Despite the fact that Wake Forest has won every matchup with the Blue Devils since 2000, the rivalry is not as one-sided as it might appear. More than half of the Demon Deacon victories have come by less than a touchdown, including four of their last five. This year, both coaches expect the trend of tightly contested matchups to continue.
“It will be a battle on Saturday,” Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe said. “Almost every time we have played, it’s been a fourth-quarter battle. So we have to expect that, and I think our players do. They know they are in for a fight.”
If past performance is any indicator, Saturday’s matchup should also produce a high-scoring finish, the hallmark for this rivalry in recent years. Since 2008, Cutcliffe’s first season at Duke, the two teams have combined for point totals of 63, 79 and 102.
“Anyone that doesn’t want to go to this game is nuts,” Duke head coach David Cutcliffe said. “You don’t know what you’re going to see.”
While Cutcliffe believes the Blue Devils (3-3, 1-1 in the ACC) will be facing the best Wake Forest team since his arrival at Duke, he is not worried about his team being overmatched against an opponent that beat Florida State, which routed the Blue Devils last weekend.
“We got a challenge,” Cutcliffe said. “We are similar in a lot of areas. It’s going to come down to execution.”
Faulty execution, especially on the defensive end, is exactly what plagued the Blue Devils in last week’s loss to the Seminoles. A lack of discipline across the entire defense allowed three passing plays to go for 50 yards or more, and six plays resulted in 214 of the 310 yards Florida State’s offense gained in the first half.
“There are just little things we could have done better to slow their offense,” sophomore linebacker Kelby Brown said. “It was just a few inches here and there.”
The Blue Devils will need to correct their mistakes in order to neutralize the big play potential of the Demon Deacons (4-2, 3-1), especially speedy wide receiver Chris Givens. The junior leads the ACC in receiving yards and is tied with Duke’s Conner Vernon for third in the conference in receptions. Givens burned the Blue Devils last year, racking up 159 yards on only four catches.
“He’s probably one of the best receivers we’re going to see this year—extremely quick and extremely fast,” sophomore cornerback Ross Cockrell said. “We have to be aware of where he is at all times.”
On offense, Duke will continue to rely on its passing game. The Blue Devils are banged up at the running back position, and will start senior backup Jay Hollingsworth. Junior Conner Vernon and senior Donovan Varner, who have combined for the fourth-most ACC career receptions record for a pair of teammates, will once again be the focal point of Duke’s passing attack.
Vernon, who is having what Cutcliffe called “an All-American year,” may receive more targets from redshirt junior quarterback Sean Renfree if Varner, who is listed as questionable with a leg injury, cannot play. But with Renfree averaging over 38 passing attempts per game, Vernon figures to get plenty of looks whether or not the senior plays.
“I don’t think you could throw it much more than we are,” Cutcliffe said. “I’m waiting to see one of those special games again that we can have at Duke with our offense. I’d love to see us explode this week. It would be nice timing.”
Even with a solid defensive showing and a big day on offense, Duke expects Saturday’s game to come down to the final minutes, like the two teams’ matchups have during Cutcliffe’s tenure.
“It’s our turn,” Cutcliffe said, “if we can play well enough.”
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