FB: Duke 38, Virginia 17

[Acymetric]

- Okay, I'll say it - it's time to start thinking about a bowl game in year 1! That feels good.

Beyond the fact that it would just be great to go bowling again, I'm sure a new head coach would appreciate the extra practice time even more than usual. Bowling in year one could really help kickstart things early.

Of course best not to get ahead of ourselves, besides Kansas our toughest games are likely ahead of us, but every game is winnable. Bring on GT!

[killerleft]

Dr. Maturin says:

"Tony Elliott said this week that he chose Virginia over Duke because they have more history and tradition (he must be unaware that football existed before the 1980s) and that he considered Elko as a candidate for defensive coordinator... I'm still chuckling at that one."

Well, he had a much, much better chance of beating Duke if Elko had helped him out a bit. Just sayin'.

[75Crazie]

Tony Elliott said this week that he chose Virginia over Duke because they have more history and tradition (he must be unaware that football existed before the 1980s) ...

He was obviously referring to Thomas Jefferson and Edgar Allan Poe. He strikes me as a Renaissance Man.

[HayYou]

Beyond the fact that it would just be great to go bowling again, I'm sure a new head coach would appreciate the extra practice time even more than usual. Bowling in year one could really help kickstart things early.

Of course best not to get ahead of ourselves, besides Kansas our toughest games are likely ahead of us, but every game is winnable. Bring on GT!

There is a huge reason that the same 8ish teams play in the New Year's day and Playoff bowl games.

Those teams get an extra MONTH of practice. And the starters know what they are doing. They are more concerned about maintaining health and conditioning than truly improving and getting tons of reps. That extra month is invaluable in getting NEXT year's guys ready. Lots of FB players enroll in Dec after graduating early. These guys join the team for the last month of practice getting ready for the bowl. They have a few weeks of walk throughs and learning the playbook and terminology. This means they are more ready for spring FB than other players at teams that played their bowl early (before new enrollees). Which means they learn more and get more out of summer workouts, which means they get more out of preseason camp, which makes them better in the season, which leads to a better (later) bowl game. And it starts over again.

Think Cut wouldn't have loved and extra month of practice? A month.

Of practice.

With no game coming up. No weekly adjustments for different teams. Just practice. How many more routes, in pads and full contact against a legit defense, do QBs and WRs get to practice at Bama relative to Duke? Hundreds more per season. Hundreds. Think how much better than makes guys?

[HayYou]

I think the GT game followed competitive losses to NCSU and Tennessee, but that whipping of Georgia Tech on a beautiful day is still one of my all time favorites. Clemson thrashed us next but then the season ended with bell ringing in Kenan. I’ll admit I was drinking the Ted Roof Kool-Aid that Fall. Turns out he was a football Jim Jones, with a more bashful demeanor.

So, results may vary.

Coaching isn't what movies make it out to be. Media presents coaching as a guy who watches the opposing team on tape once, or during the game, and quickly makes some adjustments that allow his team to win.

It ain't that.

Coaching, and building a game plan, is evolved into an advanced statistical modeling exercise. Opposing coaches watch as much tape as possible, ideally several seasons worth, and try to figure out what the opposing coach likes to do in any given situation. Players may change, but underlying styles and tendencies DO NOT change.

It is helping Duke right now. Opposing coaches have no idea what Duke will do. By the end of the season they'll have a better idea. But not much. They can only spend a week getting ready for Duke. This summer each ACC team will devote 1-2 weeks just watching every Duke game from this year over and over. They'll build a strategy to play Duke.

We basically have nothing to go on vs GT. 1 week of tape which isn't enough to get an idea of what he'll try to do.

Sat might be rough. I think, and borderline EXPECT, to win. But prep this week will be hard for the staff.

[uh_no]

There is a huge reason that the same 8ish teams play in the New Year's day and Playoff bowl games.

Those teams get an extra MONTH of practice. And the starters know what they are doing. They are more concerned about maintaining health and conditioning than truly improving and getting tons of reps. That extra month is invaluable in getting NEXT year's guys ready. Lots of FB players enroll in Dec after graduating early. These guys join the team for the last month of practice getting ready for the bowl. They have a few weeks of walk throughs and learning the playbook and terminology. This means they are more ready for spring FB than other players at teams that played their bowl early (before new enrollees). Which means they learn more and get more out of summer workouts, which means they get more out of preseason camp, which makes them better in the season, which leads to a better (later) bowl game. And it starts over again.

Think Cut wouldn't have loved and extra month of practice? A month.

Of practice.

With no game coming up. No weekly adjustments for different teams. Just practice. How many more routes, in pads and full contact against a legit defense, do QBs and WRs get to practice at Bama relative to Duke? Hundreds more per season. Hundreds. Think how much better than makes guys?

I mean, you can't complain about not getting to a bowl game while not doing the things to get to a bowl game. Elko seems to have figured it out without that month...

[HereBeforeCoachK]

He strikes me as a Renaissance Man.

He strikes me as one of the worst hires of the past season. Clemson glad to be rid of him....

[johnb]

There is a huge reason that the same 8ish teams play in the New Year's day and Playoff bowl games.

Those teams get an extra MONTH of practice. And the starters know what they are doing. They are more concerned about maintaining health and conditioning than truly improving and getting tons of reps. That extra month is invaluable in getting NEXT year's guys ready. Lots of FB players enroll in Dec after graduating early. These guys join the team for the last month of practice getting ready for the bowl. They have a few weeks of walk throughs and learning the playbook and terminology. This means they are more ready for spring FB than other players at teams that played their bowl early (before new enrollees). Which means they learn more and get more out of summer workouts, which means they get more out of preseason camp, which makes them better in the season, which leads to a better (later) bowl game. And it starts over again.

Think Cut wouldn't have loved and extra month of practice? A month.

Of practice.

With no game coming up. No weekly adjustments for different teams. Just practice. How many more routes, in pads and full contact against a legit defense, do QBs and WRs get to practice at Bama relative to Duke? Hundreds more per season. Hundreds. Think how much better than makes guys?

The first time I heard about the usefulness of that extra month of practice was maybe a decade ago when Cutcliffe said it.

Another reason that the same 8 teams hog the playoff slots can be found here:
https://247sports.com/Season/2023-Fo...eTeamRankings/

[WV_Iron_Duke]

In the DMV region MASN is replaying the game at 7:00pm on Friday.

[CameronBornAndBred]

In the DMV region MASN is replaying the game at 7:00pm on Friday.

Hope we win again.