Duke football will be playing Boston College this weekend trying to get its first win of the season following last week’s loss to Notre Dame. Here are five ways Duke can beat Boston College this weekend.
Red zone improvement
Duke’s offense went 1-for-3 on red zone opportunities last week, something it will look to improve on. If Duke wants to have a winning season, it must punch it into the end zone more often. To improve this, Duke must be consistent with its play. Only three of the Blue Devils’ 12 total offensive drives ended in points, while everything else was a punt or a turnover.
Running Game
Duke only had 73 rushing yards the entire game against Notre Dame. To win time of possession and open up the passing game, Duke needs to run the ball better. The Blue Devils cannot give up on the run if they fall behind. Every football team needs a good consistent run game to be successful on the offensive side of the ball. Mataeo Durant and Deon Jackson couldn’tfind any room to run last week. Hopefully, the gaps will be there against Boston College.
Running Defense
Duke won’t be playing against Kyren Williams this week, but that doesn’t mean its run defense should be content with its performance. Duke allowed 178 rushing yards last week. Doing that basically erased the shaky performance Ian Book had. They’ll be playing against David Bailey, who averaged 5.7 yards per carry last year and will have to stop him to give the offense a chance to put up more points this week.
Passing Game
Chase Brice scored Duke’s lone touchdown of the game and threw for 259 yards. There are things he can improve on, but he was playing against a top team in Notre Dame understandably. Brice is going to make or break the Blue Devils’ season and he’ll have to find ways to get more touchdowns like he did this past Saturday. As the Blue Devils fell behind, Brice started to force some things. While he didn’t throw an interception, some of those throws were close to being one.
Picking up the pace
During the game I noticed Duke was at its best when it frequently went to the no huddle or hurry up offense. The Blue Devils don’t want to do this all the time because the defense will adjust. However, doing this make the defense gassed and can lead to key late game scores and will lead them to a win. Boston College won’t be able to make substitutions and its defense will often look scrambled during the game.
The Blue Devils are projected to win this game, but Boston College is no pushover. While I didn’t mention time of possession in this week’s list, it is still important and something Duke can improve on.
