Behind a steady offensive attack and a stout defensive performance, the Blue Devils handled Tulane 37-7 to start off the season with a victory. Duke scored the first 23 points of the contest to put the game away by early in the fourth quarter. Despite coming into the game with numerous inexperienced players at skill positions, Thursday's victory allowed the Blue Devils to identify the play-makers they can rely on throughout the year.
Offense: B+
Pass: Growing pains are certainly to be expected with redshirt junior quarterback Thomas Sirk replacing Anthony Boone—who was the winningest signal-caller in Duke history. But Sirk shined in the Thursday night spotlight, completing 27-of-40 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns. The Glen St. Mary, Fla., native was not only accurate on his short screen passes, but also kept the defense honest by completing passes over the middle of the field. The quarterback did struggle a couple times forcing the ball into double coverage down the field, but finished with a big zero in the turnover category. One of the biggest positives for the first-year starter was his ability to throw when moving out of the pocket. By evading the pass rush and keeping his eyes downfield, Sirk was able to give his receivers extra time to get open and make big plays.
Rush: The Blue Devils looked to establish the run from the early going and succeeded with 206 yards on 49 carries on the ground. The strong performance from the backfield allowed the team to finish with a 36-24 advantage in time of possession. Duke's rushing attack primarily featured running back Shaun Wilson and Sirk, both of whom finished with 15 carries on the night. Coming off of a leg injury, Wilson flashed the ability to make nifty moves after getting past the first line of the defense and clearly has the speed and agility to hurt opposing defenses. On the other hand, Sirk's ability to make plays with his feet contributed to his ability to excel in the pocket and gave the Blue Devils multiple options on offense.
With Duke's running back depth taking a hit following the injury to Jela Duncan, the team appeared to limit carries for senior Shaquille Powell—who is expected to be the main back going forward. When Powell did receive carries, he presented the perfect change-of-pace from the speedy Wilson, as a bruising, between-the-tackles runner. Look for the Blue Devil rushing attack to continue to improve as its backfield continues to get healthy.
X's and O's: Offensive coordinator Scottie Montgomery certainly mixed his play-calling up as the team threw the ball 44 times and had 49 rushing attempts. The Duke coaches certainly deserve praise for showing confidence in Sirk as they didn't hold back one bit of their playbook with the new signal-caller under center. With a plethora of new faces at wide receiver, expect the Blue Devils offense to be in a trial-and-error phase throughout the team's non-conference slate.
Going forward, Duke will need to place an emphasis on finishing drives. The team had three long drives of 57, 84 and 47 yards fizzle out with a field goal, which could come back to haunt the team as the competition gets stiffer going forward.
Defense: A
Pass: Bolstered by one of the ACC's best secondaries, the Blue Devil defense was solid against the pass Thursday night. Led by All-American Jeremy Cash, the Duke defense prevented Tulane from taking shots down field and allowed the Green Wave to complete only 2 of 14 third-down attempts. Cornerback Breon Borders and safety Jeremy Cash combined for 11 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss and made their presence felt all over the field. Although the Blue Devils did allow a 76-yard touchdown pass to break up their shutout in the fourth quarter, the team held up against the pass very well in their season opener.
Run: Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night was how well Duke performed against the run. After giving up 256 yards on the ground against Tulane a year ago, the Blue Devil defense looked much improved and held the Green Wave to a measly 25 yards on 23 rushing attempts. The inexperienced Duke defensive front and linebacker unit made good tackles all night long and sacked Tulane quarterback Tanner Lee four times. Linebackers Dwayne Norman and Zavier Carmichael both appear ready to have solid seasons and with the senior leadership of tackle Carlos Wray, the Blue Devils may have enough ingredients to have a strong defense against the run this season.
X's and O's: The Duke coaches have to be happy with the performance their defense turned in during the season-opener. Despite losing David Helton—the quarterback of the defense a year ago—and the leadership of Kelby Brown, the Blue Devils appeared to communicate well and were rarely beat for big gains. But the loss of cornerback Bryon Fields may be more significant than initially anticipated as Tulane seemed willing to throw in the direction of his replacement Alonso Saxton II. Although the Green Wave don't possess the offensive firepower as some of the Blue Devils' conference opponents will, Duke's ability to force teams to test a strong secondary by throwing on long third downs will determine how well the unit holds up this season.
Special Teams: A
The Blue Devil special teams continued to show its penchant for making big plays. Kicker Ross Martin was a perfect three-for-three on the night and connected from 32, 25 and 46 yards out. Martin's performance gave him 55 career field goals, which tied Sims Lenhardt for the Duke program record.
In the return game, DeVon Edwards had a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, which helped the squad squash any of the Green Wave's momentum. With the score, Edwards recorded a program-record fourth career kickoff return for a touchdown and once again showed how the Blue Devils' dynamic special teams unit will be a major strength for the team this season.
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