After a strong season-opener against the Elon Phoenix, the Blue Devils look to continue their early-season success against Troy. Kickoff at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Troy, Ala. is at 7:00 PM. Here are the three keys to Saturday’s game:
Third down success rate
Last week against Elon, Duke struggled to convert on third down opportunities, going just 3-of-12 when needing to move the chains. Despite the limited success on third down, backup quarterback Thomas Sirk was a glimmer of hope, converting two fourth and one situations, as well as taking on multiple third down chances as well; the Blue Devils made up for their inefficiency on third down by going 5-of-6 on fourth down.
But although third down conversions may not directly correlate with success, more conversions will boost momentum and increase time of possession. Hopefully against the Trojans, Sirk will be able to yield a greater success rate in short-yardage third down situation and redshirt senior Anthony Boone can move the chains with greater efficiency in passing situations.
Better play from the linebackers
The section of Duke’s defense with the most to prove after last Saturday’s game against Elon is easily the linebackers. The linebacker core failed to place any significant pressure on the quarterback, and did not make any tackles for loss.
With David Helton taking Kelby Brown's spot at mike linebacker, weak-side linebacker C.J. France recorded only two assisted tackles, which is not as much production head coach David Cutcliffe would like out of that position; France has been recently struggling with a muscle strain. Redshirt freshman Chris Holmes will start in France's place Saturday night and try to bolster the Blue Devil run defense.
Led by the conference's leading tackler from last year, Helton, the Blue Devil linebacker rotation needs to start stepping up after struggling to slow down Elon's running game last week.
Handle the heat on the road
With a high of 89 degrees Fahrenheit and more than 50 percent humidity, it will feel like approximately 97 degrees in Troy, Ala. for most of the day Saturday. Time will tell how much the temperature will cool down buy kickoff, but how well each team can handle the heat will be a major factor in this game, especially in the second half.
Duke’s strength and conditioning coach Noel Durfey has drilled the team on hydration throughout the preseason and the temperatures in Durham have also been high lately, so hopefully his efforts will pay off and the Blue Devils will be ready to handle any weather that they arrive to in Troy Saturday evening.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Sign up for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.