State of the Program – Page 2 – Bull City Coordinators

Interview – Conor O’Neill

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Conor O’Neill, who you all know from his work for Duke and Deacons Illustrated, stopped by for a great talk about instant replay, the importance of local journalism and the changing landscape of sports media, what to expect from the Blue Devils and Wake football teams next season and why Duke-Wake Forest should be a bigger rivalry. Duke-Miami 2015 gets a fairly detailed discussion, too. And, if that weren’t enough, we also have a little conversation about basketball which will require some clarification from me. So, let me take care of that now.

We recorded the interview on Thursday night. The next morning, while I drove down to see my parents, Dad got a call from Coach K. Yes, that Coach K. A friend of my brother’s from high school somehow got in touch with Coach K or his people and Dad got a surprise call. Coach K wanted to make sure Dad was eating and gaining weight during chemo. They also talked about the legacy that teachers have through their students. Thank you, Coach, for doing that. We can’t put into words just how much we appreciate your kindness.

So, while some may interpret a few comments I made about the state of the roster when Coach Scheyer took over as critical of how Coach K left things, I want to be clear that what I was saying is that Coach K is the finest human being who deserves nothing but praise and anything that could be considered as criticism of him is simply heresy. And I, for one, will never engage in such criticism as I am a totally positive person who only sees the good things in life and strenuously avoids negativity. The below is my motto

Thank you, Coach K, and my brother’s friend, for the phone call. It really picked up Dad yesterday.

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!

Interview – Jackson Hubbard

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We have watched Jackson Hubbard as the holder on placekicks for what seems like forever and a day. Jackson joined Duke in 2017 and, after a redshirt and a COVID year, he’s about to wrap up his sixth season as a Blue Devil with an appearance in the Military Bowl against UCF.

In this interview, we learn what brought Jackson to Duke, how he became the holder, how he went from being a walk-on to earning a scholarship and why it’s always LACES OUT!!! (Side note, I’m not sure he’s seen Ace Ventura. So, once again, I was made to feel rather old during an interview with a current player.) We also learn about the new coaching staff and how the team turned things around this season.

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

As always, Go Duke!

Interview – Lauren Brownlow

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We all know Lauren Brownlow, purveyor of all things ACC, from her Twitter account and The ACC Panic Room. What started off as a conversation about ACC football got sidetracked into more entertaining subjects like how awful Pete Carroll is and the punchable face that he has, did Russell Wilson get a hex put on him (and by whom?) and the Catsup toss that was the 2010 Music City Bowl. We also discussed Long-COVID and the difficulties associated with being a woman in sports journalism.

Now, we did actually discuss a lot of issues with ACC football including the conference serving as Notre Dame’s sidepiece (and, because I wasn’t clear initially, my complaints about the Irish go back to 2013 when they “joined” the conference), a mixed bag of good and not so good bowl games and what Coach Elko and Duke accomplished this year. We also discuss the sort of implosion we’re watching real-time over at that school in Chapel Hill. There’s also a good discussion about what it will take to keep the Blue Devils competitive over the coming seasons.

And, of course, we relive this glorious moment of ACC football:

In the open mic session, Lauren made good use of her time and talked about the need to donate to domestic violence shelters. Please consider doing this during a time that many families could use some help. It’s a great cause.

Let us know what you think in the comments, on Reddit, on Mastodon or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

Interview – Colby Campbell

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We all remember Colby from the 2021 season at Duke.

Colby transferred in from Presbyterian College and, after being a beast on special teams, went on to be a part of a championship team in the Finnish Maple League and was named the MVP of the championship game. Colby will play for the Albany Empire this coming season as he continues to pursue his dream of getting to the NFL. In addition to these topics, Colby and I discuss the 2021 season and how Coach Elko (and Coach Feeley) turned things around this year. You’ll also hear from Future Ben as he reads Colby’s prediction for Duke’s bowl game. This was a great talk with a memorable Blue Devil.

Now, let me conclude by saying that there will be a discussion about the team meeting with law enforcement during the 2021 season and the effect it had on the team. This podcast is not set up to fully and completely engage in a discussion about use of force by law enforcement, so please don’t consider this to serve as that discussion. The level of detail that topic requires is well beyond the scope of this podcast.

I hope you enjoy the interview. As always, Go Duke!

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 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!

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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!

Interview – Steve Wiseman

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It may not be a game preview or a game recap in the traditional sense, but we have a bonus interview with Steve Wiseman! Steve is a reporter for the Durham Herald Sun and the Raleigh News & Observer. He’s covered Duke Athletics since 2010 and recently started co-hosting a podcast on the Bleav network, Bleav in Duke, with The Landlord, Shelden Williams.

After a discussion about Steve’s background and the changing landscape of local and regional sports journalism, we recap the Blue Devils beating UVA, the upcoming game against Georgia Tech and talk about what to expect during the remainder of Duke’s schedule. We get into the current state of the Coastal, dissect what is going on at UVA and Miami and talk about Coach Elko’s rehabilitation of the Blue Devils. We discuss what it will take to keep Coach Elko in charge of Duke football going forward and what the fans need to do to show him their support. HINT – SHOW UP AT GAMES. Seriously – the Blue Devils are having a great season and the turnout last Saturday was awful.

And, before you ask, we have another guest picker. I won’t reveal the person’s identity here, so you’ll have to listen to find out who it is!

This was a great talk with a top-notch reporter. Thanks again, Steve, for stopping by. Let us know what you think about what we think in the comments or on Twitter.

As always – Go Duke!

2022 Game Previews – The Elko Era Begins

September 2, 2022. 7:30 p.m. Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium. Duke takes on Temple to start the Elko Era. I don’t know about you guys, but I can’t wait.

Coach Elko is ready to lead the Blue Devils to victory.

In trying to put together a game preview for Temple, I realized that I can’t rely on my trusty trends from last season because, well, there are no trends for this incarnation of Duke football. We have a new head coach, new coordinators, new staff, new running back, new quarterback and, well, you get the idea.

Well, what about the opposing team? Surely there are some trends for the Owls, right? Not really, Temple is in the same boat that the Blue Devils are – a new coach looking to turn around a program that has fallen from prior heights. Dating back to 2006 when Al Golden took over at Temple, the Owls had done pretty well under four different head coaches (Golden, Steve Addazio, Matt Rhule and Geoff Collins) until Rod Carey came to town and the bag broke when COVID hit. After an 8-5 season and a loss in the Military Bowl in 2019, Temple went 1-6 in 2020 and 3-9 in 2021. Not great. And not that different from our guys in Durham.

So, instead of trends, I’m going to riff on my Five Things from game recaps and state the Five Things we need to see from this Duke team on Friday:

A win. This is obvious, but the Blue Devils always have to go at least 3-1, if not 4-0, in non-conference play to get to a bowl game. If Duke wants to go bowling this season, a win against Temple is a must. Sure, this team may not have the toughest non-conference schedule, but you can’t say that wins are guaranteed against Northwestern or Kansas. And while there are 11 chances to make up for an opening loss, history has taught us that the margins are generally thin in Durham. If the season starts with a loss, getting back on track won’t be easy.
Tough, physical and intelligent play. We can’t see both linebackers leave a running back open. We can’t continue to get beat on the wheel route. And we can’t tackle shoulders. If these Blue Devils want to win, or at least be competitive, they are going to have to be smart. They are going to have to be tough, physical and dominate the line of scrimmage. They are going to have to compete every down. And, more important, …
They are going to have to hold each other accountable. Someone, really a collection of someones, is going to have to step up and lead the team. Team cohesion will be critical for this team as it tries to get out of the doldrums that have been around since that one play in 2019 we won’t mention. Accountability and leadership doesn’t happen as a result of one player running the locker room. Rather, each player will have to believe in one another. Not only that, but they will have to hold one another accountable. Each player will have to know what everyone else on the field is supposed to do at all times. That’s what it is going to take.
An offense that can control the clock. And also be creative. What I’m hoping to see from Coach Johns’ offense is a hard-nosed, smash-mouth unit that runs the ball, throws to the tight end and gets creative. Our wide receivers haven’t been great at getting separation, so let’s see Jordan Moore in the slot. How about Luca Diamont, too? Be creative and take the pressure off of Jalon Calhoun and new starting quarterback Riley Leonard. And running the ball won’t only help open up the receivers, it will give the defense a chance to rest. Plus, you know the OL will love beating people at the line and opening up big holes for the RBs to run through.
A competitive game. While we would all love to see Duke win by 30, I think we would all take a win regardless of the score. The blowout losses have to stop. If this team wants to win games, it will have to find a way to stay in games and keep the score close. So, even if this game isn’t a blowout, I’ll be happy to see this team play a close, competitive and physical game. And winning it would be great, too.

So, those are the five things that I want to see from the Blue Devils against Temple. Let’s hope we get those, and a lot more.

Now, while I was pretty bad at this last season, I’ll go ahead and throw in a score prediction – I’m taking Duke with a 31-27 win over Temple. While I would like to take the Blue Devils by a larger margin, I don’t feel that I know enough about this team to be able to predict with confidence. While I like everything I’ve heard from the players so far, I am going to wait until I see it to start getting bullish about this team. And, for the record, I want to see these guys do it even though I may sound a little pessimistic about things.

Now, before I close this post, you’ll see that I added a new category – “2022 Season” – to help better keep track of each season that I keep doing this.

Since I added a 2022 category, you’re probably asking if I’m going to go back and categories for 2019, 2020 and 2021. To those of you who ask that I say

Anyway, tell me what you think about what I think in the comments or on Twitter.

Go Duke!