Stock Watch: Duke football offensive line, defense continue dominating

The bell of the Blue Zone stock exchange has just rung again, meaning it's time for another taking a look at who is rising and falling with their performances for Blue Devil sports teams. Each week The Blue Zone will look at whose stock is on the rise and whose stock has taken a hit from the week in the world of Duke athletics.

Bull Market—Trending Up

• Duke football defense: The unit is at the top of the market again this week after a strong showing Saturday in the 20-13 win against Virginia Saturday. Despite allowing the Cavaliers to gain 465 yards and 23 first downs, it limited them to just 13 points. It forced the only turnover of the game when redshirt junior safety Jeremy Cash forced an early fumble that was recovered by Jonathan Jones on the Virginia opening drive, leading to a Blue Devil touchdown. The secondary had some issues with a pass-heavy Cavalier offense, but Breon Borders had a couple of key pass break ups and Deondre Singleton had a near interception in the fourth quarter. The unit also stymied two drives late in the game that would have given Virginia a chance to tie the game. Duke's defense currently boasts the fifth-best scoring defense in the FBS and has established itself as the strength of the squad.
• David Reeves and Erich Schneider: The Blue Devil tight end duo had been mostly quiet this season following the injury to All-ACC performer Braxton Deaver during fall practice. But both were played huge roles in Saturday's win, as Schneider caught an early one-yard touchdown pass from Anthony Boone and Reeves hauled in this three-yard go-ahead jump pass from Thomas Sirk, who did his best Tim Tebow impression on the play.
• Duke football offensive line: Led by right guard Laken Tomlinson, the unit has allowed the Blue Devils to stay ahead of the chains and minimize costly mistakes. The unit is tied for the FBS lead in fewest sacks allowed per game (0.57) and fewest tackles for loss allowed per game (2.86) and is the key to Duke maintaining its opportunistic, disciplined game-plan that has worked so well the past two seasons.
• Duke in the NFL: Three former Duke Football players are also trending up after their performances on Sunday. Former tight end Cooper Helfet had the best game of his career, catching three passes for 61 yards and this touchdown in the Seahawks loss to St. Louis. Linebacker Vincent Rey registered a game-high 16 tackles in the Cincinnati's loss to Indianapolis and running back Juwan Thompson continues to see time in the Bronco's backfield, as he rushed for 30 yards on six carries Sunday night against San Francisco.
• Duke basketball: The hype is building for the Blue Devils leading up to this Saturday's Countdown to Craziness Event. Even before the season, CBSSports named freshman Jahlil Okafor the preseason National Player of the Year and fellow freshman Tyus Jones a third-team All American. The Blue Devils snagged the No. 3 ranking in the Coaches Poll this past week, trailing only Arizona and Kentucky. Oh, and watch out for high-flying Justise Winslow in this Saturday's dunk contest.

Bear Market—Trending Down

• Duke teams vs. North Carolina: In the latest installments of the Tobacco Road rivalry, three Blue Devil teams fell at home to the Tar Heels. One year after upsetting No. 1 UNC in Chapel Hill, Duke field hockey fell to the once again top-ranked Tar Heels 1-0 Friday night. North Carolina also cruised past Duke volleyball in three sets and shutout the Blue Devil women's soccer team 3-0 Sunday.
• The ACC: It is a good thing Florida State is in the conference, because otherwise the ACC might be the joke of College Football. It is currently dead last in ESPN's Conference Power Rankings among the Power 5 conferences, with only No. 2 Florida State and No. 21 Clemson ranked in the AP Top 25. Even Duke, which is off to a 6-1 start, has not cracked the AP Top 25 this season even though ranked teams such as UCLA, LSU and USC have two losses. Let's also not forget that the Coastal Division is a bundle of chaos that has had a new first place team almost every week.

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