The Blue Devils opened the newly renovated Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium with a 55-0 victory that never had the makings of a close encounter. Duke amassed more than 600 yards of offense, which was more than enough for its stout defense which shut out the Eagles. With the victory, the Blue Devils moved to 2-0 on the season and won the first of four consecutive home games.
Offense: A
Pass: Coming into the season, Duke quarterback Thomas Sirk had thrown just 14 career passes in his limited action at quarterback. But Sirk turned in his second consecutive strong performance and completed 15 of his 22 passes for 315 passing and three touchdowns. In the early going, the Glen St. Mary, Fla., native has performed well in the short to intermediate passing game, but struggled to consistently connect on the deep ball. Although the offense got off to a slow start and put up only seven points in the first quarter, the Blue Devils and Sirk got in a rhythm in the second quarter and scored on three consecutive drives to end the half. Sirk’s one glaring error in the contest—an interception on a poorly thrown deep ball at the 12:10 mark in the first quarter—was annulled because of a N.C. Central offside penalty.
With the graduation of wide receivers Jamison Crowder and Isaac Blakeney, Duke has also been searching for a new set of pass-catchers for their quarterback. Freshman wide receiver T.J. Rahming has emerged as one of the team's key players at the position and recorded three catches for 76 yards, including a 59-yard completion early in the contest. Look for the growth of the Blue Devil passing attack to be one of the key storylines going forward in the season.
Rush: Although N.C. Central limited its first week opponent to just 31 total yards on the ground and a mere .8 yards per rush, Duke had no trouble running Saturday. The Blue Devils rushed for 289 yards on the ground and averaged 4.9 yards per carry. Duke’s top backs—Shaquille Powell and Shaun Wilson—rushed for 71 and 57 yards, respectively. The Blue Devils ground game had the benefit of running behind a solid offensive line anchored by center Matt Skura. Duke was also able to use the blowout victory as a chance to get carries for converted running back Nico Pierre. The redshirt freshman finished with six carries for 41 yards and may become more of a factor in the run game as the year progresses.
X’s and O’s: Blue Devils offensive coordinator Scottie Montgomery stuck with the run for much of the game—keeping the ball on the ground 59 times to just 26 pass attempts. But the coaching staff was not afraid to take chances when it did go to the air and showed confidence in Sirk by sticking with passes downfield despite the quarterback's early struggles in that area. Duke also did a much better job finishing drives and the team settled for only two field goals in the contest.
Defense: A+
Pass: Led by Jeremy Cash, the Blue Devils kept N.C. Central's offensive attack in check. Although the Blue Devils secondary failed to force a turnover through the air, they held the Eagles to just 132 passing yards and prevented the team from picking up large chunks of yardage. Opposing quarterback Malcolm Bell struggled all night to find open targets and completed just 12 of his 24 passes. Duke’s defense held the Eagles to just 1-of-14 on third down and forced eight three-and-outs in the game.
Rush: After holding Tulane to 25 yards on 23 carries a week ago, the Blue Devils stood strong against the run once again Saturday. The Eagles could only muster 54 rushing yards on 27 attempts against a stout Duke defense that made sure-handed tackles and immediately converged on N.C. Central's stable of running backs. The Blue Devils defensive front also recorded two sacks on the evening and prevented Bell from establishing a clean pocket.
X’s and O’s: Despite losing several key players from a year ago and a couple of players due to injury, it appears that defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has to be happy with the performance of his team two games into the new season. Sophomore Zavier Carmichael shined in his linebacker role and recorded four tackles and one tackle for loss. Reserve cornerback Alonzo Saxton II—who has taken the place of injured cornerback Bryon Fields—held his own after being targeted by the Tulane offense a week ago. Duke’s defense will face much tougher tests in the coming weeks as they take on Northwestern and Georgia Tech's triple-option attack.
Special Teams: A
Kicker Ross Martin passed former Blue Devil Sims Lenhardt for most field goals in program history when he converted a 34-yard chip shot—his 56th career field goal—in the second quarter. Martin also connected on his 38-yard attempt in the third quarter.
Duke didn't have much to talk about in the return game as returner Ryan Smith's three returns went for a total of 14 yards. The always-dangerous DeVon Edwards was also held in check on his one kickoff return which went for only 16 yards.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.