Category: Game Recaps

Interview – Get to Know the Wake Forest Demon Deacons with Conor O’Neill

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Conor O’Neill, co-host of the Big J & Little J Show and publisher for Deacons and Devils Illustrated, stopped by to preview Duke’s upcoming Thursday night game. During our interview, we discuss Wake’s struggles on offense, the chances it has left to get bowl eligible and we do a deep dive on the Blue Devils. During the Duke portion of the discussion, we recap the loss at Louisville, cover the struggles at the WR position, discuss the uncertainty surrounding the health of our quarterbacks and try to comprehend the slew of injuries that have struck the Blue Devils of late. My conclusion is that we’re fortunate to have a great coaching staff and we have to hope their tactical expertise will get the Blue Devils a victory on Thursday night. We’re lucky to have the staff that we have and we have to hope those guys will right the ship.

Oh, and it turns out we landed a big, big guest for the UNC preview. We didn’t drop the name in the episode, but this is a guy with significant coaching experience at CHC. You’re going to enjoy this one, I promise.

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 – Richlandia

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Thanks to a scheduling conflict on the part of someone who will remain nameless who may also run this blog, I wasn’t able to schedule an interview with my friends over at From The Pink Seats. As a result, we filled the gap by checking in with our Richlandia correspondent, Dad.

During the interview, we talk about the potential shortcomings of analytics in specific situations, recap the FSU game and preview what to expect on Saturday when Duke travels to Louisville. In addition, we get into the remaining teams on the Blue Devils’ schedule, I trash the B1G and we both agree that North Carolina has benefited from an easy schedule. Sorry, not sorry. And, because I’m a younger brother, I take a few moments to throw some shade at my older brother and demand an explanation from Dad as to a parenting choice he made when me and my brother were both teenagers.

We also make a reference to one all-time classic TV show episode, “Space, Geeks, And Johnny Unitas“, and Dad avoids going full Abe Simpson during the open mic.

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, or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

Interview – Get to Know the FSU Seminoles with Ehsan Kassim

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To get ready for a big road game this Saturday, I sat down with FSU beat writer Ehsan Kassim. During our talk, we went over Ehsan’s Seminole origin story, his SEC roots and then got into Duke’s upcoming opponent. We covered how Mike Norvell utilized the transfer portal to build the team, the overall strengths of FSU and how the teams will match up with one another in Doak Campbell Stadium. We also talked about CFP scenarios and speculated about what the Committee would do with one loss PAC-12 and ACC teams come selection time.

We listen to a few voicemails, discuss how the Blue Devils did against NC State, check in on Richlandia during the prediction segment and get Joey Finison to stop by with a guest pick. I also botch a Fight Club quote (the actual quote is “In the Tibetan philosophy, Sylvia Plath sense of the word, we’re all dying. But you’re not dying the way Chloe is dying.” And, of course, I detour into Roman history. I mean, why wouldn’t I?

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, or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

Interview – Steve Wiseman

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Steve Wiseman stopped by for his second appearance on the podcast. In what will hopefully become an annual thing, we used the bye week to talk about the wild ride that was the Notre Dame game, Riley Leonard’s injury, injuries to other players, the struggles we’ve seen from the kicking teams this season and what to expect from the team going forward. We also discuss what a fantastic job Coach Elko and his staff have done in getting Duke ready for every single game. Seriously, what this staff has done with the Blue Devils is amazing.

Steve also takes a moment to introduce us to Jared McCain who will be one of Duke’s incoming guards. Give the story a read, folks! Hopefully the Blue Devils’ basketball team will be able to handle the pressure of being at a football school.

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, or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

Interview – Get to Know the Notre Dame Fighting Irish with Dan Sullivan

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We all know that there’s a big game coming up at Wallace Wade what with Notre Dame coming by to get exposed to a real college football environment. Sticking with our theme of the season, our guest Dan Sullivan gives you a chance to get to know the Irish. Dan is a fellow attorney and good friend of mine who grew up watching Notre Dame and is my source for information regarding the Irish. During our interview, we discuss how Notre Dame has done this season, the loss to Ohio State and how Duke will match up with the Irish on Saturday. We tell some stories about cases we tried together and what a jerk I apparently was early on in our professional career. I think I was just misunderstood. We also talk about conference restructuring, my overall thoughts on the Blue Devils so far this season and we get a game prediction from Jay Pelosky before checking in on things in Richlandia.

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode. We had three in this episode alone!

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

As always, Go Duke!

Interview – Get to Know the UCONN Huskies with Graham Chamberlain

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To get ready for Saturday’s road game, we sat down with Graham Chamberlain of UCONN Rivals. In this almost hour long discussion, we cover the recent history of UCONN football, discuss the challenges the Huskies face in building a program, listen to a few voicemails and give our prediction for the game. The episode starts out with a brief recap of where Duke is so far this season before getting into the upcoming game. We also take a few shots at UVA because why not?

In addition, we discussed the future of UCONN football and The ACC going forward. I give my opinion on adding the three new schools and how the conference will look over the next decade. You will hear me tell UNC, Clemson and FSU to shut up and stop whining about money if you don’t want to add SMU at no real cost to The All Coast Conference. Seriously, guys, stop complaining about money if you aren’t going to take that free pile of cash the Mustangs gave you.

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, or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

Interview – Get to Know the Northwestern Wildcats with Louie Vaccher

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To get ready for Duke-Northwestern on Saturday, we’ve got an interview with the editor of Wildcat Report, Louie Vaccher. During a very informative discussion, we talked about the Northwestern hazing scandal, the associated lawsuits, listen to a few voicemails and, hey, we actually talk about the Wildcats and the Blue Devils! We have some game predictions from me, Louie and Duke running back Joe Ajeigbe! We also check in on Richlandia.

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, or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

2023 Game Recaps – Spring Ball

It may not be a game that counts in the win-loss column, but it’s still football. And Duke’s Spring Game was a lot of fun. After a late time change to Friday night, the Blue Devils kicked off a fun night. Now, I’m not going to do the kind of game recap I would do for a regular season, nor am I going to do my Five Things. Instead, I’m just going to list a couple of things I noticed that stood out to me about the game.

No. 1 – Wide receivers. With Hagans, Calhoun, Jordan Moore and Robertson, this unit looks stacked. Eli Pancol didn’t take the field till late, which may be him easing back in from his injury last season, and looked faster and more skilled than last year. And that’s saying something because last year was his best season in Durham. To conclude, it looks like Riley Leonard will have a lot of weapons headed into next season.

No. 2 – Kick returns. There weren’t a lot of those last night, but I liked seeing Hagans on the opening return. None of us understood why he didn’t get more involved in the return game last season given what he did against Georgia Tech. Let’s hope Coach Elko & Co. heard our collective griping and has decided to give Hagans chances to make plays on returns.

No. 3 – All the quarterbacks looked good. Leonard and Loftis looked to be quarterbacks 1 and 2 on the depth chart. Henry Belin looked okay, but a little shaky at first. Once he got a few runs underneath his belt, he started to look a little more comfortable. If Belin can keep running the ball like that and get a little more comfortable in the passing game, he could be real hard for other teams to defend in the coming seasons. Of course, if Loftis can toss bombs like he did in the fourth quarter, the QB battle will be something to watch over the next few years.

No. 4 – Ja’Mion Franklin looks like a man among children. Dude looks like an NFL nose tackle. I think he may cause a lot of problems for the opposing offense.

No. 5 – The linebackers. The unit looked pretty good although it’s hard to know how much we can expect from them. Dillon got a hit or two in as did fan favorite Mem Factor. They also looked much improved from a depth perspective over the last few seasons. It’ll be interesting to see what that group can do as the year unfolds.

Wait, did I just do my Five Things?

Overall, the team looked pretty good. Our safeties played pretty well and showed the ability to put some hits on people. While you can’t always project out too much from the Spring Game, you can get a sense of which guys are ready to play and which guys aren’t. From what I could see, our starters are ready to play and we didn’t have any glaring gaps.

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

As always, Go Duke!

2022 Game Recaps – Military Bowl Champion Duke Blue Devils

Coming into the Military Bowl, Duke had a chance to finish off a great season with a bowl championship. This was an opportunity to make a statement about what the Blue Devils had done this season and what the ACC should expect next year. Duke took a swing and didn’t miss. Instead of a whiff, the Blue Devils knocked it out of the park. Home run. Grand slam. Whatever term you want to use, it fits. Duke came out of the gate running and didn’t stop. When it was over, the Blue Devils defeated UCF by a score of 30-13. After finishing the first quarter tied at seven, Duke closed the half up 20-7 and outscored the Knights 10-6 in the final thirty.

The Blue Devils won this game the same way we saw them beat UVA; Duke was methodical, forceful and more physically dominant than their opponent. Nothing was particularly exciting or unique from a scheme perspective (to the extent you can tell that from TV). It was old style football full of running, hitting and being more physical than the opponent. The teams put up close to the same number of yards (350-326), but the Blue Devils won the turnover battle (2-0) and made the most of their opportunities. It was a nice win over a team that will be a P5 next season.

Since I had to skip out on most of the second half to spend time with the family on our vacation (and, for the record, Duke scored again when I got back to the TV, so can someone tell Coach Johns I’m sorry for the second half funk? Great, thanks!), I’m going to spend some time discussing what this win means for the program by going back to last season’s Five Things:

One – With nine wins this season, Coach Elko set the record for most first season wins by a head coach in Blue Devil history. Fred Goldsmith had eight, but couldn’t win the Hall of Fame Bowl. Coach Elko is in the record books. Congrats, Coach!

Two – By getting to, and winning, a bowl game, the overwhelming majority of players on this team can forget all about the hellscape that was 2019-2021. Two-and-a-half lousy seasons are, without question, in the rearview mirror. Congrats, guys! We’re all ecstatic that you got to experience a season like this one. You deserved it.

Three – I’d like to see what Josh Cox’s Facebook relationship status is vis-a-vis Todd Pelino. Todd went 3/3 for the game with a long of 48. It looks like Duke has the kicking position locked down for the foreseeable future.

Four – The Blue Devils will have a target on them all next season. After going 8-4 (5-3) and losing four close games, Duke won’t be the ACC’s best kept secret in 2023. With a year of film for opposing staffs to digest, and a lot of good opponents on the schedule (Clemson, Notre Dame and Florida State, among others), the Blue Devils won’t be able to sneak up on anyone. In 2023, a victory over Duke won’t be a given and it won’t be taken for granted. The opponents will all want to beat the Blue Devils because doing so will amount to a statement win. For Duke, a bowl game will be expected, not a surprise. This is different from a lot of seasons we’ve seen in Durham. And with expectations this high, we’ll get to see exactly what this staff and this team are capable of.

Five – As I pointed out on Twitter, yesterday’s Military Bowl victory marked the fourth straight bowl win for the Blue Devils. Dating back to the Pinstripe Bowl in 2015, Duke has won every bowl it has played in. We are a long, long way away from where Blue Devils have been most of my life. From 1981 to 2012, Duke had only been to two bowl games (and I know there weren’t as many bowl games when I was young as there are today, but you get my point) and hadn’t won either of them. Since snapping a bowl victory drought that dated back to 1960 with a Pinstripe Bowl championship in 2015, the Blue Devils haven’t looked back. Let’s hope this continues next year and for many, many seasons thereafter.

And that’s it for the game recap. I’ll plan on doing a season recap in January and will try to follow it up by discussing some other great seasons in program history. I’ll also keep working on scheduling interviews (which I fell behind on).

So, with that, let me know what you think about what I think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Post, 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!