Duke travels to El Paso, Texas, for its third bowl game in as many seasons to face off against No. 15 Arizona State in the Hyundai Sun Bowl at 2 p.m. Saturday. The Blue Devils will hit the gridiron for the first time in nearly a month seeking their first bowl victory since a 7-6 win in the 1961 Cotton Bowl Classic against Arkansas. A victory would also mark Duke’s first win against a ranked non-conference opponent since 1971, when the team pulled off a 9-3 win on the road against then-No. 10 Stanford. Every week throughout the football season, we’ll break down a player on each team who could be the difference-maker in the upcoming contest.
Duke: quarterback Anthony Boone
The Blue Devil signal caller has struggled of late. In the final three games of the season—a stretch that saw Duke drop two games—Boone threw three interceptions to match his three touchdowns. The redshirt senior’s struggles do not rest solely on his shoulders, however. During the same stretch, the offensive line—led by redshirt senior guard Laken Tomlinson—failed to keep its quarterback upright in the pocket. Out of the 13 sacks suffered by the Weddington, N.C., native this season, nine occurred in the last three games of the regular season.
In order to end his Duke career on a high note, Boone will have to be aware of a collapsing pocket and maintain keen awareness of a strong Arizona State blitz. Senior defensive lineman Marcus Hardison—who leads the Sun Devil defensive unit with 10 sacks—is sure to pressure Boone into split-second decisions that proved costly in last year’s bowl game against Texas A&M by way of two fourth-quarter interceptions. Boone will also have to keep a wary eye on redshirt sophomore linebacker Viliami Moeakiola roving through the box to bring pressure—a tactic that has garnered him five sacks of his own this season.
If the team captain can manage the ball effectively and remain aware of the defensive pressure coming his way, however, he can take advantage of an Arizona State defense that allows 261.8 yards per game through the air. Maintaining poise in the pocket to find wide receivers Jamison Crowder and Issac Blakeney—who have hauled in six receiving touchdowns apiece this season—will be key for Boone to move the Blue Devil offense down the field.
In addition, the 225-pound signal-caller can look to bulldoze an Arizona State defense that has given up multiple rushing touchdowns in three of its last four games of the season—a feat Boone has not accomplished since Sept. 6 against Kansas. Altogether, if Boone can keep his cool against the fiery Sun Devil defense—making plays with both his arm and his legs—the Blue Devils can emerge victorious in a bowl for the first time in 53 years.
Arizona State: wide receiver Jaelen Strong
After announcing this week that he will forgo his senior season for the NFL draft, Strong has his eyes set on an impressive performance in his final game in a Sun Devil uniform to attract scouts from across the league. The redshirt junior has impressed out west this season, hauling in 75 receptions for 1,062 yards and 10 touchdowns. Against a Duke defense that allows 11.6 yards per catch and 204 yards passing per game—including 276 against North Carolina and 251 against Wake Forest to wrap up the regular season—the Philadelphia native will look capitalize on his impressive 14.2 yards per catch and 96.5 yards per game numbers to put points on the board for the Sun Devils.
After sitting out against Washington State after suffering a concussion against Oregon State, the wide receiver returned in a loss against Arizona by hauling in one touchdown to complement his 80-yard game. Throughout the season, Strong has failed to catch a touchdown in only three of his 11 games, and has demonstrated his explosive ability in key matchups. The redshirt junior has registered more than 100 yards receiving in four games, including a 202-yard, three-touchdown clinic against Southern California.
The biggest threat to the Duke defense lies in the mismatch Strong presents in the secondary. The five starters in the Blue Devil secondary—Breon Borders, Jeremy Cash, DeVon Edwards, Bryon Fields and Deondre Singleton—have an average height of 5-foot-11. On the other side of the ball, Strong’s 6-foot-3 frame towers over the Blue Devil lineup, presenting a potential problem for the Duke defense to keep the wide receiver in check. If quarterbacks Taylor Kelly and Mike Bercovici can simply put the ball within reach, Strong is likely to win possession against the Blue Devils if they are not disciplined in playing lockdown defense down the field.
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