2020 Game Previews – Duke v. GA Tech

There are two games left in this long and miserable season. For reasons that aren’t particularly clear to me, Duke will play Georgia Tech in a prime time game this Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 7pm. At 2-5, there isn’t much to expect from the Blue Devils. We’ve written extensively about the sloppy play all season, so I won’t rehash that here. All I can hope for is that something will change on Saturday.

Will it?

If Duke plays Chase Brice, I have to say no. In doing my prep for this article, I was surprised to see how many close games the Blue Devils had this season. NCSU, VT and Notre Dame were all two possession games. (Don’t forget that Virginia got away late.) If you cut out the turnovers (by which I mean, don’t play Chase Brice), Duke may well have gone 2-1 in those games. That would give the Blue Devils 4 wins and would make it a much more palatable season. If this team were hovering at .500 in the time of COVID-19, none of us would complain. (Well, we might, but we shouldn’t.)

But wins haven’t been forthcoming because the quarterback turns the ball over too much. Since you can’t expect Brice to stop doing that this late in the year, Cutcliffe will need to start Gunnar Holmberg if he wants to get a win. Maybe Holmberg isn’t the answer. Maybe he won’t turn things around. While we don’t yet know what he’s capable of, we do know what Brice is capable of. And that’s why I think we all agree it’s time for a change. Let’s see what Holmberg can do before the season is over so we can plan for next season.

But even with Holmberg in, can Duke beat Georgia Tech?

Despite my generally negativity, I think there’s a decent shot. The Blue Devils got a win last year (I was there, it was a fun game) at home. And recent history has been kind to Duke. Since 2015, the Blue Devils are 4-1 against the Yellow Jackets. This year, Georgia Tech has struggled to a 2-5 record, lost three straight and haven’t played since October as a result of games against Pitt and Miami being postponed. The Yellow Jackets also lost to Syracuse which is Duke’s lone conference win of the season.

So, a win is possible. But will the Blue Devils do it? If Holmberg plays, I think so. He gets rid of the ball quickly, throws the ball better and can run. That gives the offense an opportunity to click and get rolling. However, if we see more Brice, this game is a loss, no question about it. He’ll turn the ball over, make mistakes and cost us the game.

We’ll have to see what Cutcliffe decides to do. I can’t see why he would play Brice again, but there’s a lot that he’s done this year that hasn’t made sense to me. Let’s see what happens Saturday night. Regardless, Go Duke!