Month: November 2022

2022 Regular Season Recap – A Great One

If you guys know anything about me, it’s that I’m fairly pessimistic about Duke football. This site got started as a way for me to vent my frustrations about the program collapsing in 2019. After watching the way the team performed in 2020 and 2021, I had a lot of doubts about what this team could accomplish in 2022. Given that the core of the team remained more or less the same, I was hopeful, but realistic. My hope was that the Blue Devils would be competitive in each game they played and could snag a few wins. That, without more, would have been a tremendous accomplishment after the last 2.5 years. While I heard a lot of good things from a lot of players heading into the season, I took a “Prove it” mentality. And these guys did just that – they proved it.

Eight wins. Five conference wins. Let that last one sink in for a minute. While Duke hadn’t won eight games in a season since 2018, the Blue Devils hadn’t won five conference games since 2014. That’s a long, long time. That was the same year that Duke last produced a winning record in conference. So, while eight wins is fantastic, I’m way, way more excited about the five conference wins. Because the ability to win championships starts in divisions (well, not next year for the ACC, but you get my point), you have to win your ACC games to get to a championship. Getting over .500 in the ACC is a big deal.

What else was great about this season? Pretty much everything. Coach Elko pushed the right buttons, hired the right staff and saw Coach Johns and Coach Smith deliver on their respective sides of the ball. The offense and defense played real complimentary football and were in every game they played this year. And let’s pause to think about that. After a series of blowout losses over 2.5 years, this team came together and competed every week. That’s a big deal. The Blue Devils’ four losses this season were by a total of 16 points. Had the ball bounced a little differently, and had a garbage penalty against Chapel Hill College not been called, this team could’ve easily won 10 games. To think that this team went from 3-9 (0-8) to being a few plays away from 10 wins is hard to comprehend. But it happened, and we should all be grateful.

But my favorite part of the season had to be the final game against Wake Forest. Coming into that game, Duke had beaten a lot of teams that, and let’s be honest about this, weren’t particularly good. Temple finished 3-9 (1-7), Northwestern was 1-11 (1-8), A&T was 7-4 (4-1) in the FCS Big South, UVA was 3-7 (1-6), Miami was 5-7 (3-5), Boston College was 3-9 (2-6) and Virginia Tech was 3-8 (1-6). Now, you have to beat the teams that you’re supposed to beat, but if you want to get to the next level, you also have to beat the good teams. The Blue Devils were close a couple of times but fell just short against Pitt and Chapel Hill College. And while Georgia Tech wasn’t awful this year, that was a game that Duke should have won. And had they done so, the win would have looked better after the Jackets upset Carolina. So, there was a lot riding on the last game of the season. And the Blue Devils delivered. It. Was. Perfect.

This was a great season, no question about it. As the Elko Era progresses, I hope that we’ll get to look back on this as a the first of many great seasons.

What did you think about this season? Let me know what you think about what I think in the comments, on Reddit, or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

2022 Game Recaps – Eight Wins!

Showcasing the ability to play with any team, Duke showed up against what many, myself included, considered a superior Wake Forest team. Despite almost letting the game slip away in the third quarter, the Blue Devils hung around and left Wallace Wade with a win. It was tense. It was nerve-racking. But, most important, it was a win.

Duke got the game off to a solid start when Todd Pelino drilled a 42-yard field goal on the opening drive to take a 3-0 lead. The Demon Deacons weren’t rattled and scored a touchdown of their own after that. The second quarter saw an offensive explosion in which the teams traded points but the Blue Devils kept the lead (going up up 10-7, 17-7 and 20-17). Then, in the second half, Sam Hartman did Sam Hartman things and cut a 27-17 Duke lead to 24-27 before taking the lead 31-27.

At this point, Co-Coordinator Tim remarked “I’ve seen this movie before.” But I, ever the optimist who never gives up on Duke no matter how bad things look, told Tim, “Relax, man, we got this. Hagans is going to get a big touchdown. Just watch.” And for those of you who say that didn’t happen, you’re right. I was pretty worried when Wake took the lead. At that point, it seemed like the Deacons had found their rhythm. Put another way, Wake looked like last year’s team and sure seemed ready to leave Durham with a win.

But that didn’t happen. Riley Leonard and company calmly lead the team down the field and, after a nice 20-yarder to Hagans, the Blue Devils had the lead. Hartman tried to put together another game-winning drive, and it looked like he was going to do it with 2:04 and three timeouts, but after a few nice plays, he missed an open receiver and threw deep. Chandler Rivers disrupted the receiver without getting called for interference and the ball landed in Darius Joiner’s hands. Ball game. Win. 8-4 (5-3) to finish the regular season.

This was a nice one. Riley Leonard had an amazing game (29/41, 391 yards, 4 TDs and 1 INT). Jaquez Moore paced the backs in yardage with 62 on only 6 carries. And the receivers were awesome. Calhoun, Hagans and Jordan Moore all had touchdowns. Calhoun and Hagans both had more than 100 yards receiving. And the defense, well, what can you say? These guys bend, but they don’t break. Heyward and Carter both got sacks and the front seven put just enough pressure on Hartman throughout the game to keep it close and give the Blue Devils a chance to win. While giving up 347 passing yards isn’t something the defense would necessarily write home about, this unit plays some real complimentary football. This has been a solid group that may give up points, but also gets stops and gives the offense chances to win. And after what we saw the last two seasons, none of us really thought we’d get what we’ve gotten from these guys.

I have some more thoughts on the nature of this win which I will post later in the week when I do a regular season recap. Rest assured, there will be a lot more positive talk about this game and what it means for this season.

Now as an aside, it wouldn’t surprise me if Dave Clawson looks around for other jobs with the way that his season ended. I’d like to discuss this in more detail on a podcast episode, but it wouldn’t stun me if he thinks he’s taken the Demon Deacons as far as he can. He’s a good coach and he may want to try his hand at a larger program.

So, that’s it for the game recap. Let me know what you think about what I think in the comments, on Reddit or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

2022 Game Previews – Can We Beat Wake Forest? Please?

Here is my Thanksgiving-themed preview of the upcoming Duke game against the Demon Deacons.

I hope you enjoyed this. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and, especially, to Dad. We’re all thinking of you! I hope you get to see the Blue Devils win this weekend.

As always, Go Duke!

2022 Game Recaps – You Can’t Be Serious

When I was a kid, I watched a lot of Duke football games with my dad. The games unfolded in the same general pattern – after making you believe victory is possible, the Blue Devils lost after a series of mistakes, miscues and, to top it off, an occasional bad coaching decision or two. Basically, the team would hang around long enough to get your hopes up and then break your heat. I bring this up because, after watching Duke lose to Pitt by a score of 28 to 26 (not a typo), I felt like I had relived some painful déjà vu.

Now, I can’t really explain why these painful losses keep happening to us. Maybe it is nothing more complicated than that the football gods won’t let us beat Pitt. And it isn’t like the Blue Devils didn’t have opportunities on Saturday. Multiple Duke mistakes and miscues gave Pitt chances to stay in a game it had no business winning. And boy did the Panthers take advantage of those opportunities. Porter Wilson shanked punt which led to a field goal. Jalon Calhoun mishandled a punt which led to an easy Pitt touchdown. Jordan Waters’ fumble led to a scoop-and-score. Jontavis Robertson dropped a touchdown pass. It wasn’t pretty. Well, it wasn’t pretty for the Blue Devils. If you’re a Panthers fan, it was pretty.

But a lot of what I just described happens in games (and frequently). It happens in cold weather games to Southern teams. It happens in games where flocks of pigeons descend on the field for some strange reason. (Which would have been on brand had the game been broadcast on Bally Sports.) These kids are youngsters, not professionals and, like all of us, make mistakes. What shouldn’t happen, however, is a coaching staff compounding those errors with a string of their own mistakes and questionable decisions. And we sure a lot of that on Saturday.

While Coach Elko has generally pushed all the right buttons this season, there have been some things he’s done that don’t make a lot of sense. On Saturday, not having Hagans return punts is the first one. Had Coach Elko and the staff made the switch after the Georgia Tech game, we probably don’t see the mistake that gave Pitt a touchdown. That may have altered enough of the game such that we don’t see the Waters fumble or the Robertson drop. The shanked punt can happen, so there’s no point getting upset about that. But, again, what we’ve gone over can be put in the basket of things that happen. As a team you have to overcome them.

And it sure seemed like Duke was about to do it on Saturday. Despite being down 28-14, Riley Leonard and Jordan Moore took the Blue Devils down the field and got it within eight. Then Coach Elko decided to go for two (going for two is hereafter referred to as “conversion”), the offense couldn’t convert and it got worse from there. Down 28-20, the defense, which played great all day, held and got the offense the ball back. A slow, perhaps too slow, and methodical drive resulted in a Duke touchdown and another conversion attempt. The following Philly Special looked, well, special, and the Blue Devils left Pittsburgh with a two-point loss.

Here’s my problem with the two conversion attempts. I’ll qualify my criticism by acknowledging that I’m not a mathematician, but if the team hadn’t gotten greedy and taken the PAT attempts that would be … Hold on … One plus one is … Let me double-check my math … Two! It’s two! Those two points force overtime and Duke gets a chance to keep winning after regulation. I’m sure a lot of you, and I heard you on Twitter, think the analytics say to go for the conversion on the first attempt down 28-20. Here is why that is wrong. You are certainly entitled to your own opinion on this, but just understand that you’re wrong. Absolutely wrong. Let me explain why.

Conversion attempts aren’t easy. It’s a harder play to score on and it’s higher risk than a PAT. If you don’t get it on the first attempt down eight, you have to go for it again. That’s two high-risk, albeit high-reward, plays. The chances of getting a total of 14 points from two TDs and two conversions are lower than just taking the PATs. This is why my general rule is that you don’t go for the conversion until you absolutely have to. The risk is just too high (as is the downside. Plus the success rate isn’t 100% as is more fully discussed below).

But let’s say you don’t agree with that and you still cite to some ESPN article about NFL teams going for two in the same situation. Fine, but here’s what you’re not getting – WE DON’T HAVE A ROSTER OF NFL PLAYERS. There are also percentage chances of converting which aren’t 100% because teams like the Blue Devils are the ones who, historically, don’t seem to convert in those situations. What you have to remember is that, for whatever reason, teams like Duke aren’t the ones who win the analytics in key situations like the ones on Saturday (sort of like what happened against the Yellow Jackets last year when we went with the wrong defense at the end, gave up the touchdown and lost the game). Sometimes you just need to take the points. We’re not Alabama, folks. We can’t always get the conversion we need. Which is why I say … Just. Take. The Points.

Now, one counter to my otherwise flawless argument is that if Coach Elko had gone for two at 28-27 (assuming he initially went for the PAT at 28-20 to get it within seven), we wouldn’t really complain about him being aggressive and going for the win and the end by calling for a conversion. Let me explain why that is a complete non sequitur.

First, that’s not what happened on Saturday because Duke was down 28-26 at the time and needed the conversion to tie, not win. Second, if Coach Elko wanted to avoid overtime, I get it. The overtime system, with its short field and mandatory conversion rules as the game goes on is pretty stupid. Overtime isn’t a real replica of college football and I get why a coach would want to win in regulation. That said, this discussion isn’t relevant or material at all what to we saw unfold on Saturday because that isn’t what fracking happened. The conversion attempt at the end of the game would have forced the team into overtime and not won the game. So, we can save the debate about what may have happened had the score been different for another time.

So, you can shut it with your analytical garbage. None of you, with the exception of Charlie Gelman, understand the math well enough to counter any of my argument. Further, games aren’t determined by P values, they are determined by the number of pigeons on the field. Coach Elko just got it wrong Saturday.

All that said, I have to admit it was rather fitting to watch the Blue Devils lose a game that they should have won on Saturday. It made me feel like I was back home and reminded me of all the time I used to spend with Dad back when I was a kid. And I’m not being sarcastic here – I mean what I say. I really felt like I was in junior high and high school again spending time with the old man. It was nice, albeit in a sad way. So, outcome notwithstanding, I really enjoyed watching another game with Dad. I just hate that the defense, with its two interceptions and gutsy play, had its efforts wasted. Had the offense and kicking teams not dug a big hole, this could have been a different game. The defense played real, real well. The coaching staff just didn’t rise to the moment.

But that’s okay. No one is perfect. We all make mistakes. Let’s just hope Coach Elko, et al., learn from this and get the team ready for Wake Forest.

That’s it for the game recap. Let me know what you think about what I think in the comments, on Twitter, or on Reddit. And drop a line for Dad. He’d love to hear from you guys!

As always, Go Duke!

2022 Game Previews – Duke v. Pitt

As Rome expanded from city to Mediterranean power, perhaps its greatest rival was the Samnites. After an overwhelming defeat at the Battle of the Caudine Forks in 321 BC, Rome regrouped and methodically dismantled the Samnites. Over a series of three wars which concluded in 290 BC, the Samnites were defeated, assimilated into Rome and attained full citizenship as a result of the Social War. While never able to defeat Rome, the Samnites were one of Rome’s fiercest enemies and fought against the Romans whenever the chance presented itself. For example, the Samnites joined with Hannibal during the Second Punic War and with King Pyrrhus during the Pyrrhic War.

I bring this interesting historical tidbit up because, while it was a fierce rivalry, the Rome-Samnite Rivalry was rather one-sided. So, too, is the current rivalry between Duke and Pitt. The Panthers lead the Blue Devils in the all-time series by a healthy 16-9 margin. Since Pitt joined the ACC, Duke has only notched one win against their Coastal rival – a 51-48 victory in 2OT which involved Chris Blewitt missing a 26-yard FG attempt at the end of regulation that followed two consecutive Blue Devil timeouts. And while there have been some high-scoring affairs (58-55 in 2013, 54-45 in 2018 and 33-30 in 2019), the Panthers have, in no uncertain terms, owned Duke. Since 2013, Pitt is 7-1 against the Blue Devils.

So, will this year be any different? Possibly. The Panthers have taken a step back this year. Sitting at 6-4 with two games to go, this isn’t the season that a lot of people expected after winning the ACC Championship last year. Nonetheless, it’s a bowl eligible season with two games to go. While Pitt is far from perfect, close losses against Tennessee and Georgia Tech say that this team isn’t too far off from being 8-2. (And we know how close losses feel!) Plus, the Panthers put an end to a two-game losing streak with a 19-9 victory over Syracuse and followed it up with a 37-7 shellacking of UVA. While this Pitt team may not be a repeat of the 2021 edition, this installment has the ability to win each game it plays. And that’s exactly what you’d expect from the 15th ranked defense. These guys only give up 4.88 yards per play and holds offenses to 309.8 yards per game. However, this team is only 60th in total offense. So, what does that team for Saturday?

Look, this is going to be one of the best defenses Duke has faced all year. The Blue Devils will have to make the gameplan simple and continue to do what they’ve done all year – run the football and keep the chains moving. But that may be hard because the Panthers only give up 97.7 rushing yards per game. So, what do you do then? Well, you try to get things going through the air which is where Pitt may be vulnerable at 212.1 yards per contest. With Leonard’s ability to scramble, and receivers like Jordan Moore, Robertson, Hagans and Calhoun, Duke may just find a way to put up enough points to get a win. It won’t be easy, but the football gods have seen the Blue Devils lose enough to the Panthers. Right? Isn’t it time that Duke get a win in this series? I sure think so. But, again, history has not been kind to our guys.

So, what can we expect on Saturday? Generally, these two teams typically put up high-scoring affairs. The current over/under is 52.5 which history would tell you to take. My only hesitation would be the relative strength of Pitt’s defense. So, um, yeah, don’t take any betting advice from me. Look, guys, I’m just kind of rambling to avoid making a prediction here because the football gods have been so, so unfair to us in this rivalry. To buy myself a little more time, let’s check in with our guest picker and friend of the podcast Dan Siegel who has this to say:

Pitt 28, Duke 24. These two teams are evenly matched enough to the point where I take Duke to cover, even on the road. That being said, Pitt has figured out their defense and their pass rush has especially been dominant, with 14 sacks over their past two games. With Duke’s offense predicated more on moving the ball in short chunks/avoiding mistakes rather than explosiveness, I’d say they fall just short.

Thanks, Dan, for doing this. If you like what Dan has to say, check out his podcast on YouTube.

I’m not going to pick the 7.5 point favorite in this game. No, I’m going with the Blue Devils to eek out an insanely close 30-24 win. Todd Pelino will hit a 40+ yarder to seal the game which will force Josh Cox into man crush territory. Write it down – I’m taking Duke to win and get to 8-3. This has been a great season for the Blue Devils and I know this team will be motivated to keep it going.

Now, that’s it for the game recap which means we’ve got another old-time tune. This one is called Big Scioty (aka Big Sciota). It’s a classic.

Great. Song.

Before we conclude, I’d like to take a minute to update you on dad’s treatment. He is starting chemotherapy today and is probably going through a rough time. Please pass on any prayers, good vibes and positive thoughts you all may have. Dad could use them. And I know he got a lot from the first and second set of messages, so hopefully he’ll get a lot more from whatever else you all can do for him.

That’s it for the game recap. Let me know what you think about what I think in the comments, on Twitter or on Reddit.

As always, Go Duke!

2022 Game Recaps – Duke beat Virginia Tech

Women ages 40 to 50 went crazy when they saw this handsome man on TV.

During the height of the Second Punic War, the Romans were desperate for a leader who could overcome a string of defeats and bring the North African power that was Carthage to heel. Eventually, the man who would become known to history as Scipio Africanus took control of the Roman forces, defeated Carthage and put an end to the Second Punic War. Scipio’s success in Africa was so complete that it gave rise to a myth that only a Scipio could win in Africa. The Romans, a naturally superstitious bunch, believed so strongly in this that Julius Caesar had a descendant of Scipio on his staff during the African campaign of what his Roman civil war.

Just as only a Scipio could win in Africa, perhaps only an Elko can get a win in Durham against Virginia Tech. On Saturday, the Blue Devils defeated the Hokies at home for the first time since 1981. For context, I was just one day short of being seven weeks old the last time the Bull City Boys beat VPI in Durham. Man, that really makes me realize just how old I’m getting. Going to take a break to yell at the kids skateboarding on the sidewalk, check a weather app and did I hurt my neck again? All right, I’m back.

This game started like a lot of games have for Duke this season in that the Blue Devils let a really not good Virginia Tech team hang around. The first quarter ended with the Hokies up 7-3. The first half ended with Duke up by a narrow margin of 10-3. And, compounding that close score, it sure looked like Jalon Calhoun had a catch on a deep ball that could have kept a late drive going and, at worst, likely have set up chip shot field goal attempt. Despite having three timeouts, Coach Elko didn’t call one to give the refs a chance to have the play reviewed. It may not have been overturned given that there didn’t appear to be indisputable evidence of a catch, but you were facing 3rd-and-11, so why not use one of your three timeouts to decide on how best to use both downs to convert? By this I mean try to come up with a plan to use two downs to get the conversion instead of betting it all on 3rd down. You know, try a short pass on 3rd down to get to a more manageable distance and then … What’s that you say? We’re just throwing another incomplete pass on a deep route that leads to a missed 45 yard field goal? Not what I would have done, but okay.

But, that horrible instance of game management aside, the Blue Devils came out in the second half and put together a repeat of the UVA game – they just overwhelmed Virginia Tech physically. The OL started opening up some running lanes, the backs started chewing up yards and Riley Leonard started finding Hagans, Moore and Robertson. Two second half scoring drives later, Duke celebrated a 24-7 victory over a Coastal opponent. While there were a lot of cool moments from this game, like the Hokie quarterback just falling down and giving Duke a sack, I think we can all agree that the best moment of the game was me on TV. Let’s take another look at it

Sorry, ladies, I’m married.

So, what were the big takeaways from Saturday? I’d have to say that the defense continued to hold its own. There were two sacks, two tackles-for-loss and what seemed like a lot of pressure on the opposing quarterback. While the defense struggled at times to contain Virginia Tech when it went tempo, Grant Wells only managed to throw for 177 yards, an early TD and a Three Stooges style interception that landed right in Shaka’s hands. If that weren’t enough, the Blue Devils held the Hokies to just 104 rushing yards. Not a bad day for our defense.

Offensively, we saw several receivers step up in Eli Pancol’s absence. Jontavis Robertson had 5 catches for 81 yards and a touchdown. Sahmir Hagans had 2 for 20, with both coming at crucial times. The same was true of Nicky Dalmolin’s touchdown and Jordan Moore’s 3 for 37 outing (which included an unreal one-handed catch). Throw in 165 rushing yards on 41 attempts and you have a Blue Devil win. It may not have been perfect, but good teams are able to overcome slow and inconsistent outings by being more methodical, more physical and more determined than the competition. That’s what we saw from Duke on Saturday and that’s why the Blue Devils got the win. It may not have been perfect, but it sure made the drive home a lot more fun.

Before I finish up, I’d like to note that this team is 7-3 with two more games to go. This season is going a heck of a lot better than most of us expected. While there may not be a signature win (other than the one that got stolen), this is turning into what can only be characterized as a truly historic season. I know that I’m not the only that wants to see this team close out the 2022 campaign with three more wins, bowl game included.

And that’s it for the game recap which means we have another old-time tune! This one is called “Walking Up Georgia Row”.

Tim and I need to play this song more.

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

As always, Go Duke!

2022 Game Previews – The Hokies Come to Durham

At the end of the 2021 season, the following Coastal teams hired new coaches – Duke, Miami, Virginia and Virginia Tech. Of those teams, only the Blue Devils, at 6-3, have a winning record. The Hurricanes and Cavaliers look like dumpster fires and the Hokies don’t look much better. In fact, at 2-7 (1-5), they are at the bottom of the division and appear to have a long way to go before they will be competitive again. But, as we’ve seen with Duke this season, change can happen fast.

Which brings us to what to expect on Saturday. Any rational observer would take the Blue Devils by a healthy margin. Virginia Tech is in the midst of a six game losing streak and is averaging only 20.22 points per game. But despite those two warning signs, the Hokies have a few things going for them. While scoring around 20 per outing isn’t great, Virginia Tech is only giving up 25.11 points per game. That means a lot of those losses are close ones. For example, the Hokies lost to Old Dominion by three, to Miami by six and to both NC State and the Yellow Jackets by one. While you are what your record says you are, close losses say that you’re not that far away from being competitive and may be able to win a game you shouldn’t.

That’s certainly possible given that Duke has an annoying habit of playing to the level of competition. The Blue Devils only managed to beat a bad Northwestern team by eight and nearly gave up a touchdown at the end of the game that, with a two-point conversion, could have sent it to overtime. On the road against Georgia Tech, Duke lost by a field goal in overtime. And then there was last week against Boston College. Do we need to go over that again? We don’t? Good. Then I’ll get to my point – this team hasn’t shown the ability to dominate lesser teams which puts them at risk against Virginia Tech. That’s especially true given that injuries are starting to catch up with the Blue Devils. First it was Maurice McIntyre. Then it was Eli Pancol. Now it’s Jacob Monk. And then there’s the whole running back situation. I’m not really sure what’s going on there, but it seemed like we’re starting to get thin at that spot.

So, you’re probably thinking that I’m taking the upset, right? Well you don’t know me like that. I’m with this team, ride or die. I’m going with Duke to win by a score of 31-20. The Blue Devils have the tools and they have the talent. Duke is better at most every position than their opponent. Further, despite the challenges that the injuries and inconsistent play have created, this team doesn’t like to lose and isn’t going to be satisfied with six wins and a bowl. There is a lot of senior leadership on this team which will hold everyone accountable. These guys are about one thing – winning. They won’t stand for anything less. I just don’t see the Blue Devils missing out on a chance to get to seven wins this Saturday.

But enough about what I think. Let’s check in with the guest picker, Matthew, who has this to say, “Duke 28 – Virginia Tech 13. Virginia Tech doesn’t have the talent to overcome mistakes.” Thanks, Matthew for doing this. You all can listen to his ACC podcast which he cohosts with friend of the podcast Jeff here.

Now, as I’ve been doing of late, I’m going to drop an old-time tune that me and Tim recorded a while back. It’s called “Seneca Square Dance” (aka Waiting for the Federals) and is one of my favorite old-time tunes. You probably all remember the cover that we did of this song earlier this year. Well, here’s what it sounds like without a great singer putting some lyrics to it. Enjoy!

Such a good song.

That’s it for the game preview. Let me know what you think about what I think in the comments, on Reddit or Twitter!

As always, Go Duke!

2022 Game Recaps – Duke is Going Bowling

It wasn’t pretty, but Duke got to six wins and bowl eligibility after beating Boston College on the road Friday night. To restate how not pretty this game was, the Blue Devils were an 11.5 point favorite and didn’t cover. Against a team that came in 2-6. Let that sink in for a minute before you continue reading this post. Have you done that? Okay, then continue.

While 38-31 is a win, Duke seemed motivated to let a really, really bad Eagles team hang around until the very end. I don’t know if it was Eli Pancol being out or a couple of injuries to the running backs during the game (it seemed like Jordan Waters left with an injury and I think someone else did, too), but the offense looked lost at times. Riley Leonard finished the game with only 158 passing yards (which may have been more of a reflection of pretty good field position, but still). The secondary got brutalized by Boston College’s new quarterback who racked up 330 yards and 4 touchdowns. A win is a win, but this would have to be classified as an ugly win. Especially given the fact that it seemed like the offense started every drive at about the 50.

Now, a win on the road and bowl eligibility brings a lot to be happy about, but the way in which the win came about will cause Coach Elko and his staff some heartburn heading into next week’s game (and I’m not talking about the two really, really bad PI calls that led to two Eagles’ touchdowns (and by “bad”, I mean horrendously awful and incorrect). Despite the bye, the Blue Devils racked up 7 penalties for 60 yards against Boston College. In addition, as already noted, the defense made a new quarterback look like an established veteran. On the whole, the Bull City Boys were wildly inconsistent. The offense was great at times and then disappeared at times. Duke took leads of 24-7 and 31-14 only to watch the Eagles roar back and get within seven at the end. There’s no way around it – this was a weird, weird game.

But enough about the struggles, we can save it for the game preview next week. How about we just enjoy what this team accomplished? For the first time since 2018, the Blue Devils will go to a bowl. And the best part about it is that Duke has three games left to try and rack up a few more wins. Each win will put this team in a better bowl against a higher level of competition. While just getting to a bowl this season is great, I think we would much prefer that this team finish the season with two to three more wins as opposed to a repeat of the series of losses that occurred in 2012 after the team reached bowl eligibility. Now, if this team does end on a losing skid, I won’t be too critical after the last two plus seasons, but I would much prefer to see the team finish at 8-4 or 9-3.

If the Blue Devils can finish with eight to nine wins, this would be a season for the ages. It would certainly give some added weight to the Restitutor Orbis title I bestowed upon Coach Elko earlier this season. But it isn’t a given that it will happen. Virginia Tech may be down, but they almost got a win against Georgia Tech on Saturday. Pitt, too, bounced back and beat Syracuse. Nothing is guaranteed. Duke is going to have to come out focused each week.

But enough looking ahead. I’m going to sit back and enjoy where the Blue Devils are right now. You guys got to a bowl game. Congratulations to all of you! Take a moment to enjoy this and then go out and kick butt over the next three weeks!

With the game recap out of the way, I’m going to throw in another old-time tune that me and Tim recorded a few months back. It’s called “Old Grimes”. Tim is on fiddle and I’m on guitar.

This is a good one. I hope you all enjoy it.

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

As always, Go Duke!

Interview – Anthony Boone

Listen here.

Folks, it finally happened. After a lot of requests from fans, Anthony Boone and I were able to connect for a great, great talk about Duke football, QB Country and the mindset it takes to overcome devastating injuries.

– Anthony gets a TD against Virginia Tech in 2013.

During our talk, Anthony discussed what it took to win at Duke, provides great advice on how to maintain success over multiple seasons and what it was like sharing snaps with Brandon Connette (aka The Phantom). As we discussed the Blue Devils’ current season, Anthony gave some great insight on what Coach Elko and the staff are doing in Durham. You also learn a lot about the DukeGang mindset that his era personified.

Now, I would be remiss if I didn’t take the opportunity point out that while Anthony has some impressive clients at QB Country, it sure sounds like he may be a sleeper agent who is funneling top prospects to Chapel Hill College. We’ve got to correct this, folks! Anthony, get your guys to Durham!!!

In all seriousness, this interview was a blast. You’ll enjoy every minute of it and I hope we can have him back on soon.

As always, Go Duke!