The Blue Devils are coming off a season saving win over Notre Dame as they seek to ride that momentum to a win over Virginia.  Duke will be facing a team that has improved as the season has progressed and one that can put points on the board.  In fact, a season ago, the Cavaliers blistered the Duke defense for 42 points.

In last seasons loss, Duke came out flat as a pancake.  They simply cannot afford to do so tomorrow.  There are challenges as well in that the injury bug as been brutal of late.  Already, two team captains in Thomas Sirk and DeVon Edwards are out for the year  Then came the news this week that Tinashe Bere would join them and starting running back Jela Duncan would sit as well.

The aforementioned losses limit Duke more in what they can do. That  means pressure on the Blue Devils freshman quarterback Daniel Jones and the defense on the whole.  What Duke showed in the win over the Irish, was that this is a more talented team, albeit young at many positions.

To lead Duke to a Homecoming Day win, the Blue Devils will need Jones to be his best.  They will also need to continue to have success running the ball which opens their offense up.  Defensively, Duke needs to remain aggressive and watch out for big play threats on the corners.  This is a game where a veteran secondary needs to show up early and often.

It would seem that the signs point to this being a high scoring and competitive game.  Virginia had won 17 of 19 games between 1989-2007.  Once Cutcliffe arrived, Duke has gone 6-2.  It is worth noting that Virginia is coached by a personal friend of Cutcliffe in first year coach Bronco Mendenhall.

I feel Duke knows it has to be aggressive in this game on offense.  I think the defense will bend but not break,  Look for Duke to keep their momentum and win their first ACC game 35-24.