Following the toughest loss of its season last week against North Carolina, Duke looks to bounce back tomorrow against the ACC’s top team in No. 7 Georgia Tech.
The Blue Devils (5-4, 3-2 in the ACC) enter this week’s matchup still hoping to become bowl eligible with two more wins. However, as large underdogs, pulling off the upset against the Yellow Jackets (9-1, 6-1) will prove to be a difficult task. Georgia Tech enters this week sporting the best offense in the conference, averaging 34.7 points a game.
Still, Duke has an advantage playing at home in Wallace Wade Stadium, where the team has performed well all year. The last time a top-10 opponent came to Durham in the form of then-No. 6 Virginia Tech, the Blue Devils managed to hang tough the entire game and only lose by a single score.
Head coach David Cutcliffe remains optimistic about his team’s chances in its toughest matchup of the year.
“It’s one of those great challenges,” Cutcliffe said. “But it comes down, like it always does, to players making plays.”
The big question on the table for Duke will be its ability to stop Georgia Tech on the defensive end. The Yellow Jackets come into Saturday’s game with the nation’s top-ranked rushing offense, averaging 314.9 yards a game. They also lead the country in rushing touchdowns with 36.
Combine that with last week’s abysmal performance stopping the run and Duke could be in for a long game. Last week, Tar Heel backup running back Ryan Houston rushed for 164 yards on 37 carries, averaging an embarrassing 4.4 yards per carry. A similar performance against an even more experienced rushing team like Georgia Tech could have disastrous results for the Blue Devils.
Offensively, Duke will also need a significantly better performance than against North Carolina, in which the team was held to a pair of field goals. The ground game—which has been the weak spot for the Blue Devils all year—was held to 12 total yards, while senior Thaddeus Lewis threw for 113 yards. For Duke to win Saturday, the running game will need to improve to open up passing lanes for Lewis. Fortunately, Georgia Tech’s defense is not as strong as North Carolina’s, as the Tar Heels boast the conference’s top-rated defense. The Yellow Jackets come in with a middle-of-the-pack rushing defense, but an unimpressive passing defense, ranked 10th in the conference.
Georgia Tech’s suspect pass defense may play right into Duke’s strength as a predominantly passing offense. It will allow Lewis to take more control of the game and relax more in the pocket than last week. If Lewis can pull out the kind of game he did against the weak pass defense of N.C. State, in which he threw for 459 yards and five touchdowns, the Blue Devils could have a big game.
Cutcliffe reiterated that the game will be a shootout in which both defenses will have trouble.
“They have the same issues [on defense],” Cutcliffe said. “We put the ball and spray the ball all over the place and run screens and do this and that. And if they don’t execute and play their techniques to their full capabilities, we’re going to bust some big plays, so it comes down to the execution on Saturday.”
The bottom line for Duke is that this matchup against Georgia Tech might as well be a must-win if they want any shot at a bowl game. Next week is a road game against No. 14 Miami, a game which will be equally challenging, plus the added pressure of playing on the road. To play in the postseason, the Blue Devils will need to take down one of these two ranked opponents, in addition to winning their season finale against Wake Forest on Nov. 28.
As for Saturday, the game holds many big questions for Duke. If the defense can hold Georgia Tech to a respectable number of yards, and if the offense can come through, there may be a chance. If either unit doesn’t perform, then Saturday will be another long game at Wallace Wade, and the Blue Devils can say goodbye to the possibility of going bowling.
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