Duke is trying not to fall into a trap. Again.
The last time it was on a winning streak and ranked in the Coaches’ Poll, it went down to Miami for a crucial ACC Coastal game and lost to the Hurricanes 22-10 in a South Beach dogfight.
On Saturday, the stakes will be as high as they have been this season when the No. 24 Blue Devils travel to play Coastal foe Pittsburgh noon Saturday at Heinz Field. After back-to-back wins against Virginia and Georgia Tech in October, the Blue Devils begin the final month of the regular season atop the ACC Coastal and are poised to make another trip to Charlotte for the ACC Championship game in December.
But a physical Panther squad that won last year’s 58-55 shootout in Durham is an obstacle Duke will have to face before it can realize its postseason hopes. Head coach David Cutcliffe admits the Panthers (4-4, 2-2 in the ACC) outsize the Blue Devils (6-1, 2-1) but that hasn’t stopped Duke from churning out wins in 14 of its last 15 regular season games against larger competition.
“Pittsburgh poses a lot of challenges on both sides of the ball,” Cutcliffe said. “They’re such a physical football team. But it is good being in that game-week swing. We are going to have to prepare well.”
Much of the attention during the bye week has been focused on the Blue Devil defense. Despite losing captain Kelby Brown to a torn ACL before the season began and injuries to multiple defensive linemen this season, Duke is only allowing an average of 15.1 points per game this season, good for fifth in the FBS behind Ole Miss, Stanford, Alabama and Louisville.
Still, it is not taking a Pittsburgh offense lightly, one that gashed the Blue Devil defense for 598 total yards and six touchdowns last season. Two of the top performers from the Sept. 21, 2013 matchup, running back James Conner and wide receiver Tyler Boyd, are back this year and are among the best skill players in the ACC.
Conner is a dark-horse ACC Player of the Year candidate with a league-high 1,079 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns, while Boyd is fourth in the conference with 651 receiving yards and five touchdowns. Boyd torched the Duke secondary last season for 154 receiving yards and three touchdowns on eight catches.
On the ground and through the air, the Panther offense can be punishing. But it has had its share of problems this season. It is only averaging 29 points per game and is 109th in the nation with only 177 passing yards per game. Last week against Georgia Tech, the Pittsburgh offense fumbled six times, including five times in the first quarter.
The Blue Devils have thrived off turnovers all season, but must overcome the athleticism and talent the Panthers skill players bring to the table on offense.
‘They are very physical,” rover safety DeVon Edwards said. “They like to use their running backs [James Conner and Isaac Bennett] because they have some big guys [on the offensive line]. It is going to take more to tackle them.”
Sophomore quarterback Chad Voytik will aim to put the ball in the hands of his two potent weapons, but he has been forced to make plays of his own a handful of times this season.
Although he is not having a great year throwing the ball, only throwing for 1,234 yards, six touchdowns and nine interceptions, he can make plays with his feet. This was exhibited Oct. 16 against Virginia Tech when he rushed for a career-high 118 yards on 19 carries.
“We know that he is very effective when he is on the run,” Edwards said. “We have to stay disciplined because when he starts running the receivers start making up their own routes.”
Offensively, the recipe for success has been a steady ground game combined with few mistakes. The Blue Devil offensive line is giving up the fewest sacks and tackles for loss per game, which has translated into a rushing attack that is averaging 218 yards per game and plenty of time for redshirt senior quarterback Anthony Boone to find open receivers.
Keeping the miscues to a minimum will be important for the Duke offense. During the Miami game, crowd noise in the NFL-sized Sun Life Stadium played a hand in a number of false starts and botched snaps that doomed Blue Devil drives more than once. Heinz Stadium is also an NFL Stadium, but Duke is confident that it will be able to adjust to the hostile environment.
“We are not really sure [about the crowd noise] because we have never been to Heinz Field before,” center Matt Skura said. “If it does become an issue, we can correct it on the field. Right now we are not really concerned with noise, but if that situation does arise we can fix it.”
If the running game is stuffed, the weight will lie on the shoulders of Boone to make plays through the air. The Weddington, N.C., native has had an up-and-down season, only completing 57.9 percent of his passes, but has shown flashes of the NFL prospect many expected he would be this season.
He started the Virginia game completing 14-of-16 passes and tossed a short touchdown to tight end Erich Schneider, but only completed six passes the rest of the game.
Boone will look to exemplify a type of consistency that Cutcliffe wants to see more of out of his team.
“The biggest thing for us is finding some consistency in all aspects of the game. We have had good moments in kicking, defensively and offensively,” he said. “The thing that we need to do starting this Saturday is become a consistent football team.”
One thing that might not be consistent to what Duke has seen all season is the weather. A weather system is expected to approach Pittsburgh Friday night, which could mean a cold rain or even a few snow showers in 30-40 degree weather around the noon kickoff.
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