Category: Game Previews

Interview – A Duke-MTSU College Huddle Collaboration Preview Episode

Duke takes to the road Saturday to face a Middle Tennessee Blue Raider team that is in the midst of an historic rebuild. The team had to fill around 60 roster spots this offseason in addition to getting a new coaching staff. What can we expect from the Blue Devils’ opponent on Saturday? Well, Jake from Blue Raider Pod stopped by to educate us on our opponent in Murfreesboro and get you ready for the game.

In addition to learning about Derek Mason and what he’s doing in his first season at MTSU, we learn a little bit about Blue Raider Nation. After you listen to this episode, stop by Jake’s pod and listen to me give my thoughts on Duke. This was another excellent College Huddle collaboration. I’m glad to be a small part of this new group.

There’s a few voicemails to start the episode which raise an important question – who is the biggest Blue Devil fan? Is it Cash Rogers or my dad? Let me know in the comments or by leaving a voice mail. Speaking of which …

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Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

Interview – A Duke-UCONN Crossover Preview Episode

Last year, we had Graham Chamberlain come on to update us on UCONN and preview the game. This year, we decided to do a joint episode for both our podcasts, so the setup is a little different from what you’re used to. That said, it’s a pretty darned good episode with a lot of information.

Graham brings us up to speed on a UCONN team dealing with some injuries and a lot of unknowns after playing an FCS team and then Maryland. I do my best to give fair and honest takes about the struggles we’ve seen offensively from Duke and how the recent injuries may affect the team on Saturday. While the defense is solid, the kicking teams have had some issues and the offense hasn’t run the ball consistently yet. Oh, and I also learn that the kickoff time wasn’t at 1pm like I thought. Glad I learned that before the game. Overall, I like what we’ve seen from the Blue Devils, but I remained concerned about the struggles in the running game. It’s just too hard to win by just passing.

As far as a score prediction, while we both think Duke will win, I am not predicting a blowout. Until the Blue Devils kick the offense up a notch and get more balanced, I’m expecting close, or relatively close, games. We also have to see what the team can do when it’s shorthanded at RB and at TE.

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

Interview – Get to Know the Northwestern Wildcats with Louie Vaccher

Our old friend Louie Vaccher returned to the podcast to bring us up to speed on the Wildcats. Both Duke and Northwestern are coming off slow starts in Week One. What will this mean for the Blue Devils on the road? Can they steal one on the road in Chicago? We’ll have to wait and see. If Duke can get a win, this will be a big, big victory for Manny Diaz. Getting to 2-0 after the all the turnover and transfers would be a statement that Coach Diaz has the Blue Devils moving in the right direction.

We also spend a few minutes talking about Chris Collins and the great things he’s been doing with the Wildcats.

Before the interview starts, we listen to a few voicemails and a text message. Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

Interview – Season Prediction with Lee Rodio

Duke legend Lee Rodio returns to the podcast and provides us with his win-loss prediction for the Blue Devils this season. We go through each game and tell you who we think will win and why. We also check in with Richlandia to get an update on the status of the OG Optimistic Duke Football fan. You’ll like all our predictions as we’re very optimistic about what the Blue Devils can do this season.

One thing you’ll notice as we go through Duke’s schedule is how much time we spend discussing the differing degree of schedule difficulty the Blue Devils’ opponents have. This is one of the unfortunate side effects of conference restructuring – unbalanced schedules providing easier paths to a conference championship game. Sorry for an old man rant here, but there really is an upside to small conferences.

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

Interview – College Huddle Collab about … That Team

As you know, Bull City Coordinators is part of the College Huddle Network. As part of that, and as an attempt to try and bring our country together in these trying times, I reached out to my colleagues The Heel Brothers and asked them to come on and talk about the upcoming season for the Heels. You can follow them (if you want to) here.

Sorry for the audio not being normalized. I’m not sure what happened, but we had issues from the very start.

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Post, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

Interview – Get to Know the Troy Trojans with Josh Boutwell

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Josh Boutwell of the Troy Messenger stopped by to talk about Duke’s next opponent, the Troy Trojans, and what to expect from Troy in the Birmingham Bowl. During our interview, we talked the coaching change for both teams, my time working for a sign company and the advantage it gave me in recognizing random cities and towns across the United States, the Trojans’ football culture, what a great stadium we’ll get to watch the game in and the terrible parking situation in Birmingham. Not to give away the ending, but the Blue Devils are going to have their hands full come December 23.

In addition, Josh discusses his cancer treatment during the interview. Please stop by this site to help out with his medical costs if you are so inclined.

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Post, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

Interview – Steve Wiseman Talks Coaching Search and Birmingham Bowl

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Steve Wiseman stopped by to talk about a crazy, crazy week of Duke and ACC football. We begin by talking about how FSU got the shaft courtesy of Boo Corrigan, et al., as did SMU. And, most important, I got to use one of my favorite historical quotes. It’s Truman on Nixon. I mean, what else do you need?

After that, Steve and I talk about his hectic schedule trying to cover Elko’s departure from Durham and the Blue Devils’ coaching search. There’s a lot of ground to cover and Steve will tell you pretty much everything you need to know about what happened with Elko and how Nina King is leading Duke through this transitional period. If that weren’t enough, we also go over how the Blue Devils landed in the Birmingham Bowl and not the Gasparilla Bowl. Thanks, CFP Selection Committee. And Notre Dame.

Oh, and it turns out Duke has a basketball team. Who knew? In all seriousness, we spend some time trying to diagnose why the Blue Devils have been struggling out of the gate. As always, Steve was a great and informative guest. You’ll love this episode.

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Post, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

Interview – Get to Know the Pitt Panthers with Noah Hiles

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First, let me apologize for some inconsistent audio quality. My Bluetooth headset kept cutting in and out on volume and I had to amplify the audio. Not sure why it happened. That can only mean I need a new headset. Any recommendations would be appreciated!

Pitt beat writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Noah Hiles stopped by to get us ready for a noon matchup with the Panthers at Wallace Wade. During this 5o+ minute interview, we talk about the struggles that Duke has had in beating Pitt, the disaster of a year the Panthers are going through and the fact that the Blue Devils have sort of kind of maybe fallen off after a good start.

In addition, we discuss the scheduling issues that ACC teams will continue face as a result of an unbalanced and ridiculously unfair schedule. To elaborate on that, there’s a reason that Duke is behind GA Tech, UNC and VA Tech this year. The Blue Devils have had, by far, the toughest schedule in The ACC. When you throw the injuries on top of that, this record shouldn’t be a surprise. Listen, guys, we’re just going to have to deal with getting a raw deal when it comes to the schedule. It’s not fair, but it is what it is.

Also, we get a guest pick from former Duke WR Ben Erdeljac! He’s taking the Blue Devils to close the season on a win. Let’s Go!!!

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Post, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

Interview – Get to Know the UVA Cavaliers with Dan Siegel

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Old friend of the podcast Dan Siegel returned to get us ready for a big game this weekend with UVA. Dan tells us about the Hoos’ improving situation that isn’t reflected in the W-L column. Turns out the Cavs have a good QB and a solid defense. We also discuss Tony Elliott’s future in Charlottesville.

Before we get into the interview, we have some voicemails which bring some real heat to the ending of the Duke-UNC game. These guys had a lot to say and it’s hard to argue with any of it.

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Post, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

Interview – Get to Know the UNC Tar Heels with Mack Brown (Yep, Mack Brown)

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As I said all season, we got a major guest to preview the Duke-UNC game. And when I tell you something, you know you can trust me to deliver. To-wit:

Mack Brown, UNC’s head coach, stopped by to talk about the state of the Carolina program, how great of a job Coach Elko is doing and what to expect in the Battle for the Victory Bell. You won’t believe who Mack takes to win. During our interview, we also discuss Mack’s plan to return to broadcasting, The Carolina Way and why UNC has struggled with consistency so much during the last two seasons. It might be because he’s perpetually online. Oh, and Mack has some thoughts on MJ Morris redshirting and what Brennan Armstrong will do for the Wolfpack going forward.

If that weren’t enough, we’ve got a guest pick from all-time great Blue Devil Randy Cuthbert! It’s always a good day when you hear from a Duke legend who knows a thing or two about beating the Heels.

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Post, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!