Duke football has hit ‘rock bottom’ but the Blue Devils can still accomplish one goal
Coming off a poor performance, and with a winning season no longer possible, Duke used its open week practices last week to fix foundational issues.
Blue Devils coach David Cutcliffe used the term “rock bottom” following his team’s 56-24 loss to North Carolina on Nov. 7 at Wallace Wade Stadium.
Duke (2-6 overall, 1-6 ACC) looked and played like it had no business being in the same league as the Tar Heels, who scored 21 first-quarter points and built a 42-10 halftime lead.
The Blue Devils lost 20-17 at UNC last year and had beaten the Tar Heels in their three previous meetings. The lack of competitiveness in this year’s game bothered Cutcliffe and it was a point of discussion when the team met last week.
“I addressed some of the things which are just not a part of our program — the way we play, the way we compete,” Cutcliffe said. “Showed enough tape of when we do compete how well we play. So you take that balance. You take the challenge, and we certainly had captains and players challenge teammates.”
Specifically, Duke’s inability to succeed at the line of scrimmage on offense and defense was addressed. So, too, was Duke’s struggles in the defensive secondary as UNC amassed 573 yards of total offense.
“We didn’t win the battle in the trenches,” Cutcliffe said. “We did not win the battle, in that game, on the back end. You have to address that on the practice field. It’s not something you just talk about. I believe this team has done that.”
Duke’s next opponent is Wake Forest, which comes to Wallace Wade Stadium for a noon game on Saturday. But the Blue Devils didn’t work on much of their game plan for the Demon Deacons’ during an open week, instead using those practices to fix their own issues.
Cutcliffe had Duke’s first-team offense go against the first-team defense in what he said were far more physical practices than normal this time of the season. That type of practice increases risk for injuries, but Cutcliffe said the team was able to improve without anyone getting hurt.
“We felt like we needed to address things on both lines of scrimmage,” Cutcliffe said. “We got better. We have to get better.”
The defense will certainly be challenged against Wake Forest, just as it was against UNC. The Demon Deacons lost a 59-53 shootout to the Tar Heels last Saturday at Kenan Stadium and are third in the ACC in scoring, trailing only Clemson (45.4) and UNC (43.1), averaging 39.9 points per game.
Wake Forest (4-3, 3-3) has yet to throw an interception this season and is No. 3 in the ACC in passing yards per game at 271.7.
Duke is down three starting defensive backs as injuries have sidelined cornerbacks Mark Gilbert and Josh Blackwell, along with safety Lummie Young for the season.
The winning season Duke had as a goal is not possible with only three games left, but beating Wake Forest for the first time since 2017 — and erasing the feeling of getting run over by UNC — is still obtainable. Cutcliffe has seen reason to be hopeful his team can accomplish that.
“We’ve got to take what we’re doing on the practice field and take it to the game field,” Cutclife said. “Big challenge but I believe this team will give everything it’s got to be prepared to play Saturday to face a really outstanding Wake Forest team.”