2022 Game Previews A&T

Duke is off to a hot 2-0 start with wins against Temple and Northwestern. While the Blue Devils have been plagued by inconsistencies so far, Saturday night provides a chance for Duke to tighten up a few things before Kansas and conference play. After reading a lot from other folks who cover the Blue Devils, namely Jim Sumner and Steve Wiseman, I get the sense that Duke is going to want to make a statement with this win. Sure, beating the Aggies may be looked down upon as nothing more than a win against an FCS team, but keep in mind what happened last season – A&T dominated the Blue Devils during the first half. You can bet Duke remembers that ugly outing and you can bet this team wants to show that was a fluke.

So, what should we expect? Well, the Aggies are historically well-coached – this team went 10-2 and 9-3 in 2018 and 2019. However, they are in the midst of a rough stretch since moving to the Big South. After taking a year off due to COVID, the Aggies went 5-6 in 2021 and are off to a sluggish 0-2 start. One of those losses was to NCCU and the other was to North Dakota State (which you can’t really call a bad loss because NDSU is real, real good). And those losses weren’t close, either. The Aggies lost 28-13 and 43-3. Given that, it’s fair to say that the Aggies aren’t going to match up well on Saturday.

So, the issue isn’t really going to be what the Aggies can do – the issue is what the Blue Devils will do. Based on recent performances and last season’s game, I expect that Duke will come out firing on all cylinders and will put up a lot of points. I also expect this defense to come out extra aggressive after getting torched down the stretch by Northwestern. These guys will be motivated to show that half was an aberration. Look for the Blue Devils to come out angry and determined to prove something. For P5 teams to be good, and to be taken seriously, they have to put up a large margin of victory against FCS competition. This team will want to do just that.

So, to conclude, what do I expect from Duke on Saturday night? I expect them to try and make a statement win over the Aggies. And, given the nature of the Aggies’ 0-2 start, I expect our guys to win by a comfortable margin. How comfortable? Well, I’m taking the Blue Devils 52-10. If last year’s team can win 45-17, I think this team can do more. So, don’t let me down guys. Go out there, put up 52 and allow me to finally, finally get a score prediction right.

Let me know what you think about what I think in the comments or on Twitter.

Go Duke!