BullCityCoordinators

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!

2022 Game Previews – Duke Travels to BC

At 7:00 p.m. on Friday, Duke will have an opportunity to get to six wins and become bowl eligible for the first time since 2018. To do that, the Blue Devils will have to beat Boston College on the road. On paper, this looks like a definite win. But, as we all know, games aren’t played on paper. So, what can we expect to see in this game?

From Duke, we are going to see an offense without Eli Pancol who may be out for the rest of the year with a lower leg injury. That’s unfortunate, but there is depth at that position. One of the receivers will have to step up, be it Hagans, Robertson, Bowen-Sims, etc., or a combination thereof. Hopefully Coach Johns will find a way to increase the usage of Jordan Moore and Nicky Dalmolin. Those two should help Riley Leonard manage the loss of such a key player in Pancol. But the best way to help the offense will be to keep running the ball. A lot. This team is putting up more than 200 yards per game, so keep going with what works. And with the offense facing a team that is 61st in total defense and gives up an average of 367.2 yards per game, I expect the offense to put up yards and points. A lot of them. I mean, this is a defense that gave up 27 to a bad Virginia Tech team. Given that, expect the visiting team to put up just a tad more than 27.

On the defensive end of the ball, and this gets into what we can expect to see from the Eagles, I’d expect the Blue Devil defensive line to shut down the running game and make Boston College one-dimensional. The Eagles are only putting up 67.5 rushing yards per outing (you read that right), so look for Carter and Franklin to feast. Boston College has also given up 29 sacks so far. Again, expect the DL and LBs (looking at you, Shaka) to feast and for the secondary to jump routes to try and create turnovers. And given that the Eagles have thrown nine picks so far, I wouldn’t be surprised to see that trend continue here. As far as what I think will happen, I expect the Duke secondary to get some picks or otherwise for the Blue Devil defense as a whole to create turnovers via strip-sacks, fumbles, or both.

Evaluating the matchup from a big picture perspective, Duke is in good shape heading into this game despite the Pancol injury as it will take on an opponent in the midst of a bad, bad season. Boston College is 1-4 in conference, 2-6 overall and is currently suffering through a three game losing streak including a bad one against UConn. The Eagles have only posted wins against Maine and, somewhat surprisingly, Louisville. But that win came before the Cardinals started to get hot. Putting aside the relative merits of the win, it’s a still a win and it ought to tell the Blue Devils not to overlook their opponent. While Boston College hasn’t done much to write home about this season, Duke absolutely cannot ignore a conference opponent. This team can’t afford a repeat of what happened against Georgia Tech.

So, who will win this game? Well, the Blue Devils are somewhere between a 9.5 and a 10.5 point favorite over the Eagles. Our guest picker, Freddie Hodges, is saying to take the Bull City Boys to cover and provides the following analysis of the game –

Boston College hit a new low losing to UConn. That was Uconn’s first win over a Power Five opponent since the Huskies beat Virginia in September 2016. Duke is coming off a bye week and Vegas has the current line at -9.5 in Duke’s favor with the Over/Under at 48.5. Sometimes a team can be a little rusty coming off a bye week. I also have to take into account that BC is looking for a win after that upset last week and have a home game on a Friday night when I think more fans would be likely to come out for a Friday night lights game instead of say a 12:30 kickoff day game. Even with all of that said… I think Coach Elko has this team ready for an away night game and Duke covers the spread and I am going with the Over as well. Duke 41 BC 13.

Thanks, Freddie, for prediction and the analysis. It is appreciated! You all can follow Freddie’s work at Blue Devils Blog. He has some great content.

As for me, I am also taking Duke to win 41-13. Given that the Hokies put up 27, you have to think that the Blue Devils will put up 14 more. All things considered, I think Duke will come out hungry and ready to clinch bowl eligibility. The 2022 Blue Devils are different than prior iterations and won’t miss an opportunity to go bowling.

Now, before I close the post out, I wanted to let you all know that I’m trying to expand the brand by going to a few more social media sites. As a result, you can find me on Reddit and Mastodon. I’ve tried Counter Social, but I’m not sure how to use it yet and I’m not sure I’ll stick with it (same with Mastodon – we’ll see how it plays out). Regardless, the Duke football subreddit is pretty cool and we could always use more folks there. Check it out when you can.

Also, I’m going to try and post a little more music here. So, what follows is a recording of an old-time tune called “June Apple” that Tim and I did. We hope you enjoy it. Tim is on fiddle and I’m on guitar.

Nice tune, right?

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

As always, Go Duke!

2022 Season – Restitutor Orbis

Any top ten of Roman Emperors usually includes some combination of Augustus, Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, Diocletian, Constantine, Vespasian (or his son, Titus), Septimius Severus and, of course, Aurelian. Coming from very humble circumstances, Aurelian found Rome broken, fractured and falling apart. In five short years, Aurelian reunited the entirety of the empire, put it on stable footing and set the stage for Diocletian and Constantine to permanently end the Crisis of the Third Century. This, in turn, allowed Rome to continue in the East until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. Aurelian’s unprecedented string of success prompted the Roman Senate to give Aurelian the title “Restitutor Orbis”, or “Restorer of the World.” As Mike Duncan said, Aurelian lived in an age of iron. And Aurelian was a man of iron.

Much like Aurelian, Coach Elko found Duke football in a state of disrepair. The team was broken, adrift, lifeless. Despite those monumental challenges, the Blue Devils are one win away from a bowl after being just eight games into a season that some of us (me included) thought would end with a losing record. Duke is 5-3* (you know why the asterisk is there) and is very close to being 8-0 after losing three games by a combined 13 points. Had the ball bounced a little differently, and the refs not stolen a touchdown against UNC (hence the earlier asterisk), this team could be leading the Coastal. While the program may not be ready to compete for conference titles, it is relevant again. The Blue Devils are competitive, hardworking and able to win and compete in each game they play. Put another way, this program is back to where it was from 2012-2018. The world is, in that respect, restored.

Not just that, but with four games left, Duke has an opportunity to go 3-1 (and, just maybe, 4-0 if Sam Hartman finally returns to the realm of the mortals) with games against Boston College, Virginia Tech, Pitt and Wake Forest. Most of us would agree that 7-5 is highly likely and that 8-4 is a possibility for the Blue Devils. Could Duke win 7 games? 8? Sure, it’s possible. 9? Um, let’s not get into that just yet. But why is it that this is possible? Why is it that a team with the same corps of players who put up 5 wins over two seasons is playing so much better this season and could win 8 games this year? Well, it all starts with Coach Elko and his staff.

To begin with, this team is in better shape than previous iterations. We’re seeing an ability to control the lines of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, receivers who can get separation and a running game that puts up more than 200 yards per game. In addition to the improved conditioning, the ability to complete is the result of a mindset that Coach Elko and his staff instilled in the team. The GRIND mentality, similar to Aurelian’s “sword-in-hand” reputation, has taken hold of this team. The players don’t quit, they don’t get overwhelmed and they don’t get down on themselves. We saw it when the Blue Devils battled back against Georgia Tech and UNC. We saw it when Miami took two leads only to watch Duke storm back and win big after two straight close losses.

Offensively, we’ve seen Coach Johns get a lot out of this team. He’s found a way to take a young quarterback and play to his strengths. Put another way, Coach Johns is asking Riley Leonard to do a lot, but only what Leonard is capable of doing. It’s similar to what we saw when Thomas Sirk became quarterback. Now, Leonard is a better passer than Sirk, but Coach Johns is smart enough to let Leonard run and to use Jordan Moore and the tight end position in a way that opens up running lanes and deep routes (which we’ve actually seen this season). Like all good generals, Coach Johns, much like Hannibal during the Second Punic War, is doing his best to pick the battlefield and fight on his terms. It’s worked pretty well so far as this unit is putting up more than 34 points per game.

In a similar fashion, the defense is doing a great job of bending, but not breaking. While spectacular against Miami, this unit is susceptible to giving up a lot of points and a lot of yards. But not so many that the game gets away from them. They get plenty of stops at big moments. Remember when the Blue Devils got a stop on 4th and goal against Kansas on the opening drive? Or how about when the defense locked Georgia Tech down in the 4th quarter? This unit is capable of rising to the moment and, most important, never giving up. It reminds me of what we used to see during the height of the program under David Cutcliffe (2012-2015). They may give up a lot of yards, but not so much that the offense has to abandon the game plan to get back into it.

Now, with all that said, you probably think that I’m ready to crown Coach Elko the Duke equivalent of Aurelian and give him the title “Restorer of the World”. Well, not quite yet. Here’s why – first, Coach Elko is awesome. Do we all agree on that? We do? Good. But, second, just being awesome and having a good start doesn’t always end in long-term success (see Goldsmith, Fred). The real test comes over seasons two, three and thereafter. If the Blue Devils remain relevant over the next several seasons, and we see Coach Elko successfully overcome things like staff changes (unlike the prior head coach and what we saw during the Goldsmith era), then we can talk about what historical title to give to Coach Elko. And, third and final, the main reason I’m not ready to turn Coach Elko into Aurelian is that Aurelian only ruled for five years before he was inexplicably assassinated and betrayed by his staff. I think we all could agree that we don’t want to see Coach Elko leave Durham after five years and we certainly don’t him to get Herm’d if he does decide to leave.

To conclude, I’ll say that I’m very, very happy about where the program is right now. The new regime has pressed all the right buttons and returned the program to relevance. The challenge for me the rest of the season will be to sit back, enjoy the ride and not think too far ahead to next season or the following one. The challenge for the team will be to not get too confident and overlook any of its remaining opponents. But, challenges aside, I’m hoping that Coach Elko’s early success means that Duke will remain relevant over the coming seasons and that the Blue Devils will become a significant ACC player again. I’m also hoping that Coach Elko is here for a long, long time.

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

As always, Go Duke!

Interview – Eli’s Back!

Listen here.

We aren’t getting to my “Where this team stands after eight games” post because Eli Pancol is back! Eli and Duke are in the midst of an outstanding 5-3 season with four games to go.

During this nearly forty minute talk, after covering the fact that I’m the Legal Mamba, we get into the Blue Devils’ mindset, what’s responsible for the turnaround this season, the Slideouts and what we can expect from the Blue Devils the rest of the year. If you take the time to listen, you’ll learn a lot about how important Coach Elko, Coach Feeley and the rest of the staff have been in righting the ship. Eli also updates us on his NIL deals and how NIL arrangements are helping players. And, hey, look at that – you can get some Eli merch here! Follow Eli on Instagram to learn more about his merch.

Wait, what’s that? Eli talks about the Hellraisers? And the icy whites? What does he think about them? You have to listen, folks!

As always, Go Duke!

2022 Game Recaps – Duke Beat Miami

After getting eight total turnovers, three interceptions, six sacks and seven tackles for loss, Duke’s Instagram models absolutely dominated Miami and head into the bye week at 5-3 after a 45-21 victory on the road. For a guy who could only listen to the radio and watch the condensed game on YouTube, I’ll say that it sure sounded like the Blue Devils decided to perform a repeat of the UVA game and just physically overwhelmed the Hurricanes. The highlight, of which there were many, was probably when Brandon Johnson took an interception to the house, broke the U and then flipped it upside down. Somewhere, Deon Jackson and Ben Humphreys smiled.

Despite the lopsided score, it wasn’t a pretty start. Jalon Calhoun fumbled on Duke’s opening drive and Miami pulled ahead to a 7-0 lead. Things settled down a bit after that and the Blue Devils managed to put together a 17-7 lead at halftime. But it was a deceptive lead. The defense was playing outstanding and gave the offense short fields to score on. Which was great because the offense really, really struggled through the first thirty. (The scoring drives consisted of 23, 22 and -1 yards respectively.)

It looked like things were going to completely fall to pieces in the second half when, despite an injury to Tyler Van Dyke, the 32 Hurricane fans in the stadium energized the home team. Miami came out hot and pulled ahead 21-17. But then the Blue Devils calmed down. And by “calmed down”, I mean the defense said, “We got this, bro.” More sacks, TFLs and interceptions followed. The Hurricanes, who only converted 4/12 third downs, collapsed. Duke, on the other hand, calmly moved the ball a bit better than in the first half and put up three unanswered touchdowns, including a nice shovel pass to Dalmolin on a 4th and Goal, before the aforementioned Johnson interception pushed the score to 45-21.

A quick survey shows that every Blue Devil fan is excited about the win and is even more excited about being 5-3 after eight. But knowing that Coach Elko is Coach Elko, he’s going to look at the tape from this game and tell his team, read “offense”, that they have to play better. Eight turnovers is not something a team can replicate each week, so the offense is going to have to step up. And while the 24 point win was exciting, it is hard to win games when the passing offense puts up an anemic 136 yards on 13/25 passing. While Leonard ran well, the leading receiver was Eli Pancol who had 3 catches for 39 yards. While Eli had some critical catches, 39 yards to lead a receiving corps isn’t not the sort of stat line you expect from a team with Pancol, Calhoun, Hagans, Robertson and Dalmolin.

Coach Johns is going to have to find a way to get the unit to be more consistent throughout the game. One way to accomplish this may be to forego the running back committee and go with the hot hand. Jaquez Moore had a nice game yesterday and Waters did, too. Perhaps we should limit the number of backs we use to two and make one the primary? I know I’m old school when it comes to the running game, but I’d like to see one guy get most of the touches and be the feature back.

Another thing that could spark the offense would be to let Hagans return punts and create more opportunities through better field position. I was listening to the Duke radio crew, who were great (s/o to Jamie for the suggestion), while catching up on some overdue marketing work for the law firm (I mean, do I really have to put my case reports on the website? I’m already the Legal Mamba. Isn’t that enough? I submit that’s enough), and missed out on who returned punts. The box score said it was Luca Diamont, who I would like to see on the field more, but I think we can all agree that Hagans needs to be the guy. If anyone knows who actually returned punts, please let me know. I apologize for this oversight and will do better in the coming weeks.

All things considered, I’m pretty excited about this win and where the Blue Devils are at this point in the season. Let me know what you think about this team, and what you think about what I think generally, in the comments or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

2022 Game Previews – Duke v. Miami

As you know, I’m a little tied up this week with family stuff, so I’m foregoing the typical game preview. Instead, what we have is a collection of messages for Dad. I can’t say enough about how much it means to our family that you all were kind enough to send out good vibes, prayers, etc. and to take the time to send along messages of support. I apologize for the poor audio quality at times. I’m battling a cold and trying not to cough, sneeze, etc. Thank you all so much for doing this. The Duke Football Community is a special thing!

And special thanks to Mike Kline for returning to the site as this week’s guest picker. We both have the Blue Devils beating Miami. Listen to the messages for his score prediction.

As always, Go Duke!

2022 Game Recaps – We Can’t Have Nice Things

We all know how Duke “lost” to UNC last night. (Thanks, refs.) After throwing what should have been a game winner to Jalon Calhoun, Riley Leonard joined a long list of Blue Devil quarterbacks who have watched wins get taken away by refs suddenly deciding to call penalties for no apparent reason. Oh, wait, scratch that. He joined that group last week against Georgia Tech (and I know that was the right call, but you get my point). The touchdown got taken off the board, Duke couldn’t convert a third down for a second time and then Charlie Ham missed a field goal to push the lead to seven.

What happened after that is already well known, so I won’t recap it here. I’m also not going to go through a long, traditional game recap. Instead, I’m resurrecting the Five Things from last year to give you all five reasons that the Blue Devils lost the game that weren’t related to a “chop block” and an equally, if not more so, terrible unnecessary roughness call on DeWayne Carter.

But, before we get to that, the botched UNC kick return wasn’t a safety last night. If you look at Rule 8, Section 5, the call was correct. It wasn’t a safety for a number of reasons, the main one being that the defense wasn’t responsible for the ball being behind the goal line.

Okay, now here are the Five Things:

No. 1 – Critical downs. This team is not great at critical moments. Let’s start with a bad (read “really bad”) fourth down call by Coach Johns. On 4th and 2 at the UNC 3, the call is for a sort of swing pass to the right out to Calhoun. Incomplete. Turnover on downs. How about a running play there? You have a mobile quarterback who can go under center and get pushed ahead. You also have a good RB committee who, checks notes, ran the ball really well last night. The team had been running well throughout the first half and, instead of a run, you call a high level of difficulty pass play? It didn’t make sense at the time and it makes less sense now that the game is over.

Consistent with that call, there was a third down and like six or so that Maye allegedly picked up on a scramble. It didn’t look like Maye had the yardage on the TV, and we weren’t on Bally Sports, so I have a higher degree of confidence that Maye didn’t make it. Given what we saw on TV, I expected Coach Elko to take a timeout to allow for a review. But that didn’t happen. UNC gets the first down and keeps rolling.

Look, I like what this staff is doing overall, but it has to improve in those critical moments. If the coaches aren’t good when it matters most, the players won’t be good, either. Which brings us to the second point.

No. 2 – Too many penalties. We can talk about the ones that shouldn’t have been called, and the holding calls on Carter that repeatedly weren’t, but, as the Section 17 guys noted, you can’t win a game with 8 penalties for 85 yards (ESPN had the number at 85 yards, not 90. I don’t care which is right in this context because five yards doesn’t matter). You also can’t win games when your LB captain picks up a 15 yarder for a facemask on what turns out to be the game winning drive for your opponent. Mistakes happen, I get that, but when a team averages six penalties a game, we can’t be stunned by close losses. And, close losses takes us to point number three.

No. 3 – The kicking teams. These first three points tie together well as they all relate to critical moments. As I regularly say, a good kicking unit can win you two games but can lose you a lot more. The latter is what we saw unfold last night. Instead of going for a field goal early and getting a chip shot for three points, Duke comes away with nothing. To make matters worse, Charlie Ham missed a 43-yarder late that would have gotten the game to 38-31 and likely forced overtime. The announcers thought there was a bad snap which may have contributed to the outcome. I don’t know if that’s the case and I won’t watch it again. What I will say is this – the kicking unit has to be shaken up. It just isn’t working. While we’re on the topic of shaking up the kicking teams, let’s turn to the next point.

No. 4 – Why didn’t Hagans return kicks? Seriously, can someone explain this to me? Is there something occurring at practice that makes what he did against the Yellow Jackets irrelevant?

No. 5 – WE GOT FREAKING HOSED! WHAT KIND OF COUNTRY DO WE LIVE IN THAT ALLOWS THIS TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE TO OCCUR?!?! THIS WAS STRAIGHT TRASH!!! I know I promised five things that weren’t related to the penalties called by the refs and I broke that promise. But I don’t care. That was awful, awful officiating.

I am going to conclude by saying that the Blue Devils played real, real hard. They competed on every down, didn’t quit and showed a real ability to not get overwhelmed by the moment. To have the game end the way it did was inexcusable and I’m glad that Coach Elko got the unsportsmanlike call. I think it will further tie the team together. There is nothing more motivating and unifying for a team than being able to credibly believe that everyone is out to get you. After what we saw against Georgia Tech and Chapel Hill College, this team will believe that to be the case. They will be motivated. They will be angry. And hopefully they will ride those emotions all the way to a bowl game.

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

As always, Go Duke!

2022 Game Previews – Duke Takes on UNC

There’s Jamison Crowder just calmly crushing the Tar Heels’ hopes and dreams.

Just like last year, we’ve got a game preview in audio format! Special guest Lee Rodio drops by to pick the winner and the score. GTHC!!!

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

As always – Go Duke!