Last time Duke took the field, senior quarterback Thaddeus Lewis led the Blue Devils to a 21-point road victory over ACC opponent N.C. State. Lewis earned ACC Offensive Player of the Week honors thanks to his 450-plus passing yards and six total touchdowns.
Duke (3-3, 1-1 in the ACC) looks to carry that momentum through its bye week when it faces a struggling Maryland team (2-5, 1-2). The Terrapins are coming off back-to-back conference losses against Wake Forest and Virginia. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium.
Although Maryland is off to a slow start this season, the Blue Devils know that this will be a hard-fought game.
“Maryland is a great team,” senior running back Re’quan Boyette said. “They have a lot of athletes, and a lot of talent on defense.”
The Terrapins’ best playmaker is sophomore wide receiver Torrey Smith. The 6-foot-1 Smith is a dynamic receiver and kick returner who has scored five touchdowns in Maryland’s last six games. Senior cornerback Leon Wright and the rest of the secondary will look to contain Smith Saturday.
On the other side of the ball, the Terrapins pride themselves on rushing the passer. Maryland’s defense has racked up 20 sacks thus far, which is the most in the ACC and 17th in the country.
“They lead the ACC in sacks for a reason,” Blue Devils’ head coach David Cutcliffe said. “This will be a war in pass protection.”
Lewis is coming off a career day, but if Duke’s offensive line cannot protect him, he could have a difficult game. Virginia Tech and Kansas were the only teams to sack Lewis more than twice, and the Blue Devils lost both of those games. The offensive line has shown much improvement in the last three weeks, and if it continues to do so then Lewis could have another big game.
“Offensively, we seemed to be calling plays and [executing] plays that our team is good at,” tight end Brett Huffman said. “We weren’t forcing things. Hopefully we will continue that Saturday.”
Lewis has three consecutive games with multiple touchdowns and no interceptions, and if he can extend that streak, the Blue Devils have a good chance of improving to 2-1 in ACC play. Maryland is the only ACC team that Lewis has not faced in his time as the Duke quarterback.
The last time these two teams met was September 25th, 2004. Maryland beat Duke 55-21 that day thanks to a three-touchdown performance from tight end Vernon Davis, who ended up being selected sixth overall in the NFL Draft.
The Terrapins have fallen on hard times, though, beating Clemson but losing to all other FBS competition. They even lost to Middle Tennessee State in their third game.
“All [our players] know is that Maryland has had a difficult start.” Cutcliffe said.
Cutcliffe also said during his Tuesday press conference that he thinks it benefits Duke that it had a bye week before this contest. He believes that the extra week spent watching tape and scouting Maryland could prove helpful in exploiting matchups in Duke’s favor.
The Blue Devils’ rotation at running back is still not at full strength. Sophomore Jay Hollingsworth is recovered from an knee injury, which has sidelined him since the Kansas game, but Boyette is hurt and will not play this week. Hollingsworth, who ran well against the Jayhawks, averaging four yards a carry, will be accompanied in the running back committee by freshman Desmond Scott, who figures to see plenty of action Saturday.
If Duke can win Saturday, it will mark the first season since 2003 that it has won multiple conference games, but the team has higher hopes than that. Cutcliffe has spoken since the preseason of reaching a bowl game for the first time since 1994, and a win Saturday would go a long way toward that goal.
“Both teams should be pretty hungry for a win,” Cutcliffe said. “It should make for a good football game.”
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