FB: Duke vs NC A&T 9/7 6 pm ACCNX

[SupaDave]

While some think this will be an easy win (I don't) - here's someone with perspective. (LOTS of ???? for this Duke team - but that front 7 will likely determine the game)

Also, It's worth noting that the Blue Devils' offensive strength appears to be in direct contrast with the Aggies' defensive strength.

David Cutcliffe - weekly press conference

Opening Statement
“We had a good day Sunday, recovering, practicing and looking forward to (North Carolina) A&T. We looked okay from an injury standpoint. You saw that Brittain (Brown) had an issue out there but he practiced today. Noah Gray took a big hit in the ribs but the x-rays looked good so he will be fine. Going forward, thank goodness, you come out of a very physical game healthy. I can tell you about A&T. They are a great program, not just a great team. They are champions. They do what champions do. There are three ingredients to what championship football teams do and they have a conference championship trophy. They were MEAC champions for a reason. First of all, they have talent. Second, they are extremely well coached. The third thing is that they play and compete at an extremely high level in all three phases. This is a really good football team and a really good football program. I think you have to test yourselves in those settings. We just played one that is a great football program, but you have the same thing in North Carolina A&T. Coach Washington, defensively... In 18 or 19 games no one has scored more than 30 points. Systematically, they are as good as I have seen. He has been around the game for a good while. He has a system defensively that they believe in. Their offense matches and compliments the defense and then their kicking game is outstanding. I think he has done a tremendous job and his staff has done a tremendous job.”

On North Carolina A&T’s strengths
“Their speed at running back. Their speed at receiver. They have a great return game, both in kickoff and punt returns. They are explosive in that regard. Defensively, as I just said, they play so well. They have good players. They had a defensive end drafted a year ago and they have other players like that. They compete in every aspect, front, linebackers and secondary. In this era, to keep people to under 30 points is impressive. I think the most points they gave up a year ago was 23 to ECU and they won the game. That gives you a lot to be concerned about. They have an outstanding punter. The kicker has a strong leg; every kickoff last week was a touchback. This is a team that is complete. Not just picking one part of it. They are a really good football team.”

[budwom]

I think there are precious few easy wins this year..and yeah, A&T could surprise us...they beat NCCU 45-0 last year, we beat them 55-13...comparative scores may not mean much, but they are a MUCH tougher out than NCCU has traditionally been.

[Bob Green]

Brett Friedlander has an NC A&T article posted at The North State Journal:

http://nsjonline.com/article/2019/09...-find-its-way/

Quoting A&T Head Coach Sam Washington:

The formula will remain the same. We will stop the run, offense will protect the ball, and we’ll win the kicking game.

I'm convinced "The Stable" will successfully run the ball on the Aggies.

[devildeac]

Brett Friedlander has an NC A&T article posted at The North State Journal:

http://nsjonline.com/article/2019/09...-find-its-way/

Quoting A&T Head Coach Sam Washington:



I'm convinced "The Stable" will successfully run the ball on the Aggies.

Time for some predictions of the final score.

(not calling Bob out here; only looking to see what folks are thinking)

[Bob Green]

Speaking of the running game, Jim Sumner has another quality article posted on the front page:

https://www.dukebasketballreport.com...devil-football

The plan this year is to build on the running game and use it to help grow the passing game.

That is music to my ears! Run to set-up the pass.

[duke2x]

Time for some predictions of the final score. (not calling Bob out here; only looking to see what folks are thinking)

Closer than the experts think.

NC A&T -----13
Duke --------27

[Acymetric]

Time for some predictions of the final score.

(not calling Bob out here; only looking to see what folks are thinking)

Closer than the experts think.

NC A&T -----13
Duke --------27

Close. 47-13. DJ and one or two of the receivers will get a chance to get loose.

[budwom]

A&T is way better than NCCU, our usual early season patsy...having said that, if they (as their coach says) stop our running game (and I'm not ruling it out) we are in for a very long season.

[AGDukesky]

The writer for CBS ranked Duke as #4 on the Bottom 25, which seems very myopic. However, he did say A&T is a very good team as if this game could go either way. Experts are not expecting a Duke blowout...

[OldPhiKap]

Duke 20
NCA&T 13

[jv001]

Duke 17
A&T 7

Think we'll need to improve our passing game to have a good season. GoDuke!

[Bob Green]

Uniform for the home opener:

White helmet with Iron D
Blue jersey
White pants

[AustinDevil]

The writer for CBS ranked Duke as #4 on the Bottom 25, which seems very myopic. However, he did say A&T is a very good team as if this game could go either way. Experts are not expecting a Duke blowout...

Sagarin is, with #58 Duke a prohibitive favorite over #171 A&T.

The entire ACC Coastal is between #28 and #65, by the way.

http://sagarin.com/sports/cfsend.htm

[devildeac]

I'll roll with:

Duke 28
NC A&T 7

[throatybeard]

Duke 20
NCA&T 13

This one makes the most sense to me so far. I-AA or no, A&T wins championships. We win Wake Forest games, except when we don't.

[devildeac]

I've yet to see any pie bets here with that -29.5 line on the game. Surely there's somebody on DBR drooling about that opportunity...

[jimsumner]

A&T beat Elon on a 52-yard field goal on the last play of the game. On that basis they don't appear to be appreciably better than Elon. If Duke were playing Elon, would we be seeing predictions like 17-7? No, methinks.

This one might be close for a half. Might be. Duke has a big edge in talent and depth. A&T is a good FCS team. But they are still an FCS team.

Sure, Central wasn't very good last year. But several of the NCCU teams Duke pounded recently were MEAC-title-level teams. I just don't have any angst about this game.

Want a prediction? Try 38-10.

[fuse]

Duke 35, NC A&T 14

[du_bb1]

Duke 27 NC A&T 10

[CameronBlue]

I'm with that Sumner fella on this one. The only way A&T remains within 3 touchdowns is if QH has a subpar game. Lord help Duke for the rest of the season if he does but Duke goes for 200+ yards rushing in this one. The defense pitches a shutout through 3 quarters.

35 -7