The last two weeks have been a bit of a haze for the Blue Devils, and Saturday will be the perfect opportunity for them to break out and leave the old Wallace Wade on a good note.
After dropping back-to-back contests at home, Duke will close out the regular season against Wake Forest Saturday at 7 p.m. at Wallace Wade Stadium. Although the Blue Devils will not be playing for a spot in the following week's ACC Championship Game, Duke will be jockeying for a better bowl slot and hoping to send its seniors out with a win on Senior Day.
"What they've accomplished, over the last three years particularly, when these guys have been doing the bulk of the playing, it's been pretty spectacular," head coach David Cutcliffe said. "Their first year here was a three-win season, so that tells you what they've accomplished over the last three. They brought the program and its habits to another level."
But as far as the program has come, it was little consolation for the squad following last Thursday's 45-20 loss to North Carolina.
The Blue Devil offense sputtered, scoring just 20 points—far less than its season average of 31.7 per game—and Duke looked out of sorts from the opening kickoff.
Redshirt senior Anthony Boone will look to finish his days in Wallace Wade with a better performance than the ones he has put up the last two weeks. In back-to-back losses to Virginia Tech and the Tar Heels, Boone completed just 40-of-80 passes for 443 yards, two scores and three interceptions.
The turnovers have not just been on Boone, as the team has fumbled the ball eight times in the past two games, losing three of them. This is uncharacteristic of a squad that has been conservative with the ball all season, as the last two weeks make up a significant chunk of the season total of 18 fumbles and five fumbles lost.
"We're an offense that can complete 65 percent of our passes and should. Our passing efficiency is as low as it's gotten," Cutcliffe said. "When you're completing less than 50 percent of your passes and put yourselves in some bad down-and-distance situations, and then obviously doing something we hadn't done early, turn the ball over."
Against Wake Forest, the Blue Devils should be able to get back on track, as the Demon Deacons have allowed 25.1 points per game and, aside from last week's interesting 6-3 double-overtime win against struggling Virginia Tech, have let up at least 30 points in four of six conference contests.
But the offense will not be the only group looking to have a bounce-back performance.
After letting up just 17 points in the loss to the Hokies Nov. 15, the Blue Devil defense was humbled last week by the Tar Heels. North Carolina racked up 592 total yards, including a season-high 316 on the ground where it had struggled all season.
The Blue Devils' bend-but-don't-break approach had been a staple of the squad since the beginning of the year—Duke entered the game allowing just 18.1 points per contest. But it would leave with a 20.5 average and damaged confidence, as it was expected to keep Marquise Williams and company in check before Thursday's rout.
This week will provide a lighter test, as Wake Forest enters the game averaging just 14.3 points per game. With a bowl game on the horizon, it will be key for the Blue Devils to regain their confidence against the Demon Deacons.
And as important as this Saturday's win will be for the team to get back on track, it will mean even more for Duke's special group of veterans.
"There's definitely a lot of emotions after last game for us. A lot of us, seniors, it's the final game for us," senior linebacker David Helton said. "We really have a lot of emotion for this game and I think you're going to see that out there.... Knowing it's our last home game in Wallace Wade, it's hard not to get up for it. It's hard not to on Senior Night."
Helton will join fellow seniors Jamison Crowder, Josh Snead Laken Tomlinson and Boone—among others—as they run out of the tunnel for the last time Saturday.
The Blue Devils have gone 18-6 in the past two regular , making it the most successful two-year stretch in program history. The last time Duke notched 17 wins in back-to-back years came in 1938-39. Although this may not be the way the Blue Devils had planned on closing out the regular season, the accomplishment and success of the past few seasons is certainly not lost on Cutcliffe.
"What they've accomplished, over the last three years particularly, when these guys have been doing the bulk of the playing, it's been pretty spectacular," he said. "[I am] very happy for what they have accomplished and very appreciative to them for what they have done for our program.”
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