Category Archives: Duke Football

Duke Football

Duke vs. Georgia Tech Q&A Exchange

Lance Images

In anticipation of Saturday’s matchup with Georgia Tech in Atlanta, BDN caught up with Winfield and Bird of FromTheRumbleSeat.com. The 2009 ACC Champions have had a disappointing 2010 season and need a win against the Blue Devils to become bowl eligible. BDN’s responses to their questions can be found at their site. Check back later this week for BDN’s full preview of the matchup with the Yellow Jackets, and live coverage from Atlanta.

BDN: Coming off an ACC Championship, the Yellow Jackets lost some serious talent to the NFL in Jonathan Dwyer, Demaryius Thomas, Derrick Morgan, and Morgan Burnett. The media picked Georgia Tech to finish 3rd in the Coastal Divison behind Virginia Tech and Miami, which is about where they are right now (half a game behind UNC). What were your expectations for the 2010 Yellow Jackets and how would you evaluate the season to date?

FTRS: Before we delve into our preseason predictions you must keep in mind that that typical Georgia Tech fan is forever the optimist going into the football season. In the beginning of the season, we discussed the September, October, and November schedules. Winfield boasted a potential 10-2 season while Bird said 9-3. Many thoughts surrounded our picks, mainly “returning starters” and “our defense can only go up from last year”.  Man, we were wrong.

The season has been a disappointment, but if the Tech fan gives himself a reality check, the season makes sense. An example of taking a realistic point of view is Bird’s article from Monday where he evaluates the rushing attack from 2008-2010. The final paragraph summarizes it nicely:  “What this tells me is that we're comfortable with our offense now as wins and losses are almost identical statistically. We're just not catching the breaks we got in 2009 (e.g. increased turnovers, poor field position, and bad special teams). We've lost as many fumbles as we did in 2009 in 29% less games. We've thrown one less interception than we did in 2009 and we still have 2 games plus a bowl game to go (hopefully). We're also punting at a higher frequency with a lower average than 2009. This all adds up to a down year compared to CPJ standards set in 2009. “

BDN: Paul Johnson inherited some pretty good talent at Georgia Tech and seemed to flawlessly install his flexbone offense, leading the Jackets to two Coastal Division Championships in his first two seasons. With a new coach, there's always the question of whether he can recruit and win with his own players. I know Johnson recently stole a good one out of Durham in Vad Lee, a player all 4 North Carolina ACC teams were recruiting. With the scholarship limits now behind them, what does the future look like for the Yellow Jackets?

FTRS: Two* Coastal Division championships (We technically tied in 2008. Won it outright in 2009). Depends on the positions. Paul Johnson will normally redshirt most freshmen so we as fans get to see our future come out as redshirt freshmen. It’s very rich for the A-backs with the likes of Orwin Smith and BJ Bostic.

BDN: Al Groh joined Paul Johnson's staff this season, and his defense seems to have had mixed results. What have been the significant changes to the defense this year? What has worked? What hasn't? Who has stepped up to fill the voids left by Morgan and Burnett?

FTRS: The significant change is the move from the 4-3 to the 3-4 defense and we are trying to fit square players into circular holes. It just hasn’t consistently flowed all season.....

BDN: We know Duke will have its hands full with Anthony Allen, but Tevin Washington is filling in for the injured Josh Nesbitt at quarterback. Can you give us a brief scouting report on Washington? What should Duke expect with him under center?

FTRS: He’s tougher than we first expected. Still is slow at making reads but is a better passer than Nesbitt.

BDN: Georgia Tech has had the Blue Devils' number the past two meetings, with convincing wins in Atlanta in 2008 and in Durham in 2009. What do you expect from this year's matchup?

FTRS: The Jackets are stuck in a corner they haven’t been in for years and they need a morale boost before heading into Georgia. We expect (hope?) Georgia Tech to take a lot of frustration out on Duke.

BDN: Thanks, guys! Good luck on Saturday.

Duke Basketball, Duke Football

Monday Musings – Duke Basketball and Football tidbits

Here's another Monday Musings Cheeleader of the Week pic!

Welcome to another edition of Monday Musings Blue Devil Nation!  Duke Athletics had another full weekend slate and we'll take a look back and ahead on the latest edition of Watzone's Monday Musings.

Enter Goliath!

In the pre season Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski joked about during the annual ACC Media Day about how Duke became known as Goliath in media circles once they entered the championship game against Butler, a team that rolled their way to the final.  Everywhere you turn Duke is getting cover boy status with magazines to go along with the outstanding ESPNU Special.  And then Duke has been named the favorite to win another national title, yet we all know that the teams generally picked for that spot rarely are there in the end.  Anyway you look at it, Duke is Goliath this season or the 800 pound gorilla in the room for they will be painted as such so there is little any of us can do about it.

A pretty good start to the season for the Duke Men

Duke was hardly clicking on all cylinders against Princeton, yet they still won convincingly via the three point shot and their staple defense.  Duke had a long time to prepare for Princeton, more time than anyone else might receive the rest of the way.   It'll be interesting to see how Duke plays Miami of Ohio after having less prep time.  But back to last evening, Duke looked every bit the part of the aforementioned label Goliath.  It's got to be scary for opponents to realize they might shut one or even two players down on this seasons team, but Duke has too many offensive weapons and somebody will almost certainly pick up the slack.

The Duke Women are rocking too

Duke has an interesting mix of youth and experience on the basketball court this season and they should be a top ten main stay all year long.  I was really impressed by the play of young freshman guard Chloe Wells the other night and she'll take to the court against Southern Cal this evening.  Duke handled BYU in the opener by dominating the paint and tonight is another good early season test, so turn out in Cameron if you are in the area.  The Duke Women, like the Duke Men have been rocking the recruiting front as well, but we'll talk of that later in the week.

Devils oh-so close on the football field

Duke lost a heart breaker to Boston College as a pass was batted down as Duke was knocking on the door in what would have been a rousing win.  Despite the loss, Duke continues to show improvement in many areas and the team will show up in Atlanta and in my opinion give Georgia Tech all they want.  A look up and down the roster shows how many players Duke will return for next year and they are playing to get better in closing out a season where they fell just short in three ACC games.  For the record had they won those tight contest, Duke would have been 6-4.

Two Devils will push for All ACC honors

When it comes time to vote for All ACC teams, the media will realistically consider Duke placekicker Will Snyderwine and wideout Conner Vernon for first team.  Snyderwine is as accurate a kicker as Duke has had in a good while and he made second team last season.  Vernon leads the ACC in most receiving categories.  And go ahead and pencil Kelby Brown on some freshman All American teams.  And note that all of these player return next season.  The Blue Devils lose six starters but have replacements with experience coming back and some pretty decent redshirts to add to the mix.

Sean Renfree

Renfree didn't put the ball in the end zone but he had another solid game going 35 of 49 for 285 yards.  His experiences this season will shape and mold his character even more and he will never give up as seen by this quote, "Nobody's going to put his head down.  We have two games left against two very good teams.  We're going to prepare as we have all season long."

And the Viking ship was set to sea

Students wore Viking Helmets in tribute to Drew Everson who had a fall to his death on campus recently.  Drew was a popular fellow amongst his peers and the head line monitor and he was given a Viking salute last evening.  He would have been proud of the Cameron Crazies efforts which were praised by Krzyzewski in his post game press conference.

Duke Football

Boston College holds off Duke rally and gain 21-16 win

Vernon hauled in 12 passes for 134 yards, but Duke falls short at home against Boston College - Lance Images for BDN

DURHAM - The long out stretched arm of Boston College DE Max Holloway batted down a Sean Renfree pass intended for Conner Vernon on 4th down and the play sealed a 21-16 win for the Eagles.  It was a heartbreaking defeat for the Blue Devils who were energized by a 95 yard fumble return by true freshman August Campbell for a score.

That play now stands alone in the record books as the longest fumble return for a touchdown in Duke Football History.  Duke then held Boston College twice after that on defense and got the ball back on their 37 yard line and started a 12 play 59 yard drive, but it ended at the four yard line where Duke turned the ball over on downs and that allowed the Eagles to come out with a close win.

Chase Retting threw two touchdown passes for the Eagles while Sean Renfree went 35 of 49 for 285 yards. , but no scores.  The Eagles defense held Duke to just 4 yards rushing but nine Duke wideouts caught passes led by Conner Vernon who had 12 catches for 134 yards.

They scored again on another Retting pass to Ifeanyi Momah putting them ahead 21-6 and the game suddenly seemed out of reach until August Campbell's big play.  After all, the Eagles were about to score again before that play but Duke swung the momentum back their way but just couldn't close the deal.

The loss knocks Duke out of bowl contention and they next travel to Atlanta to play Georgia Tech before finishing the season against North Carolina in Durham.  Duke dropped to 3-7 on the season while Boston College climbed even at 5-5.
Cutcliffe post game comments (just press play) -

We'll have more on the game and a look ahead in our weekly Sunday Quarterback article.

Duke Football

BDN’s Boston College at Duke Football Preview

Boston College is looking to shut down the Duke recieving corps - BDN Photo, Rick Crank

The Blue Devils (3-6, 1-4 ACC) host an unfamiliar ACC opponent on Saturday in Boston College (4-5, 2-4 ACC). The game will be televised on espn3.com, but tickets are still available from the Duke Ticket Office for local fans. The festivities will begin at 9:45 AM with the Blue Devil Walk, and the game will kickoff at 12 noon in Wallace Wade Stadium. BDN breaks down the ACC matchup between two teams riding 2-game winning streaks after struggling early.

Duke in Week 10

The Blue Devils outlasted the Virginia Cavaliers, 55-48 in a thriller last Saturday in Durham. Keith Payne scored for UVA with 2:28 remaining to give the Cavaliers a 48-47 lead. Sean Renfree led the Blue Devils on an impressive comeback drive, including a clutch 4th and 18 conversion to Donovan Varner to put the Blue Devils into field goal territory with under a minute remaining. The role of hero was played by Desmond Scott, who had fumbled earlier in the 4th quarter. With 40 seconds remaining, the sophomore took the handoff for a 35-yard diving touchdown run along the Duke sideline. The Duke defense managed to hold off the Cavaliers in the final 40 seconds to seal the 55-48 victory. Defensively, Duke gave up over 600 total yards to Virginia, as QB Marc Verica, RB Keith Payne and WR Dontrelle Inman all had big days for the Cavaliers. CB Ross Cockrell hauled in two interceptions and S Walt Canty added a third, as the Blue Devils won the turnover battle 3-1. For Duke, the QB tandem of Renfree and Brandon Connette scored four touchdowns on the ground while adding 259 yards through the air. TE Cooper Helfet led the Duke receivers with a touchdown and over 100 yards receiving.

Boston College in Week 10

The Eagles traveled to Winston Salem and came away with a 23-13 win over Wake Forest last Saturday. Boston College jumped out to an early 7-0 lead after an interception and a 26-yard touchdown run by RB Montel Harris. The game was dominated by the Boston College defense, which forced 5 turnovers on the day and held the Demon Deacons to just 69 yards rushing. Harris continued his All-ACC caliber year with a big day on the ground, which included 36 carries for 183 yards and 3 touchdowns. Freshman QB Chase Rettig was 12/16 for 133 yards with 2 interceptions. The Eagles finished the day just 3/12 on 3rd downs and also had an extra point blocked, but the defense was able to contain the Demon Deacons.

Analysis

The Duke offense seems to have hit its stride the past two weeks, moving the ball with relative ease both through the air and on the ground, but will face a stiff test on Saturday against the Boston College defense. The Eagles are loaded with playmakers on the defensive side of the ball, led by All-American LB Mark Herzlich. Sophomore LB Luke Kuechly leads the nation in tackles with 125, for an average of 13.9 per game. Senior Alex Albright anchors the defensive front and ranks among the ACC leaders in sacks and tackles for loss. Junior CB Donnie Fletcher and sophomore CB Jim Noel have hauled in 9 interceptions between them. Overall, the defensive unit leads the country with 17 interceptions, and ranks 3rd in the country against the run, giving up just 82 yards per game on the ground.

Offensively, the Eagles have relied heavily on junior RB Montel Harris, who leads the ACC in rushing and ranks just outside the top 10 nationally at 113 yards per game. His workload has increased of late, carrying over 35 times in each of the last two games, both Boston College victories. At QB, the Eagles are less established, with a true freshman in Chase Rettig starting under center. For the season, the freshman has thrown for 3 touchdowns and 5 interceptions with a 53% completion percentage in 5 career starts. His favorite targets on the year have been fellow freshman Bobby Swigert and Johnathan Coleman. The key for the Eagles has been the play of their offensive line, and with multiple starters expected to miss Saturday’s game, they will have to piece together a unit to block for Harris and protect their freshman signal-caller. In all, Boston College ranks last in the conference in points per game and last in 3rd down conversions.

This is a matchup that pretty much features strength against strength and weakness against weakness. The Eagles rank last in the ACC in scoring offense, but Duke ranks last in the ACC in scoring defense. Duke has struggled to run the ball this season, while the Eagles are third in the country in defending the run. Boston College has given up some yards through the air, but has also pulled down 17 interceptions; interceptions have really cost the Blue Devils in their losses this season. Boston College should be able to have success running the ball against a porous Duke defense, but the Blue Devils should also be able to move the ball through the air against the Eagles.

Keys to the game for Duke:

  1. 1. Sean Renfree vs. the BC defense: Boston College will try to pressure the Blue Devils into turnovers, and the sophomore QB cannot add to the Eagles’ NCAA-leading interception total.
  2. 2. Montel Harris vs. the Duke defense: Duke will have to find a way to slow down Harris enough to force BC into passing situations, where they rank last in the ACC in 3rd down conversions. Duke will look for big plays from the likes of Abraham Kromah, Kelby Brown, Charlie Hatcher, and Matt Daniels to keep Boston College’s dynamic rusher under wraps.
  3. 3. Special teams: Duke should have an advantage on special teams, where BC ranks near the bottom of the conference in kick and punt returns. Big plays on special teams will take some pressure off the Duke offense and good kick coverage will leave the Eagles with a long field.

Prediction

Boston College will look to get out to an early lead against the Blue Devils and then rely on their stingy defense to force turnovers and keep the Blue Devils out of the end zone. Duke will have its hands full trying to contain Montel Harris, and will have to pressure Rettig to force stops on 3rd down. If Renfree and the Blue Devils can continue to roll offensively, it may be difficult for the Eagles and their young QB to keep up.

Duke 31
Boston College 30

Duke Football

Q & A Exchange with BC Interruption on Duke vs Boston College

Lance Images for BDN

On Saturday, Boston College will make their first trip to Wallace Wade Stadium to face the Blue Devils. With both teams riding two game winning streaks, Blue Devil Nation and Boston College Interruption exchanged questions to get reacquainted. Our answers can be found at the BC Interruption blog.

BDN: Many predicted Boston College to finish near the top of a seemingly wide-open Atlantic division this season. What were your expectations heading into this season for Frank Spaziani's 2nd year, and how would you evaluate the season thus far? What went wrong during the 5 game losing streak, and what has been the difference the last two weeks?

BCI: Many predicted BC to finish near the top of the Atlantic Division this year, true. And because we are homers, we figured BC would actually win the Atlantic Division heading into the season. Things seemed to line up perfectly for the Eagles. We got back our All-American ACC Defensive Player of the Year Mark Herzlich, who missed the entire 2009 season battling Ewing’s Sarcoma. We had four home games to start the season, and an extra week to prepare for our Coastal Division rivals Virginia Tech. From the Coastal Division, BC drew both Duke and Virginia. The pieces seemed to be in place to have a run at the Division title with a record of 9-3 or 10-2.

This season has been a big disappointment. While BC can still eke out 3 more wins to finish the season 7-5, I don’t think anyone really expected us to have that record when the season began. Certainly we didn’t expect to go through a five-game losing streak in the middle of the season as recent history has certainly been kind to the Eagles.

The difference the last two weeks was a combination of things. One is the schedule lightened up a bit. The other is that BC finally settled on a quarterback after giving Dave Shinskie the keys to the offense for the first three games of the season.

BDN: After helping Boston College to 8 wins in his first year, Dave Shinskie has been replaced by freshman Chase Rettig. Can you elaborate on the quarterback situation and give us a brief scouting report on Rettig's college career so far?

BCI: The short of it is that the BC coaching staff thought Dave Shinskie would at least be serviceable this year and that they could save Chase Rettig, arguably the future of the program, for another year by redshirting him. Through the first three games of the season, it became very clear the neither Shinskie nor Mike Marscovetra was the long-term answer for BC.

BC started Chase Rettig after the 19-0 loss to Virginia Tech, against Notre Dame on Saturday night in primetime. Basically, the coaching staff through Rettig to the fire on a week where we had a non-conference game before we entered into a stretch of five ACC Atlantic Division games that would quickly decide whether the Eagles would compete again for an Atlantic Division title. We liked what we saw from Rettig in the Notre Dame game. That is, the few snaps he took before leaving that game with an ankle injury.

Rettig didn’t play the following week at N.C. State, but did get his next start at Florida State. Rettig has played well and is slowly progressing as the week’s go by. It also helps that the competition has lessened as the Eagles have progressed through the season.

As Rettig gets more and more in-game experience, he’ll continue to develop with the offensive line and our very young, inexperienced receiving corps. He’s shown some progress and glimpses of brilliance at QB, but other times he’s certainly played like a kid who was playing high school ball last fall.

BDN: Montel Harris is obviously having an All-ACC caliber year, leading the conference in rushing yards. His workload has seemingly increased as the season has progressed, with over 30 carries in each of his last two games. How much of the offensive load is he carrying and how can anyone slow him down?

BCI: Montel Harris is indeed carrying a bulk of the offensive load. I think the combination of very tall offensive linemen and a small, shifty running back has been very successful for BC. By the time opposing linebackers spot Montel, he’s usually already broken through the defensive line, allowing him to gain 4-5 yards a run. Harris has good football instincts and can find the gaps in the line, though BC has been less effective spreading the field and running around the corner and much more effective running north-south.

Early in the season, the Boston College offensive line struggled to establish the run (or the pass, for that matter). They’ve just started to put things together. When the O-line is on their A-game, it becomes very difficult to stop Montel. The only hope opposing defenses have is to stack the box, try to take away the run and ask Rettig to beat you through the air.

BDN: Boston College is seemingly always among the defensive leaders in the ACC and the country. With talented and physical players like Albright, Kuechly, and Herzlich, how much of the success to you attribute to personnel and how much is scheme? How would you characterize the general defensive philosophy these Boston College teams seem to embrace?

BCI: There are two things that I think has made the BC defense so successful over the years. One thing is consistency. Spaziani is a great defensive mind and has been on the Heights for 13 seasons now. While he’s now HC, he still very much has his hands on the defensive side of the ball, and our new defensive coordinator Billy McGovern has been afforded the opportunity to work with Spaz for many seasons now.

Spaz has been able to build up one of the best defenses in the country over the past decade and I think that brand equity has been huge on the recruiting trail. There are clearly some inherent disadvantages to college football recruiting at a school like BC or Duke, and I think the fact that Spaz has established BC as a very strong defensive team has been huge for the program in recruiting.

The other thing I would point to is BC’s recruiting pipelines. Like I said, a BC or a Duke isn’t going to recruit the best athletes on the defensive side of the ball, but BC has been able to establish some very nice pipelines that continue to bring in very good defensive players. The Cincinnati / Ohio pipeline is one that Tom O’Brien worked to establish in the early 2000s that is still paying off to this day. (That’s where BC found tackling machine and sophomore LB Luke Kuechly). I think BC’s annual game against a MAC opponent and the ties to Catholic high schools in the area have helped develop this pipeline, too.

As for whether or not the success is a result of personnel or scheme, I think it’s a bit of both. Spaz and the Eagles D employs a ‘bend-but-don’t-break’ mentality. They give up the short-yardage plays but rarely give up the HR play. Eventually, the offense is going to get tripped up on third downs and be forced to punt. It’s been successful for over a decade now, and has been the most successful against the run. The Eagles defenses continue to rank in the Top 25 (and Top 10 this year and the past few years) in rushing defense.

BDN: Duke and Boston College last met in 2006, which is the only time the teams have played since the 1920s, so these teams do not know each other well. What do you expect to see on Saturday from Duke and Boston College?

BCI: I pretty much expect a repeat of last Saturday’s BC performance. Establish the run and control the tempo of the game on offense with a heavy dose of Montel Harris. I don’t think OC Gary Tranquill will ask Chase Rettig to do too, too much, daring the Duke front seven to stop the run first.

I think BC will get a couple of touchdowns on the ground with Montel and will probably score some points on defense too (BC is tied with Florida for a nation-best 17 interceptions on the season). I think Duke will put up more points than Wake Forest did, but I don’t think it will come anywhere close to the point total you guys have put up against the bottom tier of the ACC (read: Wake Forest and Virginia). If pressed for a final score, I’ll say BC wins 31-20.