Duke football: 5 ways to finish with winning season

Duke football was able to get its very first win of the season against Syracuse this past weekend 38-24. Can Duke turn its season around and finish with a with a winning record? Here are five ways they can accomplish that. Running Game Mataeo Durant and Deon Jackson helped Duke get that win last week and were the stars of the game. Jackson and Durant combined for a total of 332 rushing yards last week. They won’t be able to do that every week, but Duke clearly had a plan to run the ball, and it worked. Duke has been trying to get that part of its game to work, and it finally broke through last week. The Blue Devils need to

Duke football: Running game leads to first win

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Duke football was finally able to get a running game going for the first time this season. Mataeo Durant and Deon Jackson didn’t just run well, they both had career performances. Duke was able to beat Syracuse this past Saturday and win 38-24. Running game Durant and Jackson both played an outstanding game against Syracuse to help Duke get its first win of the season. Jackson had 125 rushing yards in the first half alone, while Durant ran for 102 with one touchdown. Duke finished with 247 rushing yards in the first half. I’ve been saying for weeks Duke had to find a way to get its running game going, and it finally broke through. This was a good morale booster and something

Duke football vs. Syracuse preview

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Duke football is still trying to get its first win of the season. This week it is matching up against Syracuse. Duke Offense Chase Brice played well last week, and he’ll have to keep it up if Duke is going to win this season. For the offense to perform well, it starts with him. Brice must prove he can be a leader for this team and lead his team to victory, or Duke will have to find someone else next year. Mataeo Durant and Deon Jackson both played well. A couple of weeks ago, I said Duke should give Durant more carries. Duke has increased Durant’s carries since then, and it seems to have paid off. Duke Defense This defense showed up again this

Will Duke football win a game this season?

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Will Duke football win a game this season? That is the question fans have on their minds. The Blue Devils are (0-4) and will be matching up against Syracuse (1-2) this weekend. Turnovers Duke has been all over the place this year whether it's turning over the ball or benching Chase Brice toward the end of the Virginia game. Despite showing some improvement, it is still hard to be optimistic. Duke has 15 turnovers so far this season, and it will need to cut that down immediately. Duke needs to score more touchdowns than it has turnovers if it is going to save this season. The Blue Devils showed improvement by winning the turnover battle against Virginia Tech this past weekend. Now let’s

Duke football: Chase Brice shows improvement

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Duke football lost to Virginia Tech 38-31 and fell to 0-4. However, Clemson transfer quarterback Chase Brice showed improvement, and most importantly took care of the ball for the most part. Chase Brice Brice only turned the ball over once after last week’s abysmal four-interception game against Virginia. Brice performed well if this game and if he continues to improve, Duke might win some games this year. He didn't force a lot of throws like he did the past two weeks. He threw for 271 yards and one touchdown. There will still be doubts, but this was a step in the right direction. Not just for Duke in general, but for Brice to save his job as well. It was a team loss,

Duke football vs. Virginia Tech preview

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Duke football (0-3) will be matching up against Virginia Tech (1-0) this Saturday. Here is how these teams stack up against each other. Duke Offense The Blue Devils' offense has to pick things up this week if it is going to have a shot to beat Virginia Tech this weekend, and it all starts with Chase Brice at quarterback. Brice will try to recover from his four-interception game he had last week against Virginia. Duke needs to run the ball more efficiently. Its offensive line needs to create gaps so Deon Jackson and Mataeo Durant can reach the second level and do some damage. Duke’s offense will struggle again, but Brice has to work on creating good chemistry with his wide receivers

Duke football: Who is the starting quarterback?

Will Chase Brice be the starting quarterback for Duke football in its game against Virginia Tech on Saturday? We’ll have to see what head coach David Cutcliffe decides this weekend. Who will be the quarterback? I still think it’ll be Brice at quarterback this weekend for Duke. He’s turned over the ball seven times in the past two games, and he needs to do something to change it. He needs to throw the ball away when under pressure or if nothing is there. I would much rather see Duke punt the ball than watch opponents start their offensive drives on Duke’s side of the field. If the offensive line could set up some gaps for the running game to go through, it can

Chase Brice benched as Duke football falls to 0-3

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Duke football quarterback Chase Brice was benched this past weekend after throwing four interceptions against Virginia in a 38-20 loss. Brice couldn’t take care of the ball, and he needs to fix this immediately. Head coach David Cutcliffe has to tell him to not try and make it up all in one play. Brice played well in the first half despite the Blue Devils trailing 17-10 at halftime. Duke even took the lead with just over five minutes left in the third quarter, but the turnovers in the second half resulted in them losing the game. Ball security How did Duke’s ball security manage to get worse this week? Brice looked lost out there along with the rest of the team. Duke once

Duke Football vs. Virginia preview

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Duke football will be playing the Virginia Cavaliers this Saturday in what will be Virginia’s first game of the season. Let's break down the matchup followed a game prediction. Duke Offense Duke struggled last week against Boston College. The main concern, which was likely the point of emphasis in this week’s practice, ball security. Duke had five turnovers in that game, including two in the red zone, which is what cost the Blue Devils the game. Duke must rely and commit to its run game more. I see Duke begin the game with a balanced offense and then in the second half, it doesn't nearly run it as much as I would like to see them do so. That results in the

Duke Football: Mataeo Durant needs more carries

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Mataeo Durant had five carries for 59 yards and one score for Duke football in its loss to Boston College this past weekend. Here's a breakdown of why he needs more carries on Saturday against Virginia. Averages more yards Durant’s rushing yards may be less than Deon Jackson’s per game, but with enough carries he can make a major impact for the Blue Devils each week. In the game against Boston College, he scored Duke’s lone touchdown with a 49-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. After that, he was hardly used for the rest of the game. I thought that was interesting, because you have a player that just made an explosive play, then he is rarely used after that. It just