The Blue Devils only received 18 votes in the AP Poll following their upset victory against then-No. 20 Georgia Tech Saturday, but the individual accolades are beginning to pile up quickly.
Three Duke defenders garnered ACC Player of the Week recognition at their respective positions, a day after safety Jeremy Cash nabbed National Defensive Player of the Week honors. Cash earned the ACC Player of the Week nod for defensive backs, and fellow secondary mate DeVon Edwards took home the specialist award. Junior defensive tackle A.J Wolf completed the honored trio for the Blue Devils with the defensive lineman of the week recognition.
Cash turned in a fantastic performance against the Yellow Jackets and was a key factor in limiting their triple-option rushing attack to less than three yards per carry. The redshirt senior led the team with 12 tackles—including three for loss—and also filled out his stat sheet with four quarterback pressures, two forced fumbles and one sack. This week marks the fourth time in Cash's career he has been awarded the ACC weekly honor.
Edwards' 100-yard kickoff return touchdown Sunday was one of the game's most exciting plays, and turned the tide decisively in Duke's favor. After Georgia Tech marched down the field and scored a touchdown to cut the Blue Devil lead to six midway through the third quarter, Edwards took the ensuing kickoff and burst up the seam, dashing almost untouched into the end zone. The return was the second of the season for the Covington, Ga., native, and the fifth return touchdown of his career.
Wolf garnered ACC weekly honors for the first time in his career thanks to an eight-tackle performance against the Yellow Jackets. Six of Wolf's tackles came within two yards of the line of scrimmage as he anchored a defensive line that was able to consistently get push off the ball and neutralize Georgia Tech's biggest strength.
Duke will look to push its conference record to 2-0 this coming Saturday when it hosts Boston College at 3:30 p.m. in its annual homecoming game.
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