Small defensive front playing big early for Duke football

Despite the swarm of questions regarding size and the ability to stop the run in Durham throughout the offseason, Duke’s defensive front has proven resilient in the first two games of the season.

The Blue Devils coasted to a dominant 55-0 win Saturday night against N.C. Central as the newly renovated Wallace Wade Stadium hosted its first game of 2015. Duke’s offense may have been in the spotlight for much of the night as it put up 655 yards, but the defense held strong for the second week in a row in the shutout.

“I think our defense was wire-to-wire,” Duke head coach David Cutcliffe said. “When you stop a team that often, field position is gained so well in that regard—that’s one of the most critical factors in winning football games.”

Entering Saturday’s showdown, all eyes were on the Eagles’ quickness and speed following their 72-0 drubbing of Saint. Augustine’s last weekend. Given the size of N.C. Central’s offensive line—four starters tip the scales at heavier than 300 pounds—N.C. Central was expecting to be able to move the Blue Devils’ smaller defensive line out of the trenches for positive yardage.

Unfortunately for starter Idreis Augustus and the rest of the Eagles’ running back corps, moving the ball on the ground against Duke proved more difficult. Whereas the Blue Devils were able rack up 4.9 yards per carry for a total of 288 yards, N.C. Central only managed to record 54 total yards on the ground. Blue Devil Quarterback Thomas Sirk and running backs Shaquille Powell and Shaun Wilson all had more yards individually than the Eagles—86, 71 and 57 yards, respectively.

“[Defensive coordinator Knowles has been really keen in our front seven for stopping the run,” sophomore linebacker Zavier Carmichael said. “We have to control the defensive line, so we’re really defending the gaps now and just controlling the line of scrimmage.”

Despite the talk of a lack of size upfront, the Blue Devils’ front six was unfazed by the Eagles for the second straight iteration of the Bull City Gridiron Classic. Although a lot has changed since the 45-0 blowout in 2013, the fourth edition of the crosstown showdown ended with a second straight Duke defensive shutout.

The speed of the Blue Devils, which was not as prevalent two seasons ago, was a major part of the shutout this season. With the transition of so many different players to linebacker, including senior will linebacker Dwayne Norman, as well as the recruitment of players like Carmichael, quickness has been key for Duke.

“[It’s] just speed, honestly,” Carmichael said. “[The game] worked toward our linebacker style, just trying to keep them on their heels—shaking them and what not—and the [defensive] line getting a good push on them.”

After punishing the Tulane running game in the season opener in New Orleans by allowing just 25 yards on 23 attempts, the Blue Devil defensive front continued its streak of success against opposing runners. Through two games this season, Duke has now allowed 79 yards on 50 attempts—good for just 1.6 yards per carry.

“We’re really attacking this year,” redshirt senior defensive end Kyler Brown said. “As of last year we were doing a little bit less of attacking on the front line, so we’re really getting after [opposing running backs], trying to stop them before they get to that line. It’s been working for us so far.”

Although they could not force a turnover during the 25:49 that N.C. Central possessed the ball, the Blue Devils were nonetheless successful in their ability to get off the field. The Eagles had 14 chances to convert on third down, but the strength of the Duke defense only allowed one conversion and never allowed the ball to break into the red zone. For the season, the defense has given up just three conversions on 28 attempts on third down.

With competition ramping up in Durham next week as No. 23 Northwestern comes to town, fresh off of a 41-0 victory against Eastern Illinois, the Blue Devils’ defense will be tested in its ability to continue this trend next week. 

“I think we’ve matched up well with the two opponents we’ve played,” Cutcliffe said. “We’re getting ready to play a Big Ten team…[so] the theme is going to be just continue to improve.”