Category Archives: Duke Football

Duke Football

Stats Update: Conner Vernon has an Excellent Game but Turnovers Tell the Tale

Conner Vernon leads the ACC in Receptions per Game and Receiving Yards per Game
Sometimes statistics can be misleading while other times they concisely tell the tale. In Saturday's 35-21 loss to the Army Black Knights one needs to look no further than the five Blue Devil turnovers to understand the outcome. Sean Renfree threw interceptions on two of Duke's first three possessions, which resulted in the Cadets jumping all over the Blue Devils early and never looking back.

Duke lost fumbles on their first two possessions of the second half and Army pushed their lead to 35-7 by converting Duke’s turnovers into touchdowns. With five turnovers on Saturday, the Blue Devils saw their turnover plus/minus fall to minus four for the season, which is last in the ACC.

On the positive side, wide receiver Conner Vernon had eight receptions for 129 yards and a touchdown. Vernon has three touchdown receptions so far this season and all have been on receptions greater than 50 yards.

Vernon leads the ACC in Receiving Yards per Game (112.1) and Receptions per Game (7). Those numbers result in a national ranking of seven and 14 respectively. In post game comments, Coach Cutcliffe described Vernon as, “…one of the toughest young men that you will ever come across…he can be a great football player.”

As good a game as Vernon had, he was responsible for one of the turnovers when he fumbled while fighting for extra yards on a reception early in the second half.

Donovan Varner is tied for fourth in the ACC, with Florida State’s Bert Reed, in Receptions per game with 5.8, while Austin Kelly is number eight with 4.8 receptions per game. With three of the league’s top eight receivers, Duke’s receiving corps is living up to its reputation as the most talented in the ACC.

Sean Renfree's seven interceptions this season are troublesome; however, he still leads the ACC in Passing Yards per Game at 278.2 yards and he has thrown nine touchdowns. Renfree seemed to be a bit out of sync against Army so he needs to have a good week in practice and reacquire the razor sharp edge he has previously displayed.

Duke continues to display an ability to run the ball by rushing 24 times for 111 yards against the Black Knights. Duke is averaging 144.5 yards per game, on the season, which is ninth in the ACC and number 72 in the nation. Duke has rushed for over 100 yards in all four games this season after accomplishing the benchmark only once in 12 games in 2009. The one occurrence in 2009 was against FCS opponent North Carolina Central University.

This season Desmond Scott (277 yards), Josh Snead (158 yards) and Brandon Connette (118 yards) all have the potential to breakout on a long run. Their long runs on the season are 63, 27 and 48 yards, respectively.

On the defensive side of the ball true freshman linebacker Kelby Brown recorded six solo tackles and was credited with four assists for a total of 10 tackles. Senior Abraham Kromah was responsible for a total of 13 tackles with four being solo. Safeties Matt Daniels and Walt Canty were credited with nine and eight tackles respectively.

Kromah is tied for ninth in the ACC at 7.8 tackles per game while Daniels is tied for 12th with 7.5.

Two worrisome defensive statistical categories are Sacks and Tackles for Loss. Duke does not have a single player who breaks out amongst the 20 listed by the ACC in these two categories. Duke is tied with Boston College for last place in the ACC in sacks.

Here is how Duke stands in the ACC and NCAA in 10 statistical categories:

1. Total offense: dropped to number four in the ACC and number 38 in the nation. Offensive yardage dropped from 443.7 to 425.8 yards per game. Duke was number three and 27 last week.

2. Time of possession: dropped from number one in the ACC to number six as Army dominated this statistic. Duke's time of possession fell from 32 minutes and 27 to 29 minutes and 21 seconds per game.

3. Third down conversions: Duke was 1 - 8 on third down against Army, which lowered their success rate to 42.9% resulting in Duke falling to number six in the ACC and number 48 in the nation.

4. Red zone offense: Duke remains at 100 percent success in the red zone scoring nine touchdowns and four field goals in 13 opportunities.

5. First downs: fell from number one in the ACC to number three with 87 first downs. The Blue Devils have rushed for 29, passed for 52, and been awarded six via penalties. These numbers result in Duke falling from being tied with Notre Dame at number 16 in the nation last week to being number 37 this week.

6. Total defense: improved to number 11 in the ACC and number 110 in the nation as they decreased total yards allowed to 466.2 from 510.7 yards of offense per game.

7. Scoring defense: Duke remains last in the ACC giving up an average 44.5 points per game down from 47.7 points per game. Those numbers still rank number 118 in the nation. The 35 points given up to Army can be partially attributed to the Blue Devils turnover issues.

8. Opponent first downs: improved to number 11 in the ACC and number 106 in the nation by giving up 92 first downs. Opponents have rushed for 47, passed for 39 and been awarded six via penalty.

9. Red zone defense: Opponents have scored on Duke in 16 out of 18 red zone opportunities. Duke improved to being tied with Clemson for number nine in the ACC and number 91 in the nation.

10. Turnover margin: Last but definitely not least, Duke now has a minus four (-4) in turnover margin, which is last in the ACC and tied for number 100 in the nation. Last week the Blue Devils were ranked number five in the ACC and number 33 in the nation.

Turnover margin is the one statistic Duke must turn around in a hurry if they are to win ball games. Turnovers played a crucial role in the losses to Wake Forest and Army. Without the turnovers, Duke could arguably be sporting a 3-1 record. Teams cannot win ball games against an evenly matched opponent when they turn the ball over. Saturday's game against Maryland is a game the Blue Devils are capable of winning if they take care of the football and force the Terps to cough it up once or twice.

All statistics quoted in this article are from www.theacc.com and www.ncaa.com.

Duke Football

Sam Marshall will bolster Duke’s defensive front in 2011

Sam Marshall is a 6’8” 260 pound senior lineman from Fredericksburg, Virginia. He committed to the Blue Devils in July and recently returned to campus to take in the Alabama game. BDN checked in with the big defensive end prospect after his visit.

“Overall, the visit was good, particularly the atmosphere and the fans,” he told BDN about his visit. “It was a tough loss, but I still saw some good things.”

During his visit, Sam was able to catch up with Coach Roper, Coach Hobby, and Coach Cutcliffe. He told BDN the coaching staff and the prestige of a Duke education were the big selling points that led to his commitment. Though he plays both offense and defense in high school, the Blue Devils’ coaching staff intends to use Sam on defense, which was another important factor in his decision, as other schools were recruiting him as an offensive lineman. His height is likely to wreak havoc on opposing quarterbacks, which will be a welcome new dimension to the Duke defense. Before choosing the Blue Devils, Sam held offers from Virginia, North Carolina State, Marshall, Louisville, East Carolina, and Western Michigan.


Sam’s team at Chancellor High School has started off 2-1, though Sam missed the second game (a loss) with an ankle sprain. He said he’s back near 100% now, and is working on “getting stronger and faster and better in all areas” over the course of his senior year. So far, he’s recorded 6 tackles and a sack in two games.

In closing, Sam told BDN, “I’m excited to join the Duke program and help the team any way I can.”

Duke Basketball, Duke Football

BDN’s Monday Musings – Hoops starting, recruiting, KI and more

A Monday Musings tradition is our Cheerleader of the Week selection and it has been a hit amongst fans of BDN. Image by my pal Lance King

Good Morning Blue Devil Nation!  It's a rainy day here in the Triangle but that will not stop another edition of Monday Musings.

Basketball is here

When Duke has struggled in football there has been an on going blurb that hoops starts quicker in Durham than anywhere in the country.  Well, when you are the reigning national champion and have a long tradition of kicking butt on the hardwood, return Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler and add Kyrie Irving to the mix, the football team could be 4-0 and the excitement would still be there. 

Countdown to Craziness

You can get tickets to this cherished event by hitting up the Duke Box Office on October 6th and I expect tickets will go quickly.  The event itself is on October 15th and if it is anything like last years and we here it is, it'll knock your royal blue socks off.  I've been around the program for a very long time but I can honestly say that this is as relaxed you'll ever see the coaches and players.  It's a night to celebrate all things Duke but this year, you'll see the new national championship banner making it even better than last seasons event.  Extreme intimacy permeates Cameron Indoor Stadium and you'll be flush with royal blue leaving the event stoked for what should be another great season.

Recruiting continues

Duke will be in home with point guard Quinn Cook tonight and they've made their rounds of late.  We've listed attendees for CTC and talk of recruiting non stop on BDN Premium, so why not join our dedicated members and chat about the latest happenings.

Excitement surrounds the Women's team as well

We'll preview the Duke Women shortly and their is a ton of excitement surrounding the best recruiting class since Alana Beard and company.  This years team will be a mix of young and old and that should make for some exciting moments.  BDN supports the women and will even cover their recruiting in the future, a first among sites.

Football needs some breaks

Duke Football simply needs a few things to go their way on the field against Maryland this weekend where they open as 7.5 underdogs.  The Terps match up very well with this years team, so to win, Duke will have to cut down on those five turnovers against Army.  The Duke defense is rebuilding and the offense needs to take care of the ball and if the team can just get a couple of breaks their way, they can ride those and good things will start to happen.

Kyrie Irving

Well there has been little hype surrounding the New Jersey native these days.  Yeah, right.  It's the fact that Irving is a smoking point guard that has fans excited for he is the best they've had at the position since another Jersey native.  Still though, I think one should temper their expectations for there is a learning curve no matter how talented you are and Krzyzewski alluded to that in a recent press conference.

Pre Season Magazines

Duke is everybody's number one with the exception of TSN who tabs Michigan State, a  team that visits Cameron in December.  Don't be so harsh on Mike DeCourcey thought for he is just trying to be different and this has been their practice in the past when their is a consensus favorite.  There was a time when preview magazines were a big deal and fans would wait their arrival but times have changed thanks to the Internet.  I like a traditional hard copy on occasion but they increasingly come out so late that there is no news we do not know about in them.  Blue Ribbon is a great preview but I am not going to plunk down the bucks to read it when the season starts a week after it hits the stands.  The same goes for those glossy overpriced yearbooks where there is little information fanatical fans do not already know.  I see them more as collectibles these days and if I want to read a preview, I want to do it before Countdown for Craziness and not after.  I highly recommend the championship commemorative put out by Duke Planet though.  It's well worth the money and serves as a reminder to a magical season.  The rest is on line and articles of Duke Basketball are a dime a thousand these day, up a lot since they were a dime a dozen.

Duke Football

BDN’s Sunday Quarterback – Game Review and Thoughts

Photo - Lance King

It was one of those days for the Duke Football team this Saturday, one which the team, coaches and fans want to move on from as soon as possible.  BDN takes a look at yesterday's 35-21 loss to Army and we share some idle thoughts.

You cannot turn the ball over and win

Texas turned the ball over against UCLA yesterday and that helped the Bruins shock the nations fourth ranked team in their own backyard.  Duke turned the ball over five times to Army losing two of two fumbles and throwing three interceptions which all led to scores.   To make matters worse, Army lost three fumbles and recovered each and every one. The bottom line is that you simply cannot win the game shooting yourself in the foot with critical turnovers while the other team does the opposite.  "We have to play mistake free football to compete or win," said Duke Coach David Cutcliffe," and he's absolutely right about that. 

Growing pains for Sean Renfree

That early Army interception of Sean Renfree set up a quick 7-0 deficit for the Blue Devils and a hole they would never recover from.    It was a harbinger of things to come as Renfree had two more interceptions.  It took the second half before he found wideouts besides Conner Vernon and that was the first time we'd seen that kind of performance from him.   Chalk it up as his first tough lesson and remember he is not Thaddeus Lewis who started for four seasons and is now with the St. Louis Rams.  Renfree will learn on the go this season but there are few who doubts his abilities.

Youth is served

You could still mistake Duke freshman Kelby Brown as a high school student and many of the post game media had to ask him who he was.  Brown led the team with six solo tackles and he was in on four assists.  The Duke linebacker showed off what fans can look forward to in the future.  Brown was originally scheduled to redshirt in his first season but has been forced into action.  Leaving the post game press conference I spoke briefly to his parents asking his Dad if he thought the experience of playing as a freshman would lead to future leadership.  We'll have more on that this week. 

Who will step up on the defense?

The Duke defense has struggled early on yet showed better against Army.  One of these kids needs to take on a leadership role.  In short, Duke needs playmakers, guys who create their own breaks.  Duke is sorely missing the big O's on the defensive line, Vinnie Rey behind them and Leon Wright. 

The talked about punt

Duke elected to punt the ball with just under ten minutes to go in the fourth quarter, down 35-21.  It brought about a for the first time, a few boo birds and I pondered the choice myself.  But then you have to think about the fact that the defense had actually played it's best game of the season and that they had to deal with the five aforementioned turnovers and a short field all day long.  Add to that the fact that Duke was struggling moving the ball and Renfree had just thrown three incompletions.  Mix the ingredients and I think Cutcliffe made the right choice.  Had Duke failed to pick up a first down, the Duke defenders who were on the field all day from the lack of offensive continuity would have suffered again and why break that units confidence? 

Next up Maryland

This isn't an ideal match up for Duke in that Coach Friedgen is fighting to keep his job and he has his Terp's off to a 3-1 start.  They are chomping at the bit for revenge from last seasons 17-13 Duke win and want win number four which could set up the kind of season that is needed to save his job.  In order for Duke to compete in this game, I give way to Coach Cut's theory on turnovers and this years squad.

Be patient

Duke fan must show patience with this young team for things will get better but it may be tough  getting there at times.  Duke is rebuilding this season and trying not to burn more redshirts which are critical to long term success.  If they hang in there and we do the same, eventually some good things will happen.  There is talent on this team that simply needs to come together.  We'll see how the team looks when a couple of early breaks go there way and opponents begin to overlook them.