Month: September 2021

It was a wild day in Wallace Wade as the Duke Blue Devils beat the Kansas Jayhawks by a final score of 52-33. And when I saw “a wild day”, I mean it. Duke found a way to keep Kansas in the game and were down at the half 24-21. Despite that, the Blue Devils didn’t quit and outscored Kansas 31-9 in the second half on their way to a third straight win (which, checks notes, is the first time this program has won three straight since 2019).

I was at the game and, despite being pretty darned nervous, loved watching Duke get a win. I was there with fellow Drinking Team Coordinator Tim and my aunt and uncle, Tom and Mary. It was great to be able to get together for our yearly game after not being able to last year (Tim hadn’t been there since our 2018 game due to a 2019 scheduling conflict). And it was also great to get to meet so many DukeGang parents. You all are wonderful people – thank you for letting me bother you. On top of that, I really enjoyed catching up with a lot of Blue Devils fans and a podcast guest.

For the recap this week, I’m going to address five things I liked and five things I didn’t like about the game. If we make this a regular part of the recaps, we’ll call it “Five Things”. Let’s start with what I liked:

1. Gunnar is getting comfortable.
   1. The quarterback keeps getting better each week. On Saturday he completed 22 of 29 passes for 328 yards and a touchdown. His interception looked like a miscommunication with the receiver which is something that can be fixed. More important, he chased the Kansas defender down, tackled him and saved a touchdown. That’s a statement play.
   2. If his passing numbers weren’t enough, Gunnar ran all over the field on Saturday. He scored four, count them, FOUR, touchdowns on the ground. He also kept the ball on RPOs and it looked like he’s learned when to take chances running the ball. If he continues to be this comfortable each week, this could be a real fun season.
2. The OL continues to improve.
   1. Just as Gunnar looks better each week, the offensive line seems to be settling into a groove. Coach Frey is utilizing his depth and giving Gunnar time to throw the ball. The line is also creating space between the tackles and Mataeo, Waters and Gunnar are taking advantage of the opportunities their line gives them.
   2. While things may change once we get into conference play, you have to be happy with how the line is playing. The offense put up 607 yards and 52 points on Saturday. The lowest scoring output of this season so far was a 28 point effort in Week 1 against Charlotte and that easily could have been a 40 plus point game for Duke. If this unit holds together, we could be looking at Fun ‘n’ Gun numbers.
3. Mataeo and Waters ran the ball well.
   1. Fumbles aside (and we cover that in more detail below), the running backs had another great day. Mataeo ran for 124 yards on 21 carries and Jordan Waters added 59 yards on 11 caries. Both scored touchdowns. The Blue Devils have an outstanding one-two punch. When your two running backs combine for two touchdowns and 183 rushing yards, you’re doing something right.
4. The defense locked Kansas down in the second half.
   1. Despite struggling early, Duke’s defense made adjustments and held Kansas to nine points in the second half. While the Blue Devils didn’t get many sacks, the defense snagged two crucial interceptions. Despite looking lost in the first half, they didn’t quit. It’s hard not to root for these guys.
5. A lot of third down stops.
   1. If you’re a Duke fan, third down, particularly third-and-long, makes you close your eyes and hold your breath. Our defense has been vulnerable in those situations for what feels like forever. Despite that painful history, Tim and I both commented on how well the defense did on third down, holding Kansas to three conversions on fourteen attempts. Those are numbers you have to like.

Now that we’ve finished with what I liked, here are the five things I didn’t like:

1. Sloppy play – too many turnovers and penalties.
   1. I mentioned it as an area of concern after Duke beat Northwestern, but the Blue Devils didn’t listen and finished the game with six penalties for 65 yards. That’s better than last week, but that will come back to haunt the team at some point. Duke has to tighten up.
   2. And on the turnovers front, one interception and one fumble isn’t bad, but it isn’t ideal, particularly if you factor in the fumbles that weren’t lost but could have been. While it didn’t cost the team on Saturday, it will at some point. Again, this team has to take better care of the football. And speaking of which …
2. Durant is fumbling too much.
   1. If memory serves, he fumbled two times on Saturday and almost a third. The Blue Devils were fortunate to lose only one of those, but you can’t pretend this isn’t a problem. The coaches sure seem concerned about it because I got the sense that Durant got pulled for a bit after his last fumble.
   2. This has to stop. Mataeo is too good of a player to be this careless with the football. Maybe it’s just bad luck and people gunning for him, I don’t know, but I think we would all like to see the fumbles stop.
3. The defense is still vulnerable to big plays.
   1. This one is self-explanatory. Kansas’ top receiver had 5 catches for 122 yards. The Jayhawks’ second best receiver had 4 catches for 99 yards. Three different receivers averaged 20 plus yards per catch. That’s a recipe for trouble, particularly if the defense doesn’t figure out how to cover the wheel route.
4. We made Kansas look real, real good.
   1. As part of my game preview, I detailed pretty extensively how Kansas hadn’t played well coming into Saturday. Offensive woes aside, the Jayhawks sure looked like world-beaters in the first half. Despite having a quarterback who hadn’t thrown particularly well all season, Kansas’ starter finished with 323 yards and 2 touchdowns.
   2. It seems like Duke plays to the level of competition, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. While the Blue Devils’ offense finally played well in both the first and the second half, the fact that the defense hasn’t put together one consistent game has to be an area of concern for the coaching staff. Let’s hope this gets turned around as the season goes on
5. Consistent with points three and four, the DL needs to get more pressure on the quarterback.
   1. While the one sack Ben Frye got was a huge one that killed a Kansas drive, it was the only sack the team managed. Add to that Kansas rushing for more than 200 yards and you have a defensive line that isn’t controlling the line of scrimmage. If Duke wants to keep up its winning ways, the DL will have to start getting more sacks and do more to control the line of scrimmage.

Can the Blue Devils do it? I sure hope so, because this is a real fun team to watch. Let me know what you think below.

Go Duke!

Most people expected Duke to be 2-1 after playing Northwestern in Week 3 of the 2021 season. That’s because most people expected the Blue Devils to get wins against Charlotte and A&T followed by a loss to the Wildcats. But life is what happens when you’re busy making plans and Duke managed to end up 2-1 after losing to Charlotte and following it up with wins against A&T and Northwestern. It may not be the 2-1 we expected, but we’ll take it.

The game was a tale of two halves. The Blue Devils came out on absolute fire, putting up 21 points in the first quarter before slowing down and settling for three field goals in the second (and none after that). Gunnar Holmberg continued to look sharp, completing 31/44 passes for 314 yards, 1 touchdown and a pick that wasn’t really on him. He took a hand to the helmet (penalty? Anyone?), the ball came out a little ugly and he got picked. The rest of the team came to play, too. Mataeo ran for 102 yards on 22 carries and put up two total touchdowns. Jake Bobo caught 11 passes for 109 yards and Eli Pancol had 3 catches including one that sealed the win for Duke. On top of that, Jordan Moore resurrected the Connette package and gobbled up another touchdown (more on Moore below – great pun, right? The Dad jokes are strong with this one).

The defense showed up as well after two inconsistent weeks. The defensive line came to life and kept Northwestern in check for most of the game. Ben Frye looked like the player we heard so much about during the offseason and DeWayne Carter had a tremendous strip of the football that knocked Northwestern’s backup quarterback out of the game (who, by the way, almost brought the Wildcats back from a 30-0 deficit). That play may well have sealed the game and put the Blue Devils in the win column. Shaka Heyward had another game with double-digit tackles and the secondary, particularly Lummie Young, looked dominant. But for a terrible pass interference call that stole a pick-six from Josh Blackwell, Duke would have ended the game with 37 points.

There was a lot to like about this game. Gunnar continued to play very, very well. With the game on the line, he made a lot of throws to places where only the receiver could get it. He was efficient with the ball, got rid of it quickly and always seemed to find the right man. The defense also showcased its depth. Ja’Mion Franklin got extended minutes and controlled the middle. We need to see more of him. The guy can make plays and we need to give him chances to do that. The secondary made some big plays, snagging three (should have been four – thanks, officials) interceptions, and Dorian Mausi continued to play well. Hopefully J’Marick Woods will be back next week, because he looked real, real good until he left the game due to injury. As for the kicking game, Porter Wilson was Porter Wilson and Charlie Ham was Charlie Ham. Again, the Blue Devils have good kicking teams and that can get a team three wins each season.

But just as there were things to like, there were a number of things not to like. Duke had a lot of penalties, 10 for 104 yards. This is a worrisome trait that goes back to last season. Lack of discipline will cost you in close games, so the Blue Devils have to fix this. Now. While we all like Jordan Moore, the kid is confident, I thought he got utilized at times that didn’t make sense. There were times in the red zone where I felt we needed to give the ball to Durant. Mataeo only has 398 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in three games, so why not feed him the rock? It worked against A&T at the end of the first half. Why not keep doing it till it doesn’t work? While I’m not saying we shouldn’t have a Moore package, I am saying less might be more. (Two Moore puns in one post? I’m on fire, guys!) And speaking of Mataeo, stop running to the edge. Let him run between the tackles.

In addition, the coaching situation left a little to be desired. We subbed players at the end of the first half and Northwestern wisely took a lot of time to sub its players. This resulted in a lot of time coming off the clock and Duke wasting an opportunity to try for six (have coordinators forgotten how to spike the ball?). It ultimately didn’t matter in the end, but it was frustrating to watch. I also thought the play calls could have been better. I’m not going to freak out about it and will chalk it up to having a first year coordinator. Let’s hope things improve.

Finally, remember when I mentioned that Gunnar’s performance should cause all of us to wonder why he didn’t play last year? Well, I guess Fitzgerald read my thoughts on the A&T game because he sure pulled his struggling Clemson transfer quarterback for a mobile backup when his first stringer couldn’t stop turning the ball over. The result was almost overcoming a 30 point deficit. There’s a reason I said Fitzgerald is a better coach than Cutcliffe. His willingness to make a change proved it.

That said, I love the win. And I love this team. Congrats, guys. This was a big win. It gave the Blue Devils back-to-back wins for the first time since 2019. I can’t wait to see you play Kansas next week.

Go Duke!

It was an ugly start. NCA&T imposed its will on Duke’s defensive line. The linebackers seemed to let the secondary do all of the tackling. And the NCA&T defense filled the box to stop Mataeo Durant and force Gunnar Holmberg to win by throwing the football.

Challenge accepted.

Gunnar and the offense looked good for the second week in a row, putting up 42 points in three quarters before the starters were pulled and the Blue Devils adopted a run heavy approach. Holmberg completed 20 of 27 passes for 270 yards and two rushing touchdowns. He did this while being careful with the football and not turning it over. And while Mataeo Durant and Jordan Waters weren’t running the ball particularly well (18 total rushes for 50 yards), Durant scored 3 touchdowns including a crucial one at the end of the first half to give Duke the lead. While those two struggled to run the ball consistently, the team combined to rush for 150 yards on 38 carries which comes out to 3.9 yards per attempt. It took time for the team to come together and hit its stride, but, in the end, the fans at Wallace Wade watched the Blue Devils get a win. It was nice to see Duke right the ship after a more than disappointing loss to Charlotte. Hopefully, this will be the first of many this season.

While the 45-17 victory over a well-coached Aggies team gives the appearance of a dominating win, let’s not read too much into it. This is game 2 of 2 on the season and the Blue Devils are 1-1. Like I said last week, I am not going to put too much into a single victory and will wait until we get to Week 4 before I get a good sense of what this season has in store for us. With that in mind, I’d like to address a few things I noticed that concerned me (and probably you, too). If you have to onside kick against an FCS school, things probably aren’t as rosy as the final score suggests. So, with that in mind, here is what concerned me about last night:

1. We weren’t running between the tackles.
   1. I’m not sure why we kept stretching the field, particularly in the third quarter. As the game went on, Durant started to get yards up the middle. Sure, not huge chunks, but you saw the OL open up more holes when running between the tackles and begin to control the pace. This crazy idea of running straight ahead worked perfectly when Durant scored the touchdown to close out the first half (which was risky because Cut had just burned his last timeout and a stop short of the goal line would have been disastrous), so why not do more of it?
   2. It may have something to do with the fact that Boyette, a former running back and offensive player, isn’t the one calling the plays. If we don’t see more between the tackles running going forward, Cut might want to give Boyette full control of the offense.
2. Our 2nd string DL > our 1st string DL.
   1. Maybe it was just me (but I did talk to a person at the game during halftime who concurred with my assessment), but our 1st string DL isn’t looking so hot. DeWayne Carter is getting isolated and Ben Frye and the rest aren’t doing much to get pressure on the quarterback. We didn’t register a single sack last night.
   2. But when Ja’Mion Franklin and Christian Rorie came in, we saw a little more discipline, a little more imposing of wills and a little more containing of the Aggies’ offense on 3rd down.
   3. If it were me, I’d switch up the DL starters and get Carter with Franklin and Rorie. I’d shuffle the others until everyone gets comfortable, but I like what I saw from Oben and Oppan. I’m just not sure who the fourth guy should be at this point.
3. I’m not sure what our LBs are doing.
   1. Maybe Heyward is trying to do too much, but he didn’t make an appearance until late although he did lead the team in tackles. Our co-DCs may want to consider putting someone else with Heyward to take the pressure off of him.
   2. I liked Masui, but part of me thinks that Colby Campbell may need a few snaps. He’s got a lot of experience and should be able to direct everyone. That may allow Heyward to just go out and play.
   3. Heyward did settle in late, so I’m hopeful he is just getting adjusted to his new role.
   4. I liked how our secondary played, but they can’t do everything. And if your DL and your LBs aren’t getting pressure, it is going to be a long season for Josh Blackwell, J’Marick Woods, etc.
4. Why even have 3rd down?
   1. Nothing new here. We still struggle getting stops on 3rd down. I think this has been the case for about 18 millennia or something. I’m sure we’ll figure it out in the fullness of time.
   2. Maybe the 3rd down gods just hate us?
5. Cutcliffe’s decision making is a little confusing.
   1. Gunnar Holmberg is making plays. I know this was against an FCS team and we’ll know more after seeing him against Northwestern, but he’s had consecutive weeks with real nice stat lines. He was 20/29 against Charlotte and repeatedly led the team down the field to regain the lead. He followed it up with a 20/27 performance last night. Those are good numbers from anyone, but particularly from a guy who hadn’t started a college football game before this season.
   2. In addition, Gunnar is getting rid of the ball quickly. The OL isn’t looking particularly great, but Gunnar isn’t getting fazed by it and isn’t letting a muddy pocket stop him. He’s calm, poised and in control. He also had a couple of real nice runs last night. I don’t want to use the phrase “game manager” because that has a negative connotation, but he is doing just that (and being a “game manager” is what you should want from your QB, I’ll die on this hill). Gunnar is being smart with the ball, making quick decisions and putting the ball in places where only the WR can catch it. That’s exactly what you want from your QB1.So, what does this have to do with Cut’s decision making process? Let me explain.
   3. WHY DID WE PLAY A TRANSFER ALL OF LAST SEASON WHEN WE HAVE A GUY WHO CAN DROP DIMES TO NICKY DALMOLIN?
   4. I’m not sure what Cut saw in Gunnar that caused him to go get Chase Brice. We won’t even get into the failure to bench Brice last year, I just don’t have the energy for that. While two games is a small sample size, if Gunnar keeps this up, we’re all going to start getting angrier about what happened last year.
   5. And I, for one, and 100% Team Gunnar.

Those are my thoughts on the game. Let me know what you think. Go Duke!

Why are we allowed to play night games? Seriously, why?

Duke lost a nail-biter to Charlotte Friday night, dropping the opening game of the season 31-28. The Blue Devils lost to a team it beat last season. A team it beat last season by 34 points. The best thing about this game was the fact that I didn’t get to see it – I was in Boston with Mrs. Bull City Coordinators on a mini-vacation with friends from law school. Thank whatever god or gods you believe in for life’s small miracles. Anyway, the nature of the loss reminds me of one of my son’s travel lacrosse tournaments over the summer.

During the first tournament of the season, the boy’s team beat what would be considered a vastly superior opponent. After that game, we noticed the losing team practicing in between the remaining games that day. While practicing the kids that often in very, very hot weather on top of the games that day was risky, if not foolish, it got the desired result. That team slaughtered the boy’s team in the rematch the next morning. It was a remarkable turnaround. One parent summed up the opposing team perfectly, “You can say what you want about their tactics, but they won.”

I tell that story to highlight what happened in between this season and last. Charlotte improved, scoring more points and giving up fewer. Duke didn’t. Despite moving the coaching staff around, the Blue Devils continued to struggle defensively in crunch time, remained susceptible to big plays and made crucial mistakes on offense (basically, the same problems that have haunted us since 2019’s Jump Pass continue to haunt us). As to those mistakes, a dropped TD and a fumble around the goal line by new QB Gunnar Holmberg could have changed the outcome (and don’t give me the “Gunnar cost us the game” crap I’ve seen online. This wasn’t on him – our defense gave up 14 points in the 4th and there was a dropped TD pass. Plenty of people could have done things differently. Not one person is responsible for this loss). But, even if Duke got those TDs and won, it would have hidden what should be obvious – Charlotte’s team improved during the off-season. And, despite all the talk from Coach Cutcliffe during the off-season, his team sure looks like it continues to do things the same way that it always has. And, given the duration of his tenure in Durham, other coaches have figured that way out. It shows in the score of Friday night’s game and in the general trend of teams like UVA and Georgia Tech, who Cutcliffe used to consistently beat, consistently getting wins against the Blue Devils.

What does this loss mean? Well, given the razor thin margin a team like Duke has year in and year out, this is not a game that can be lost and still lead to a bowl game at the end of the season. But one thing the podcast has taught me is to be patient. And that’s what I’ll be here.

While the loss is a huge negative, there are some positives to take away here. First, a lot of teams struggled this week. UNC lost, Tulane took Oklahoma down to the wire, Montana beat Washington and Vandy got dominated by ETSU. So, maybe it isn’t so much that this team is bad. Perhaps it’s just that this team hasn’t settled in. And, to the second point, the Blue Devils lost four players to the NFL draft and several other older players to the transfer portal. Guys like Big Vic, Chris Rumph, Deon Jackson, Noah Gray, Derrick Tangelo and Drew Jordan are hard to replace. Especially given the way that Cutcliffe slowly advances players. And I can’t be the only one who is thinking it would have been nice for Holmberg to get more time last season so he wouldn’t have such a learning curve this season. Same for the defensive line. And the linebackers. But I digress. Back to my points.

Third, the offense put up points, and yards. Mataeo Durant set a school record for rushing yards in a single game. Gunnar had a real nice stat line and didn’t throw a pick. The offense also reclaimed the lead multiple times before finally running out of time. Given the amount of turnover on the offense and defense, the new offensive co-coordinators and the new play caller, the fact that the game was close shouldn’t have surprised us. The fact that this ended in a loss, however, should be. And it’s okay to be upset about it. I am, and I think we all should be.

That said, this is just one game. Before we start demanding that people get fired, and I will say that Cutcliffe probably didn’t want to lose his first game under new athletic director Nina King, let’s table those comments for now. Let’s see how the first 4 games of the season go. We’ll know a lot more about where this team is after the first third of the season is over. That will tell us whether this team has come together or whether it’s going to be a long and painful season.

Until then, I’m going to withhold judgment on any sort of staff changes. While I will note that this is an alarming and upsetting loss that will hopefully cause the players to take control of the team, I am not going to panic over a single loss. Am I concerned? Of course. Do I think that Cutcliffe needs to do a lot of introspection and be more flexible than he typically is? Yes. Yes, I do. And the fact that I’m saying that the players need to take control should tell you what level of confidence I have in Cutcliffe and his staff at this point.

But does this necessarily mean the season is over? No, it doesn’t. Mataeo looked real good, Gunnar showed promise and the offense could have scored over 40 had it not been for a dropped pass and a turnover. If Gunnar can go 20/29 for 228 yards each week, if Mataeo gets close to 30 touches each week, if Jake Bobo can snag 7 catches each week and if Jordan Waters can average 13 yards per carry (let’s not overlook that), then this is an offense that can be dangerous. And if the defense solidifies, this could be a fun team.

So, while I am concerned, I’m also optimistic about what this offense can do. So, I’ll just keep saying it – Go Duke!