The Duke Blue Devils are set to open their season later today against cross town rival North Carolina Central.  Here are some random thoughts before kickoff -

- Duke will unveil a new press box, although it is not yet complete on the inside.  There will be many signs of changes for fans attending the game, but expect some unfinished areas to be talked about as well.  It's important for fans to exude patience as finishing touches are still a year away.

- Enter Daniel Jones as the new quarterback.  With Thomas Sirk having surgery and a season ending injury, Jones gets his first start at quarterback.  The first thing I noticed when talking with Jones in the pre season was how young he was.  The redshirt freshman just turned 19 years old in May of this year.  He's long and lanky and has the tools to succeed.  Still, how will he fare with all the cameras on him in the endzone when the ball is on the goal line or when pressured with defensive looks.  It will be more than a little interesting to see how he develops and more importantly leads his team.

- There are lots of new faces for Duke this season on the sidelines and the field.  The Blue Devils have their least seasoned staff since David Cutcliffe took over, so chemistry will be something to watch.  Duke will also play up to eight true freshman.  Having been around Cutcliffe since he arrived in Durham, I can read him pretty well.  It was clear to me that he was excited about this years class and their ability to help the team right away.

- The team cannot and will not look past the NCCU game, but as fans or media, we can.  Two Duke future opponents showed they have good defenses.  While next week's opponent Wake won a rather boring 7-3 game over Tulane, their defense was stout.  And then there is Army, a 14 point underdog who handled Temple on the road by dominating the second half with defense and garnering three interceptions.

- It's hard to prognosticate today's game, but Duke should win easily.  Cutcliffe will likely use all three quarterbacks by days end, but I in no way expect the offense to show their hand in this contest.  They will save some of their plays for an important conference game with Wake Forest next week.  I do think we'll see a strong dose of the running game today and a lot of young defensive lineman being developed.  With that said,  see you in Wally World this evening.