When Duke takes the field tonight for the Belk Bowl, the team will face a challenge against co-Big East champion Cincinnati (9-3, 5-2 in the Big East), which came into the season with high expectations.
The Blue Devils (6-6, 3-5 in the ACC), who have lost their last four contests, two of which came against ranked opponents, will need to regain some of their early season momentum to beat a Bearcat squad whose three losses were by seven points or fewer.
Although Cincinnati has proven to be effective against the vast majority of its opponents, the Bearcats have fallen to the two ranked teams they played this season in Louisville and Rutgers.
Against Virginia Tech, the only common opponent between Duke and Cincinnati, the Bearcats narrowly overcame a seesaw fourth quarter with a last-minute touchdown to earn a 27-24 victory. The Blue Devils fell to the Hokies 41-20 in a largely one-sided defeat after Duke put up 20 points in the first quarter.
Understanding the quality of Duke’s opponent in the team’s first bowl appearance in 18 years, head coach David Cutcliffe has looked at this game to be a defining moment for the Blue Devils this season.
“They certainly proved to be a very challenging opponent, but what a great opportunity for our team,” Cutcliffe said in a Dec. 7 Belk Bowl press conferece in Charlotte.
But the sidelines will look much different for the Bearcats this week. Head coach Butch Jones resigned Dec. 7 to fill the head coaching position at Tennessee. Cincinnati has since hired Texas Tech head coach Tommy Tuberville, who will not coach in the Belk Bowl, leaving the remaining members of the coaching staff to coach the game against Duke.
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Before resigning from his position, Jones spoke about the matchup with the Blue Devils as a highly contentious game.
“They’re a very good team from the ACC so it’s going to be a good challenge, a good test,” Jones said in a Dec. 4 press conference. “I think it’s going to be similar to the same situation last year when we faced Vanderbilt. You know, a program that was coming into the bowl game with a lot of momentum, a lot of energy, and I expect the same from Duke.”
Cincinnati has relied, similarly to Duke, on their experience to earn its nine wins this season. Senior Brendon Kay replaced starting quarterback Munchie Legaux late in the season and has been the starter for the last four games, leading the team to a 3-1 record.
In those games, Kay had a completion percentage of 61.9 percent and averaged 8.6 yards per attempt with six touchdowns and two interceptions. The main target of the Bearcat aerial attack has been senior Travis Kelce, who has recorded 40 catches, averaging 15 yards per reception with seven touchdowns.
Cutcliffe was keen to praise the recent revival of Cincinnati’s offense under Kay’s control.
“They’ve got a lot of the right pieces of the puzzle,” he said. “They’ve got a quarterback here late that’s come in late and played real well for them and kind of gotten them back on track where there may have been.”
While the passing game was inconsistent throughout the season, the rushing attack has been a constant strength for Cincinnati, mostly due to the play of senior running back George Winn, who carried the ball 227 times averaging 5.3 yards per carry with 12 touchdowns.
Cincinnati has been strong on defense throughout the season even as the offense wavered because of quarterback inconsistency. The Bearcats rank No. 12 in FBS in points against average, allowing 17.2 points per game from opposing offenses. The key for the Blue Devils on the offensive side of the ball will be scoring on a stingy Cincinnati defense that may give up yardage but finds a way to keep opponent scoring at a minimum.
“They’ve always been just a very aggressive get after you defensive football team,” Cutcliffe said. “They’ve got people up front. They’ve got speed in the back end, and they’ve got threats on offense.”
Cutcliffe understands the challenge that Cincinnati presents as a football team.
“It’s a team that probably plays a lot like we do. I think they play really hard,” he said.
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