress
10-27-2018, 03:51 PM
Yeah, just found it on Fox Sports Carolinas (channel 50) here, despite the guide saying "Golf Life" is on.

Thank you!!!!

jwillfan
10-27-2018, 03:54 PM
I'm at the basketball game and it's blacked out on ESPN. Will have to follow on gam3cast. Saw we just had a nice drive to tie it

richardjackson199
10-27-2018, 03:58 PM
I'm at the basketball game and it's blacked out on ESPN. Will have to follow on gam3cast. Saw we just had a nice drive to tie it

Yep. Good stuff so far from offense. Jones getting Tight Ends involved. Rahming fighting for first down on fourth down. O-Line opening holes to establish nice running game including runs from both Jones and Q. Harris. Good battle so far, and mostly great start for Duke

ehdg
10-27-2018, 04:03 PM
Damnit! Helm could have caught that ball! It was there for 7!

Acymetric
10-27-2018, 04:03 PM
I'm at the basketball game and it's blacked out on ESPN. Will have to follow on gam3cast. Saw we just had a nice drive to tie it

You can stream on the Fox Sports Go app if you have a TV provider login I believe.

ehdg
10-27-2018, 04:18 PM
Passing game looking good so far. Like how were mixing our passing n running so far. Good use of Rahming n tight ends! Great throw n catch by Rahming for the TD!

ehdg
10-27-2018, 04:19 PM
Team looks much better offensively this week compared to last weekend! Like how were using out TE’s more so far today.

DU82
10-27-2018, 04:21 PM
I'm at the basketball game and it's blacked out on ESPN. Will have to follow on gam3cast. Saw we just had a nice drive to tie it

Fox sports go app if you have a cable login. Watching it now.

ehdg
10-27-2018, 05:14 PM
Damn wet ball or we could be up 28 - 17 at the half but sadly DJ lost the ball so it’s only 21 - 17 at the half. Offense looking good, Defense needs to stop the big plays! Go Duke!

ehdg
10-27-2018, 05:30 PM
Defense keeps giving up the big plays today! Just gave up a 2 point conversion to make it now 28 - 25. It’s an offensive shootout once again with Pittsburgh.

Ballboy1998
10-27-2018, 05:43 PM
I'm sorry, but Pitt's wideouts are blatantly holding on every play without a single flag. Runs out wide work a lot better if you can just grab guys by the shoulder pads.

ehdg
10-27-2018, 05:45 PM
Pittsburgh is killing us with their running game! We keep giving up huge runs! Only up 3 now! 35 - 32.

Acymetric
10-27-2018, 05:53 PM
Which will have a higher combined score, basketball or football?

ehdg
10-27-2018, 05:57 PM
Pittsburgh is just gashing is with the run!

ehdg
10-27-2018, 06:03 PM
Duke 42 - 35 going to the 4th quarter! Let’s go Duke! Defense needs to come up big n start stopping Pittsburgh. Offense needs a long drive to control the ball n eat up clock.

Devil in the Blue Dress
10-27-2018, 06:05 PM
Which will have a higher combined score, basketball or football?

Good question!

75Crazie
10-27-2018, 06:10 PM
Defense just looks completely outmatched today.

Pghdukie
10-27-2018, 06:17 PM
I will politely reference post #26. I was very leery of Pitt's running game. They have amassed over 500yds. OUCH !

ehdg
10-27-2018, 06:17 PM
What happened to our run defense? They are just running all over us n through us! We just can’t stop their running game! I don’t understand what has happened to our Defense? Is Humphreys even playing? I don’t recall his name being mentioned once today!

Ballboy1998
10-27-2018, 06:18 PM
Pitt hasn't completed a pass in the second half and have scored on every drive. Embarrassing.

75Crazie
10-27-2018, 06:18 PM
I will politely reference post #26. I was very leery of Pitt's running game. They have amassed over 500yds. OUCH !
According to ESPN Gamecast, 423 of those yards are on the ground … with 10+ minutes left to play.

ehdg
10-27-2018, 06:19 PM
If Duke can't stop Pitt's running game - it could end up being a long afternoon.

Damn! You called this one correctly! In the past it’s been Pittsburgh passing game but not today it’s been their ground game chewing us up!

crdaul
10-27-2018, 06:19 PM
Can't tackle anyone

TruBlu
10-27-2018, 06:25 PM
A defensive stop here would be nice . . . and highly unusual.

ehdg
10-27-2018, 06:33 PM
WTH. Happened to our Defense! We haven’t played Defense this bad in a very long time! I do t recall our Defense giving up runs like this Cut got here!

ehdg
10-27-2018, 06:37 PM
Well it’s now up to DJ n our offense to make the last drive of the game count n get a score so we don’t have to go to OT!

killerleft
10-27-2018, 06:38 PM
Defensive personnel doesn't resemble what we had at the start of the year, I don't think. But we have the ball with a chance to win.

Ranidad
10-27-2018, 06:39 PM
Haven’t read the whole thread but I hope I am not the only one who is wondering why we disrupt flow on 2nd down of every goal to go series by not having Daniel Jones touch the ball. I get the chance of paver on first down but don’t like it after that.

Okay. Frustration released

Let’s Go Duke. Drive down for a winning score in the last 2 minutes.

TruBlu
10-27-2018, 06:44 PM
Someone needs to kidnap their field goal kicker for us to get to overtime.

arnie
10-27-2018, 06:48 PM
Someone needs to kidnap their field goal kicker for us to get to overtime.

What a defensive collapse today. Feels like last year regarding record

dukelifer
10-27-2018, 06:48 PM
Someone needs to kidnap their field goal kicker for us to get to overtime.

Need a miracle

ehdg
10-27-2018, 06:49 PM
Someone needs to kidnap their field goal kicker for us to get to overtime.

Don’t need to worry bout that our Defense absolutely forgot to show up in the last minute!

AtlBluRew
10-27-2018, 06:51 PM
Well, that may have been the most disheartening half of football I’ve ever experienced.

crdaul
10-27-2018, 06:51 PM
Ouch

ehdg
10-27-2018, 06:52 PM
Not sure what happened but our Defense didn’t make one stop in the 2nd half! Pittsburgh had the ball 6 times in the 2nd half n scored every damn time they had the ball!

75Crazie
10-27-2018, 06:53 PM
Well, that may have been the most disheartening half of football I’ve ever experienced.
You must not have been around for some of the uNC games of the 70s/80s … but as far as this century, I completely concur.

arnie
10-27-2018, 06:54 PM
Well, that may have been the most disheartening half of football I’ve ever experienced.

A lot of Roof/Franks football today.

Sixthman
10-27-2018, 06:56 PM
Someone needs to kidnap their field goal kicker for us to get to overtime.

The announcer said our defense failed to play with "want to". Cut will say the opposite, because he has deflected criticism of his teams effort and preparedness after both of our losses. Not sure what to think. It is, without a doubt, discouraging for the players, coaches, and fans. Capped off by the worst desperation return in football history.

WakeDevil
10-27-2018, 06:56 PM
I do not believe I have ever seen a worse tackling performance. This team will be lucky to get to six wins. Is it possible Clemson will hang 70 on this "defense?"

stals
10-27-2018, 06:59 PM
For Pitts’s use of frosh DB as a runner. Really unforgivable. Once again a probable win is a loss.
Cut is a good coach, not a great one.

cbarry
10-27-2018, 07:00 PM
Pathetic showing by the D. I know we are largely depleted, but geez.
Clemson could hang triple digits on our D.

And the O-line needs to protect Jones better.

As others have said, The past 3 games have looked like Duke FB from the Roof and Franks era. Season is done. Our ceiling is 1 more win at this point. Just hope that 1 win is against UNC!

Wander
10-27-2018, 07:01 PM
Not just the worst defensive performance in a while, but it happened in such a strange way. Usually our great conditioning kicks in and our D is playing well at the end of games.

Having Pitt score on 6/6 second-half drives despite only completing passes in 1/6 second-half drives has to be the most embarrassing Duke football stat in a few years.

TheDevilMadeMeDoIt
10-27-2018, 07:03 PM
Game blacked out in my area (far western Kentucky) even though not on any cable channel So I listened on XM radio. Per Dave Harding, Cutcliffe challenged the team before this game. Offense got the message, but the defense obviously didn’t. But, I can’t give the offense a total pass. Helm drops wide open touchdown pass. Jones drops the ball in scoring position to end the first half. How big were those two screwups?

75Crazie
10-27-2018, 07:06 PM
Game blacked out in my area (far western Kentucky) even though not on any cable channel So I listened on XM radio. Per Dave Harding, Cutcliffe challenged the team before this game. Offense got the message, but the defense obviously didn’t. But, I can’t give the offense a total pass. Helm drops wide open touchdown pass. Jones drops the ball in scoring position to end the first half. How big were those two screwups?
Yes, they were big … but with any semblance of defense, they become non-issues. Can't really blame the offense for only scoring 45.

PDDuke85
10-27-2018, 07:12 PM
Poor tackling, outside defenders marginalized, DB’s unable/unwilling to look back to the ball. A defense that looked timid, out of position, out muscled. Everyone has injuries, this game was Franks/Roof vintage.

SamHouston
10-27-2018, 07:13 PM
Devils left 14 points on the field in the first half. I don't think Pitt had one negative offensive play all day. The mid season grind of the conference season kills Duke almost every year in the Cut era.

dukelifer
10-27-2018, 07:14 PM
Devils left 14 points on the field in the first half. I don't think Pitt had one negative offensive play all day. The mid season grind of the conference season kills Duke almost every year in the Cut era.

That and injuries. Not very deep and it eventually catches up to a team.

Devilwin
10-27-2018, 07:20 PM
This game hurt. A season that started out with such promise is rapidly turning into a major disappointment. I honestly think we will win maybe, and I mean maybe, one more game, and not sure where that elusive sixth victory will come from. We won't be favored again. If we are, it's a fluke. Clemson will kill us, Miami might too. Hopefully we can beat the Cheats and Wake, but that's far from a given..

HereBeforeCoachK
10-27-2018, 07:21 PM
Poor tackling, outside defenders marginalized, DB’s unable/unwilling to look back to the ball. A defense that looked timid, out of position, out muscled. Everyone has injuries, this game was Franks/Roof vintage.

What was frustrating is that they kept taking the wrong angles of attack on D...on French and that other guy. All game long, they never figured out they needed to change their angles.

And Gagnon is no Humphries.

jv001
10-27-2018, 07:22 PM
That and injuries. Not very deep and it eventually catches up to a team.

Not having Humphries hurt the D more than I thought it would but poor tackling killed us today. However I believe we still win the game if Jones doesn't throw the ball behind Rahming in the 4th quarter. If you put 45 points on the board, you should come away with the win. Looking forward to Duke Basketball getting under way. GoDuke!

fuse
10-27-2018, 07:35 PM
Injuries are the story of the season.

The team that beat Northwestern might be undefeated.

Wander
10-27-2018, 07:37 PM
We won't be favored again.

We will almost certainly be favored against both UNC and Wake at home.

Devilwin
10-27-2018, 07:43 PM
We will almost certainly be favored against both UNC and Wake at home.

I know. We may well be. I guess this wound is still too fresh, but it really got me down. Then again, being favored is one thing. Winning is something else..

pokeresq
10-27-2018, 07:55 PM
Our tackling was horrible today. Not hating on our guys, but we simply will not beat anybody else if we tackle that poorly. Pitt didn't complete a 2nd half pass until late in the 4th quarter, but had no need to because they could run at will. I will keep watching and rooting for the football Devils, but we had a chance to have a special year and possibly win the division, but have faded badly. Daniel is kept from being great by his misses like the throw behind TJ that would have kept a drive going and perhaps allowed us to steal the win.

aGDevil2k
10-27-2018, 08:00 PM
I know. We may well be. I guess this wound is still too fresh, but it really got me down. Then again, being favored is one thing. Winning is something else..

Not sure if home field matters to us...there might be 8,000 people in the stands for the wake game.

But the way we are playing, I wouldn't bet on us to win another game.

Virginia was deflating. This was embarrassing and soul crushing


I am very curious to read cutcliffes comments. I sure hope we don't hear a defensive player say that we were surprised by the game plan.

arnie
10-27-2018, 08:06 PM
That and injuries. Not very deep and it eventually catches up to a team.

Yes we’ve had injuries, but so has our competition. Big difference as you noted; our depth just isn’t as good as other teams. When we substitute at most positions, the impact is often severe. Not sure why since our recruiting has improved, but think lack of quality depth is our biggest weakness.

aGDevil2k
10-27-2018, 08:26 PM
Yes we’ve had injuries, but so has our competition. Big difference as you noted; our depth just isn’t as good as other teams. When we substitute at most positions, the impact is often severe. Not sure why since our recruiting has improved, but think lack of quality depth is our biggest weakness.

The thing is, any player on a college scholarship should be able to do the fundamentals. And I don't recall anyone on that D who wasn't pathetic at tackling today. Yeah we are hobbled...but that doesn't explain arm tackling for four quarters.

peloton
10-27-2018, 08:34 PM
Not sure if home field matters to us...there might be 8,000 people in the stands for the wake game.

But the way we are playing, I wouldn't bet on us to win another game.

Virginia was deflating. This was embarrassing and soul crushing


I am very curious to read cutcliffes comments. I sure hope we don't hear a defensive player say that we were surprised by the game plan.

Unfortunately these are my sentiments also which I hate to admit because typically I'm still optimistic after most of our losses. We're tanking at the worst time of the year - this was very disheartening. Maybe we regroup again as we did late last year - one can only hope so.

billwh
10-27-2018, 08:50 PM
I've been in the stands, on the 50 yard line visitor side, since 1979. I've missed less than a handful of games these many years. And, with our defense and an NFL quarterback, I told myself this year would be our finest hour. I find today very depressing. But, I must remember that we are a top-10 academic university, much higher ranked than any of our opponents. Having taught undergraduates at Duke, I can tell you they are very-very good at being students, and they are incredibly smart. So, not only do our football players have to go up against talented football players that would make marginal Duke students at best (although some would, its true), our football players have to compete within small classes full of national merit scholars. Just the fact that I find this frustrating is a testament to Cutcliff, and all I can say is I hope we smash Miami.

tteettimes
10-27-2018, 09:11 PM
54 points???? WTH 😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈

CameronBornAndBred
10-27-2018, 10:21 PM
Georgia Tech has to be shaking their head at the number of rushing yards we allowed today.

CameronBornAndBred
10-27-2018, 10:23 PM
Unfortunately these are my sentiments also which I hate to admit because typically I'm still optimistic after most of our losses. We're tanking at the worst time of the year - this was very disheartening. Maybe we regroup again as we did late last year - one can only hope so.

At least we only need one more win with time to play to have a post season. What I find so hard to swallow is that we could have, and should have, had that 6th win before November came upon us.

Reilly
10-28-2018, 11:15 AM
From the AP story at goduke: "Deon Jackson set a Duke record with 403 all-purpose yards." ( http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211777853&DB_OEM_ID=4200)

Heinz Field made me appreciate Wallace Wade: $20 parking there versus free at Duke ... not helpfully located ticket booth (cash only, to boot) compared to Duke operations ... neat setting by the river but the students have to be bused in on old yellow school buses ... Pitt had a nice band ... is there another CFB program with more a stellar past/players (national championship post-integration; Dorsett/Marino/Hugh Green/Larry Fitz) but less "oomph" in terms of support or current cachet than Pitt?

HereBeforeCoachK
10-28-2018, 12:00 PM
From the AP story at goduke: "Deon Jackson set a Duke record with 403 all-purpose yards." ( http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211777853&DB_OEM_ID=4200)

Heinz Field made me appreciate Wallace Wade: $20 parking there versus free at Duke ... not helpfully located ticket booth (cash only, to boot) compared to Duke operations ... neat setting by the river but the students have to be bused in on old yellow school buses ... Pitt had a nice band ... is there another CFB program with more a stellar past/players (national championship post-integration; Dorsett/Marino/Hugh Green/Larry Fitz) but less "oomph" in terms of support or current cachet than Pitt?

Pitt is a uniquely difficult fan situation....first, Pittsburgh is a pro town, not a college town, and second, Penn State sucks up all the oxygen, and 99% of the college fans in the state. Even under Jackie Sherrill and so on, I don't think Pitt was a great draw (but better than it is now). The idea to share Heinz Field with the Steelers I think was a bad idea.

jimsumner
10-28-2018, 01:20 PM
We will almost certainly be favored against both UNC and Wake at home.

Duke was favored in all three of the games it lost.


And underdogs in three of the wins.


Excluding the NCCU mismatch, the favored team in Duke games has won only the Army game this season.

HereBeforeCoachK
10-28-2018, 04:31 PM
Last several weeks the post game presser from Cut doesn't appear on goduke.com - earlier in the year it did. Any idea what's up with that? Anywhere it can be accessed?

Wander
10-28-2018, 05:16 PM
Duke was favored in all three of the games it lost.


And underdogs in three of the wins.


Excluding the NCCU mismatch, the favored team in Duke games has won only the Army game this season.

Looking forward to the Clemson game then ;)

budwom
10-28-2018, 05:28 PM
As cocktail hour approaches, I'd like to point out that the end of the game represented something of a tip of the cap to another game from The Dark Ages....the game where we lost to Clemmons in OT by nine points (1997), no easy feat, that.
Yesterday we managed to offer Pitt (besides a total lack of defense) a gratuitous safety at the end of the game, just to be nice guests...

devildeac
10-28-2018, 05:28 PM
Looking forward to the Clemson game then ;)

Yea, after 63-3, 41-7 and 59-10, that there's funny stuff.

:eek:

HereBeforeCoachK
10-28-2018, 05:43 PM
As cocktail hour approaches, I'd like to point out that the end of the game represented something of a tip of the cap to another game from The Dark Ages...the game where we lost to Clemmons in OT by nine points (1997), no easy feat, that.
Yesterday we managed to offer Pitt (besides a total lack of defense) a gratuitous safety at the end of the game, just to be nice guests...

Losing to Cincy by14 in the Belk Bowl when we appeared to be on the verge of winning the game with a couple minutes left was quite the feat also....

Reilly
10-28-2018, 05:57 PM
As cocktail hour approaches, I'd like to point out that the end of the game represented something of a tip of the cap to another game from The Dark Ages...the game where we lost to Clemmons in OT by nine points (1997), no easy feat, that.
Yesterday we managed to offer Pitt (besides a total lack of defense) a gratuitous safety at the end of the game, just to be nice guests...

That Clemson game was my immediate thought, as well. It just proves the adage "be kind -- you never know what somebody's going through." Most would think it was just about yesterday's game. But the past isn't even past.

With respect to being guests, the Pitt band welcomed their guests (as the Duke band does) by playing a song of the opponent's ... unlike Duke (which plays a full song), the Pitt band played about :15 of "Blue & White" before going off to something else.

Dukehky
10-28-2018, 06:07 PM
Twas not a fun evening.

CameronBlue
10-28-2018, 06:39 PM
Twas not a fun evening.

I sat in the Harris Teeter parking lot on Horton Rd. and listened to the 4th QTR before going in to the store. Even with Duke up 10 in the 4th QTR the pervading sense of doom filled my soul. I absolutely knew Duke was going to lose, the proverbial "car crash in motion" overwhelmed my senses. Injuries, yes, but I see no logical connection between the Duke that beat GT and the team that played yesterday. Where did that OTHER team go, criminy. And why oh why oh why did Cut go to Harris package, at THAT time in THAT situation? When I got home I had ginger root, gerber's baby food and a set of fondue forks in my grocery bags. I don't own a fondue pot and everyone in my household is over 30. Very disturbing game, very disturbing.

jimsumner
10-28-2018, 06:47 PM
You do not want to get Buddy Womble and I talking about the worst losses in Duke football history. You don't have the time and we'll crash the internet.

Reilly
10-28-2018, 06:49 PM
... fondue forks ...

Fondue forks ... or, Devils' pitchforks ... for stabbing Ibis meat? This team ain't done ...

Reilly
10-28-2018, 07:04 PM
Virginia sits in first ... Pitt controls whether it wins the Coastal ... and we're almost in November ... crazy times ...

Pitt went for it with :13 and no timeouts (anyone else think that was a nuts play -- to even have a play -- after their K had done such a stellar job?) ....

and this game cannot fade into memory w/out a shoutout to Johnson (? 33?) who hustled early and prevented a TD and they only got a FG from the possession ...

Devil in the Blue Dress
10-28-2018, 08:43 PM
You do not want to get Buddy Womble and I talking about the worst losses in Duke football history. You don't have the time and we'll crash the internet.

The game dedicated to Jim Tatum in 1959?

jv001
10-29-2018, 07:37 AM
The game dedicated to Jim Tatum in 1959?

Was the score 0-40??? If so, I remember it well. GoDuke!

Devilwin
10-29-2018, 08:19 AM
Here's my thing. I've been a Duke sports fan since around 1960, when I was around 8 years old. I recall ACC Champs three years in a row. Then comes the decline.
And it was hard to take, just waiting year after year for basketball season. I have friends that only are Duke fans during basketball season, then spend time pulling for FSU or Clemson during football season. I don't understand that logic at all. If you're a Duke fan, be a fan of everything!
I love football. I played the game in junior and senior HS.
All those lean years were hard to take, and the seemingly endless carousel of coaches that just couldn't get it done. Spurrier gave us hope, but left way too soon.
Along comes Coach Cut, and suddenly we are relevant again. A Coastal title, and a few bowl wins, and we are feeling good about ourselves. During that time we've beaten Va Tech and Miami, and seem to now have UNC's number.
This year started off great, and when we beat Northwestern on the road, I was feeling really good about our chances to win the division..
Then comes the series of injuries, and the bottom falls out. We just are not as deep as some teams at key positions, but these kids have been playing organized football for years, and for crying out loud, they should know how to tackle. That Pitt loss was like taking a deep swallow of milk, only to discover it has gone sour. The taste just hangs around.
But then, we do things that baffle me. Like the two qb set when Harris goes up the middle. I know, it worked a time or two, but don't you think Pitt knew it was coming??
We need to get some players back, and soon. The season can be salvaged.
But then, one gets tired of trying to salvage seasons..I am not a youngster any longer, and grow weary of mediocrity. Especially when we had the talent to do so much more.
I love Coach C. Like I said, he's made us respectable again. And it makes me cringe to see all the vacant seats around me when we have the chance to go.
But who wants to go and see a performance like we saw Saturday? Nobody does...Like some many on this forum have stated, it's like Roof, Franks, and all the others have returned...

budwom
10-29-2018, 08:23 AM
^ a lot of good points, especially the second time we put Harris in....everyone should have know he was going to run, we just wasted a couple of downs for absolutely no reason...utterly baffles me that we can have a QB lead us down the field, only to pull him in favor of a guy (no offense to Harris) who quite arguably runs not as well as Jones and is rarely allowed/asked to throw the ball at the goal line...

HereBeforeCoachK
10-29-2018, 08:38 AM
^ a lot of good points, especially the second time we put Harris in...everyone should have know he was going to run, we just wasted a couple of downs for absolutely no reason...utterly baffles me that we can have a QB lead us down the field, only to pull him in favor of a guy (no offense to Harris) who quite arguably runs not as well as Jones and is rarely allowed/asked to throw the ball at the goal line...

I totally agree with 90% of that.....tremendous momentum crushing the ball down field, then get to the 4 and totally change. Makes no sense whatsoever. Whenever that little gimmick has worked, they were drives that were likely going to score anyway. Now everybody knows what to expect. Its simply not prudent to have that play fail 12 times to set up one jump pass in the season.

I would only disagree with Harris and Jones' running ability. Harris is the better runner. Much quicker in the short burst. But when every single person in the stadium and the TV audience know what's coming, it doesn't matter who is running. And having Jones (or Boone or whoever) as a receiver? That's playing ten on elven.

Devilwin
10-29-2018, 09:40 AM
When I said the season could be salvaged, it's in the faith I have in the head coach..And in the kids that play the games. But they need to get it together, and quickly.

Devil in the Blue Dress
10-29-2018, 09:50 AM
Was the score 0-40??? If so, I remember it well. GoDuke!

UNC 50 Duke 0

rtnorthrup
10-29-2018, 10:00 AM
I don't know how the rest of the season will play out. Clemson will be a certain L, but the other three will be some level of winnable (and losable). We will likely go to a bowl game, and probably play a non-power 5 opponent. Regardless, this season will seem like a disappointment. Given the current state of the Coastal division, I think the general feeling will be that we could/should have contested the division this season. Injuries have been/are/will be a major factor this season, but still the overwhelming feeling will be disappointment.

The Richmond games aside, the major reason for Cut turning around the program was that he generally won the games we should win. Duke was a much more disciplined team than our opponents, we didn't beat ourselves. This season we have lost 3 games where we were favored to win the game at kickoff. That is an unusual feeling for Cut coached teams. This will be the second year in a row that we are looking at "what could have been".

Reilly
10-29-2018, 10:27 AM
9-3
8-4
7-5
6-6
5-7

Our possible records. If we go 5-7 or 6-6, I'll feel disappointed. I predicted 7 regular season wins at the beginning of the year, so if we hit that (even with all the injuries), I won't feel disappointed. I'll be a little sad that we weren't healthy and couldn't achieve the 8- or 9-win special season and warm bowl. But I'm sure the people of Shreveport are warm and hospitable and fun to spend Christmas with.

Army/NU/Baylor/GT/Pitt/UVa/VT -- those are seven games that really are sort of toss-up type games, that one wouldn't be surprised if the game went either team's way. Right now, we're 4-3 in those toss-up games. We have three more toss-up type games (Mia, UNC, WFU). Let's go 2-1 (at least) in those, for a 6-4 record on our ten toss-ups (7 wins overall with NCCU). 60% against our peers is not horrible.

Acymetric
10-29-2018, 10:44 AM
9-3
8-4
7-5
6-6
5-7

Our possible records. If we go 5-7 or 6-6, I'll feel disappointed. I predicted 7 regular season wins at the beginning of the year, so if we hit that (even with all the injuries), I won't feel disappointed. I'll be a little sad that we weren't healthy and couldn't achieve the 8- or 9-win special season and warm bowl. But I'm sure the people of Shreveport are warm and hospitable and fun to spend Christmas with.

Army/NU/Baylor/GT/Pitt/UVa/VT -- those are seven games that really are sort of toss-up type games, that one wouldn't be surprised if the game went either team's way. Right now, we're 4-3 in those toss-up games. We have three more toss-up type games (Mia, UNC, WFU). Let's go 2-1 (at least) in those, for a 6-4 record on our ten toss-ups (7 wins overall with NCCU). 60% against our peers is not horrible.

Is Miami really a tossup game? I this isn't "The U" of old but I still think they would be favored over us pretty universally. unc is probably a tossup game, but that doesn't reflect super well on us as they are particularly bad this year. 2-1 against Miami/Wake/unc is doable but a tall order. My prediction is 1-2 with the win coming over unc. Seems like you are calling every game on our schedule a toss-up except Clemson and NCCU which...doesn't seem correct.

Reilly
10-29-2018, 11:01 AM
Is Miami really a tossup game? I this isn't "The U" of old but I still think they would be favored over us pretty universally. unc is probably a tossup game, but that doesn't reflect super well on us as they are particularly bad this year. 2-1 against Miami/Wake/unc is doable but a tall order. My prediction is 1-2 with the win coming over unc. Seems like you are calling every game on our schedule a toss-up except Clemson and NCCU which...doesn't seem correct.

Per the SRS, Miami is around the 30th best team and we're around the 40th. Will be interesting to see what the line is. Yes, I expect we may have trouble with Miami.

For purposes of the post above, yes, I was calling every game other than NCCU (a division below) and Clemson (playoff caliber) a toss-up game.

Does that mean every game is a "pick 'em" line at kickoff? No.

Does it mean all ten games are against teams rated from 30-65ish (in the great middle of the 129 teams in FBS) per the computers? Yes. That's a place where the spreads generally would be a TD or less. That's a place where the underdog is still pegged to win 40-ish percent of the time, I'm guessing (don't know the exact numbers).

We haven't played any ranked teams yet (ranked when we played them) -- so, we don't have any non-tossup games in the good direction.

Nor have we played any super-poor FBS teams yet (think Kansas or Tulane in years past). UNC might fall into the non-tossup category, but that's a rivalry game and they presumably have some talent and beat Pitt, right?

edit to add current SRS rating for our 11 FBS opponents:

4 Clemson (15 points better than us on neutral field)
----------------------------------------
25 Army (2 pts better)
33 Miami
37 NU
39 UVA
40 Duke
57 Pitt
58 GT
77 VT
81 WFU (8 points worse than us on neutral field)
104 UNC (15 points worse than us on neutral field)

https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/2018-ratings.html

So, 9-10 games against the great middle, where one is not surprised if either team wins.

luvdahops
10-29-2018, 11:24 AM
Per the SRS, Miami is around the 30th best team and we're around the 40th. Will be interesting to see what the line is. Yes, I expect we may have trouble with Miami.



Opening lines have us as a 7 point underdog

Reilly
10-29-2018, 12:14 PM
Opening lines have us as a 7 point underdog

Phil Steele had a post in July 2014 analyzing CFB games from 1997-2013, and seeing how often underdogs won the game outright.

31.5 point or more underdogs won the game 0.93% of the time
24.5-31 point dogs won the game 3.99%
17.5-24 point dogs won the game 6.37%
14.5-17 point dogs won the game 12.91%
10.5-14 point dogs won the game 20.89%
7.5-10 point dogs won the game 25.86%
3.5-7 point dogs won the game 34.93% of the time
0.1-3 point dogs won the game 47.2% of the time

jimsumner
10-29-2018, 12:30 PM
The game dedicated to Jim Tatum in 1959?

The blow-out losses don't linger for me. It's the last-second, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory losses that sting the most.

Like having leads of 14-7, 21-10, 28-18, 35-25, 42-35 and 45-42 and not being able to get the stop necessary to build on that and not even being able to force overtime when the opponent has the ball deep in their territory and a minute left.

Those games.

devildeac
10-29-2018, 12:49 PM
The blow-out losses don't linger for me. It's the last-second, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory losses that sting the most.

Like having leads of 14-7, 21-10, 28-18, 35-25, 42-35 and 45-42 and not being able to get the stop necessary to build on that and not even being able to force overtime when the opponent has the ball deep in their territory and a minute left.

Those games.

Those scores look miiiiiiighty familiar. Now I need to take a handful of Tums AND an omeprazole. :(

HereBeforeCoachK
10-29-2018, 01:29 PM
The blow-out losses don't linger for me. It's the last-second, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory losses that sting the most.

Like having leads of 14-7, 21-10, 28-18, 35-25, 42-35 and 45-42 and not being able to get the stop necessary to build on that and not even being able to force overtime when the opponent has the ball deep in their territory and a minute left.

Those games.

Totally agree...and one other...having a chance to bury a highly favored opponent in a high profile bowl game with a 42-17 halftime lead...and instead wetting the bed on clock management and having to kick a FG from the 1, leaving a glimmer of hope for the opponent...

johnb
10-29-2018, 02:06 PM
Injuries are part of football.

Every team has injuries.

It would be whiny and unhelpful if the coaching staff dwelt on players who are either out for the season or are playing at 70%.

Next up, etc.

I'm not a coach, however, so I'm happy to say that Saturday would have gone very differently if some of our best defensive players had been on the field rather than on the sidelines.

rtnorthrup
10-29-2018, 02:09 PM
9-3
8-4
7-5
6-6
5-7

Our possible records. If we go 5-7 or 6-6, I'll feel disappointed. I predicted 7 regular season wins at the beginning of the year, so if we hit that (even with all the injuries), I won't feel disappointed. I'll be a little sad that we weren't healthy and couldn't achieve the 8- or 9-win special season and warm bowl. But I'm sure the people of Shreveport are warm and hospitable and fun to spend Christmas with.

Army/NU/Baylor/GT/Pitt/UVa/VT -- those are seven games that really are sort of toss-up type games, that one wouldn't be surprised if the game went either team's way. Right now, we're 4-3 in those toss-up games. We have three more toss-up type games (Mia, UNC, WFU). Let's go 2-1 (at least) in those, for a 6-4 record on our ten toss-ups (7 wins overall with NCCU). 60% against our peers is not horrible.

I hear ya, but when you are 4-0 and ranked top 25 in most of the dork football polls it is disappointing to lose 3 out of your next four against teams that you are favored to beat.

Devilwin
10-29-2018, 02:11 PM
Injuries are part of football.

Every team has injuries.

It would be whiny and unhelpful if the coaching staff dwelt on players who are either out for the season or are playing at 70%.

Next up, etc.

I'm not a coach, however, so I'm happy to say that Saturday would have gone very differently if some of our best defensive players had been on the field rather than on the sidelines.

Won't say "would have", but will most certainly give you a "could have". All we needed was one stop..Just one..

devildeac
10-29-2018, 03:01 PM
Won't say "would have", but will most certainly give you a "could have". All we needed was one stop..Just one..

Just for S&Gs, I'll take the counterpoint here and at least deflect some blame to the offense in this game. (Yea, right dd, we scored 45 and gained 618ish yards, how in Orange County, NC can you blame the offense?)

Here's how: We left at least 10, maybe 14 points on the field 1st half with a dropped TD pass in the end zone and we fumbled with <1 minute to go in the red zone. Bad execution and decision making. Maybe play-calling, too. (Disclaimer: I missed watching the 1st half while in a couple workshops.)

Second half, we had to punt twice after the offense stalled/failed. Again, bad execution (offensive holding once, IIRC) and ? play-calling again. I don't recall the exact sequences (I was becoming highly perturbed at this point and posted once, maybe twice in chat that I was certain we'd find some way to snatch a defeat from the jaws of victory :mad:) Another possession ended in a FG after some more bad execution (once throwing behind a receiver who had a step on the CB inside the 10 yard line, IIRC) and/or maybe play-calling, too.

There, I've become an equal opportunity offender. Ultimately, I agree the defense was woeful in so many ways but another score or two, pushing the lead out to 17 points or more, might have made the difference. And, BTW, I'd greatly appreciate having Brown, Young, McDuffie and Humphreys back. Soon. Very soon.

Reilly
10-29-2018, 03:05 PM
Unsurprisingly, the Duke/Pitt game was the FBS game with the most combined yards (1253) and points (99) last weekend.

Maryland scored 63 points and had 712 yards for the individual team honors.

Numbers from the "College Football Stathead: October 29, 2018" email sent by Sports Reference, LLC.

HereBeforeCoachK
10-29-2018, 03:11 PM
Just for S&Gs, I'll take the counterpoint here and at least deflect some blame to the offense in this game. (Yea, right dd, we scored 45 and gained 618ish yards, how in Orange County, NC can you blame the offense?)
.

I agree with your counter intuitive points here. Yeah, the offense did some great things, but there was an inexcusable dropped pass, and of the 3 slants in the red zone, two were poorly thrown (one was perfectly thrown) - and then there's the so very predictable middle school wildcat formation with a QB pretending to be WR...that bogged us down a few times. Time of possession in the fourth, a quarter dominated by Pitt, couldn't have been good either. And I'd bet over half our passing yards were gained after the catch....a few huge plays in that regard.

budwom
10-29-2018, 03:59 PM
I agree with your counter intuitive points here. Yeah, the offense did some great things, but there was an inexcusable dropped pass, and of the 3 slants in the red zone, two were poorly thrown (one was perfectly thrown) - and then there's the so very predictable middle school wildcat formation with a QB pretending to be WR...that bogged us down a few times. Time of possession in the fourth, a quarter dominated by Pitt, couldn't have been good either. And I'd bet over half our passing yards were gained after the catch...a few huge plays in that regard.

The middle school wildcat thing is just painful to watch and pitiful to endure. We wasted a couple of downs, pure and simple...they could at least give Jones a metal detector out there and maybe he can find a dime or something.

Devil in the Blue Dress
10-29-2018, 04:26 PM
The blow-out losses don't linger for me. It's the last-second, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory losses that sting the most.

Like having leads of 14-7, 21-10, 28-18, 35-25, 42-35 and 45-42 and not being able to get the stop necessary to build on that and not even being able to force overtime when the opponent has the ball deep in their territory and a minute left.

Those games.

That 1959 game made me cry all Thanksgiving Day. The close losses are maddening, too.

HereBeforeCoachK
10-29-2018, 04:43 PM
The middle school wildcat thing is just painful to watch and pitiful to endure. We wasted a couple of downs, pure and simple...they could at least give Jones a metal detector out there and maybe he can find a dime or something.

I'm thinking the other team's defensive coordinators start giggling when they see that package in the game...

Devilwin
10-29-2018, 05:35 PM
I agree the offense should shoulder some of the blame. But again, when you let a team just run all over you like they did is just unforgivable.:eek:

jimsumner
10-29-2018, 05:59 PM
The Duke offense is to blame for the Pitt loss in the sense that they didn't put a touchdown on the board every single time they had the ball.

Because that's darn near what was needed for a Duke win.

First team to 50 wins is not a workable strategy.

Bob Green
10-29-2018, 06:14 PM
UNC might fall into the non-tossup category, but that's a rivalry game and they presumably have some talent and beat Pitt, right?

UNC has a couple of talented running backs in Antonio Williams and Michael Carter, and Pitt demonstrated Duke's defense can be run on. We need Ben Humphreys plus a couple more players healthy and back on the field.

devildeac
10-29-2018, 06:33 PM
Someone else is going to have to start the Duke-Miami FB thread. I'm not starting another one after this showing. :(

SavDukeGrad
10-29-2018, 08:04 PM
UNC has a couple of talented running backs in Antonio Williams and Michael Carter, and Pitt demonstrated Duke's defense can be run on. We need Ben Humphreys plus a couple more players healthy and back on the field.

And Wake has Greg Dortch, the best receiver our depleted secondary will see all season imo.