Month: November 2021

We all expected Duke to lose, but what we didn’t necessarily expect was the fight the Blue Devils put up against a 6-2 (now 7-2) Pitt team. Duke had chances early. Gunnar Holmberg, Mataeo Durant, Eli Pancol and company came out firing and kept this game interesting until late in the second quarter. But two trips to the Pitt one yard line that ended on a fumble and a turnover on downs were too much for the Blue Devils to overcome. Despite an early field goal, a safety and a nice touchdown toss from Gunnar to Calhoun, Pitt did what every other ACC team has done to Duke this season – win. The 54-29 final score was another blowout loss in conference this season.

Even worse for the Blue Devils than the fifth straight loss was that Gunnar Holmberg left the game with an injury. It appears to be a hairline-ish rib fracture and not the more serious clavicle fracture we were all concerned about based on the way Gunnar held himself as he left the game. While Riley Leonard did all right in relief, I think we would all prefer to have Gunnar when Duke takes on the Hokies next week. And, speaking of the quarterback situation, it’s time to get to Five Things because there is something about that situation I certainly don’t like. But, before we get to that, here are Five Things I liked:

1. We returned a kick for a touchdown! Our man Jaylen Stinson, after a number of questionable returns all season, showed up big when he took one 69 yards to the house. Jaylen, I’ve been critical of the way the staff has let you return kicks as opposed to taking a touchback, but you sure made the most of that one. Congrats, my man!
2. Our offense actually put up points for the first time since Georgia Tech. While 29 wasn’t enough, the Blue Devils moved the ball real well until Jeff Faris decided to stop running the ball (more on that below). Gunnar looked sharp, we used our tight ends, Bobo and Durant did what they do and Eli Pancol showed up. It was nice (while it lasted).
3. We. Got. A. Safety. I have been pretty critical of our DL not getting a lot of pressure (which I think is the result of youth and not getting the right unit on the field), but they stepped up early. That safety gave us a real shot to hang around. It just wasn’t in the cards today.
4. How about Dorian Mausi causing a turnover? We didn’t really know what to expect form him when Rocky Shelton was dismissed from the team earlier this year, but the man has stepped up. He looks like a leader out there and calls the plays, changes assignments and gets in the middle of it. Sam McGrath has done a heck of a job with this linebacker crew. How about a 4-3 next year instead of the 4-2-5 the opposition just runs a wheel route against?
5. And for number five … I got a new set of strings on my acoustic Fender. Does that count? No? Well, tough – that’s all I’ve got.

And now for the Five Things I didn’t like:

1. How in the world do we get inside the opposing team’s 1 yard line twice and come away with zero points? It’s a rhetorical question, so don’t bring up the play calls and the fumble. That poor performance just can’t happen. We have an older team on offense and ought to be able to punch the ball into the end zone in those situations. This team just isn’t good at situational football and the fumbling continues to be a problem.
2. So, too, does the quarterback situation. I don’t understand what the quarterback whisperer / offensive guru is doing with this unit. Holmberg hasn’t been allowed to run the ball since the Kansas game and the crappy offensive performances speak for themselves. Then, when he gets hurt, we turn to a true freshman and not the sophomore Luca Diamont? Plus, we let Leonard run, but not Gunnar? And what happened to Moore? Are we going to blow both of their redshirts because the staff has some apparent issue with Luca? I don’t know what Jeff Faris (read “David Cutcliffe”) is doing, but none of this makes sense. Duke runs an offense that takes time for a new quarterback to figure out, so it would make sense to let Luca play in this situation. But mismanaging the quarterback room is par for the course for this staff, so let’s move onto number three …
3. Jeff Faris cut our offense off at the knees. Putting aside the points we left on the board early by giving the ball away, the Blue Devils ran the offense pretty well early on. Durant burst through holes and Gunnar actually picked up a few yards on the ground. And then Faris abandons the run and starts throwing the ball every down? Sure, Jan, that makes sense. Keep doing what works until the other team stops it. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot.
4. Our defensive line is not getting any pressure. Maybe get Franklin and Oben in more? Maybe give the guys who get a lot of pressure and are disruptive more opportunities? How about we pair them with Carter and Smith? I don’t know if our staff is the best at putting the right guys in position to make plays. Our defense gave up way too many points, way too many yards and generally fell to pieces as the game went on. I expected us to struggle defensively all season because of all the depth we lost and the fact that we were going to play a lot of young guys, but Duke is giving up well over 40 points per game in conference. That says a lot about scheme, design and coaching.
5. Why didn’t Cut use his timeouts at the end of the first half to try and ice Pitt’s kicker? It’s an eight point game, you have two timeouts and Pitt gets the ball to start the second half. Use the timeouts and try to ice the kicker. Cut didn’t and I can’t figure out why. Like I said after the last loss, Cut has shown a complete lack of energy and it almost seems like he doesn’t care. Not using your timeouts there signaled defeat. Again, this team, staff included, is bad at situational football, but you can be bad at situational football and still care. Unfortunately, Cut sure seems like he’s checked out.

Let me just wrap up by saying that while I expected this Blue Devils’ team to be 4-8, I expected more losses like we saw today. Competition early followed by the game slipping away. Unfortunately, because the staff isn’t fixing the ball control issue, isn’t making the right decisions in key situations and isn’t using personnel correctly … Wow, just re-read that. What was my point? Oh, right – because of the way this team is losing there isn’t a good reason to keep the staff around for another season. I will say that I hope our OL coach, our LB coach and Requan Boyette get another season. I’m also fine with keeping Ben Albert around so long as he moves back to just being the DL coach and we get a new DC.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. I’m going to strum those new strings I mentioned because my kids are watching an Adam Sandler movie and, I’m gonna go ahead and say it, he’s not funny. He just isn’t. I will die on this hill.

Let me know what you think about what I think in the comments or on Twitter. But, before you do that, send some good vibes to Gunnar. Get well soon – we’ll need you in Blacksburg!

Go Duke!

And, P.S., congrats to Mataeo on getting past the 1,000 yard mark this season. A one thousand yard rusher would normally be enough to get to bowl game at most schools, but it isn’t enough in Durham.