2021 Game Recap – Duke Lost to Virginia Tech

In my game preview, I picked Duke to win. Then, shortly before the game started, I learned that Gunnar Holmberg wasn’t going to start. I told the guys I went to the game with I was switching my pick and taking VT to win. The three of us all shared the same assessment – the Blue Devils would lose a close game against a bad VT team. We were half right, but way, way wrong. This one turned into yet another blowout conference loss; and it was a bad loss to a bad team led by a coach that is going to get fired at the send of the season. To be clear, I’m referring to Tech, but the assessment about a bad team with a coach on his way out could apply to Duke.

The Blue Devils lost 48-17 against a hapless Hokie crew. So, let’s get to Five Things followed by a little Duke history lesson.

Five Things I liked:

1. I met Stanley Monk and the Hard Hat Guys. That was cool.
2. Jordan Moore played well in relief. But I have more on the quarterback situation in what I didn’t like.
3. I got Porter Wilson’s attention coming out of the tunnel after the half when I yelled “Go Duke!”. He looked up, I yelled “Go Duke!” again and he nodded. Then we became best friends. We’re going to hang out after the season and he’ll teach me how to avoid injury from an official’s penalty flag. (Okay, only the first part of that happened. The rest of it is just a dream. But you keep punting, you crazy diamond.)
4. I’m all tapped out.

Five Things I didn’t like:

1. Mataeo didn’t get enough touches. The three of us couldn’t figure out why Mataeo didn’t get the ball 30+ times. One of us was a VT fan, so he was fine with it, but it didn’t make sense to anyone. VT probably loved it, especially when nothing was done to give the QB a chance to succeed. Which brings me to the next thing I didn’t like …
2. We didn’t let Riley Leonard throw the ball down the field. He clearly had single read plays and we didn’t adjust from that. VT stacked the box and there were throws to the right on a quick slant that we didn’t take advantage of. Bad. Play. Calling. Take pressure off of the OL, give your RB and QB opportunities and force VT to get out of its comfort zone.
3. And speaking of bad play calling, how do we get an interception at the VT 12 yard line and not give Mataeo the ball one time? Bring in Moore to run? OK, well that’s stupid because everyone knew what was coming. Mataeo is one of the best backs in the conference. He should have gotten the ball in that situation. We also needed to put in Diamont at WR (and possibly Moore, too, given how fast he is), because our WRs are not great at getting separation. We need to be creative, but, just like our play calls are bad, our utilization of talent on offense is subpar. Fortune, as they say, favors the bold. And whatever the heck we’re doing isn’t bold. Well, perhaps it is in its stubborn commitment to doing things that don’t work, but I’m not sure that’s what Caesar meant.
4. Bad quarterback management. When Gunnar went down, we should have been ready to turn to Luca who spent last year learning the system. Instead, we turned to true freshmen. And the results spoke for themselves. Leonard looked uncomfortable, missed open receivers by throwing low and wide and generally looked like he wasn’t ready for the moment. WHICH IS NOT SURPRISING BECAUSE HE’S A TRUE FRESHMAN AT A DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAM. WHY PUT HIM OUT THERE? It’s particularly hard to understand given how well Moore looked when he got into the game. A lot of this may have been that the staff helped him by doing smart things (finally) and letting him throw down the field. Yesterday was the predictable result of terrible QB room management. It’s just another reason Jeff Faris and David Cutcliffe will have a lot to answer for at the end of the year.
5. The defense. We got zero pressure on the quarterback. We gave up over 500 yards to a bad VT team. The defense has been terrible all season in conference. But we just keep doing the same thing. This is a result of scheme and not putting the right players on the field together. Which all goes back to coaching. All of it. It’s hard to say that these folks deserve another chance given how poorly they’re performing.

Watching the Blue Devils lose another conference game in blowout fashion was painful. Yesterday seemed a lot like “Same old Duke football.” Bad situational management, an early missed field goal and no creativity after the first drive. It reminded me of all those Franks and Roof years where there would be one good drive to start the game and that was it. And, speaking of which, tell me which conference season you would prefer if you had to choose.

Option 1:

Option 2:

Option 3:

If you chose Option 1, you chose Carl Franks’ 2002 season. That was the one before he got fired during the season. If you chose Option 2, you chose Ted Roof’s 2006 season. That was his next to last season as the Blue Devils’ head coach. If you chose Option 3, then you’re one of the last people who doesn’t think Duke needs a new head coach (you chose this season). And, if you do think that, I would appreciate you telling me why. No changes are being made on offense or defense, the team continues to be haunted by the same problems every week and there is zero life on the sidelines. This team looks dead in the water. Like I said previously, it’s time for a change.

This program is right back where it was when the two coaches who are generally considered the worst in its history (and possibly some of the worst in college football history) were told it was time to leave. The current coach isn’t doing any better than those two did at the end of their tenures. In 2019, Cut went 3-5 in conference. Last year, he managed an abysmal 1-9. And now? We’re on track for a winless conference record and seven straight losses after a 3-1 start. (So, maybe last year wasn’t all on COVID?) If football matters in Durham, the trends tell you all you need to know about what has to happen after this team concludes its season at home against Miami on November 27.

All that said, I won’t stop rooting for the Blue Devils. Let me know what you think about what I think below.

Go Duke!