David Cutcliffe took Duke to places fans could only dream of, but 2019 is a nightmare
David Cutcliffe admitted he had nothing new to say after Duke’s latest football loss because, frankly, it was another example of things continuing as they are.
“It’s the same things,” he said with a shrug.
That’s about the worst thing that could happen for the Blue Devils. Stuck in a downward spiral players and coaches are unable to pull out of, Duke is free-falling toward a merciful end to this season only six days away.
Saturday night’s 39-27 loss to Wake Forest, in which Duke’s offense once again gave the ball away (three turnovers) while failing to gain 300 yards, saw the malaise spread to a once-proud defense.
On a cold night where heavy rain fell throughout the first half, Wake Forest gained 618 yards of offense. That included a punishing 334 rushing yards as the Blue Devils pursued slowly and tackled poorly.
“We can’t tackle like that and win,” Cutcliffe bluntly said.
No team this season — not Alabama, not Notre Dame, not anyone — has gained more yards against Duke or averaged more yards per play (6.18) than Wake Forest.
That 45-10 win over Virginia Tech, when Duke held the Hokies to 259 yards on Tech’s home field Sept. 27, feels more and more like a mirage. No way that really happened, right?
It did, but instead of building on what could have been the type of win that propels a team to greatness, the Blue Devils regressed to a team that can do little right.
Cutcliffe and his staff have tried to make moves to steer out of the ditch as Duke’s losing streak has stretched to five games.
Some haven’t worked, like the ill-fated decision to have Deon Jackson throw a halfback option pass on the goal line that UNC intercepted in the final seconds to preserve a 20-17 rivalry win. That proved to be a gut-punch from which the Blue Devils haven’t recovered.
A few weeks ago, Cutcliffe saw a punchless kickoff return team in need of someone to grab the ball and run with authority. He decided to give redshirt sophomore wide receiver Damond Philyaw-Johnson a chance.
“Every great kickoff return man I’ve been around and we’ve had,” Cutcliffe said, “you hit it. You hit it 21, 22, 23 miles an hour by the time you hit the 20-yard line. He has that ability.”
Saturday night, Philyaw-Johnson provided a historic jolt for the Blue Devils by returning not one, but two kickoffs for touchdowns. No player in Duke history had ever returned two kicks for touchdowns in a game and, in ACC history, only Clemson’s Justin Miller, in 2004 against Florida State, had accomplished the feat.
It’s only the 25th time in NCAA history a player has returned two kicks for scores. No one has ever done it three times.
It’s the kind of thing that can lift a struggling team out of its doldrums. Two special teams touchdowns? That’s normally a recipe for a win.
But not for Duke. Not this season.
The Blue Devils’ offense damaged its chances by fumbling five times, recovering three. Quarterback Quentin Harris threw his 11th interception in 11 games.
On third downs, Duke converted only 1 of 11 . Duke’s season average on third-down conversions has sunk to 33 percent, 12th in the ACC.
One of the teams below the Blue Devils is Miami, with a league-worst 27.1 percent.
The Hurricanes come to Wallace Wade Stadium on Saturday for the regular-season finale. They lost to Florida International, 30-24, on Saturday night, yet another pockmark on an ugly football season for the ACC.
Still, Miami (6-5) is going to a bowl no matter what happens against Duke.
The Blue Devils (4-7) technically have a chance to go to a bowl game with a win. Duke’s superior Academic Progress Rate puts it in line to be available for bowl selection if it can reach five wins and if a 5-7 team is needed because there aren’t enough teams with six or more wins to fill out the bowl slots.
But let’s face it, this Duke team looks nothing like one that would perform well in a bowl or in any game against any opponent. It hasn’t looked good since early October and there are no signs of a sudden turnaround.
Duke is already assured of its first losing season since 2016. That’s the only season in the last seven the Blue Devils failed to go bowling. This is only Duke’s second losing season in seven years.
The task at hand now is for Duke’s staff to not let this season’s failures spread beyond this campaign.
Cutcliffe has brought Duke to places its football fans could only dream about 10 years ago, but the answers to fix this season’s problems haven’t been found.
And they can’t be allowed to remain as Duke moves past this forgettable season and looks toward 2020.
This story was originally published November 24, 2019 at 11:12 AM.