An 0-3 start. 14 turnovers. Is Duke football ‘close’ to turning a corner?
Duke football coach David Cutcliffe is always quick with a quote and pulled out another one Monday:
“You can come back from the deepest pit whenever you put your mind to it, if you go out and prepare well.”
Being 0-3 may not the deepest of pits but for the Blue Devils but it is a deep one. And with Virginia Tech coming to Durham this week with a roster that might be expanded from its season opener against N.C. State, the Blue Devils must prepare thoroughly and well.
The Hokies had 23 players and two assistant coaches held out of Saturday’s game in Blacksburg and still ripped the Wolfpack 45-24. At a time when COVID-19 is causing weekly disruptions and coaches have added anxiety — “You don’t sleep,” Cutlciffe said — that was a most impressive effort.
“They’ve got a lot of talent and a lot of returning players,” Cutcliffe said of the Hokies. “They’ve got outstanding players and those players went out there and did what they do and they did it very well. It was an outstanding win under any circumstances.
“I expect everyone to be available but that’s not the concern. More importantly right now we’ve got to focus what we’ve got to do better to get ourselves ready to play better.”
Duke needs to protect the football
No team in the NCAA’s Football Bowl Subdivision has more than Duke’s 14 turnovers or a worse turnover margin (minus-9). Half of the turnovers came this past weekend in the Blue Devils’ 38-20 loss at Virginia and the total now stands at seven lost fumbles and seven interceptions.
Protecting the ball is a priority. So is finishing blocks and finishing plays. And games.
But for Cutcliffe, to turn the corner and “get on the other side the ledger,” as he put it, a lot must be done on the practice field this week. Things must be done faster, with more purpose.
“They’re willing to work and we have some talent,” he said. “We need a little good fortune but we’ve got to create that.
“You may not believe this but we’re close. We’re certainly not going to lose hope. We’re not going to run from the challenge. We’re going to run to it and we’re going to be prepared to play Virginia Tech.”
Is Chase Brice still the Blue Devils’ best option at QB?
Chase Brice, the quarterback transfer from Clemson, has started the first three games. How about the fourth? Is a change coming?
Odds are, Cutcliffe will stick with the redshirt junior as his best option even after giving quarterbacks Gunnar Holmberg and Chris Katrenick looks late in Saturday’s game.
Brice’s numbers after three weeks are pedestrian at best: 240.7 yards a game passing with a 51.3 percent completion rate, two touchdowns and six picks. His 99.3 passing efficiency ranks 61st nationally.
Brice did throw his first TD passes of the season in the Virginia game, finding tight end Jake Marwede open for a 55-yard score and later hitting Noah Gray for an 8-yard score that gave Duke a 20-17 lead.
Cutcliffe said he met with the offense Sunday and they reviewed 50 video clips, assessing everything.
“They all saw what I saw,” he said. “You have to finish. You have to finish every route. You have to finish every detail as quarterback. ... That one position can make 10 people right.”
Emphasis on continued conditioning
Cutcliffe has mentioned at times that fatigue has been an issue in the early games, especially when the defense has had to stay on the field too long or been thrown into fast-change situations. Case in point: the second and fourth quarters of the Virginia game.
Better offensive efficiency will help but Cutcliffe said some changes may be needed in conditioning and practice planning — for everyone.
“We’re going to have to do some of the practice schedule as if COVID never happened,” he said. “We need to do things that we know are tried and proven in the past. You take a risk. it’s going to be more physical, going to be little bit more taxing.
“We’ve done some running (and) conditioning but what I’ve told our coaches is that we have to condition every minute, every drill in practice. Coaching on the run. The energy level is at its highest peak and we can play four quarters of football at a level we’re capable of playing.”
One more Cutcliffe quote probably best summed up Duke’s plan this week: “If you don’t like what you’re getting, then change what you’re doing.”
Virginia Tech at Duke
When: 4 p.m., Saturday
Where: Wallace Wade Stadium, Durham
Watch: ACC Network
This story was originally published September 29, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
