Duke football head coach David Cutcliffe held his weekly press conference Tuesday, addressing Duke’s 9-7 victory against Boston College and the upcoming matchup against Army. The head coach touched on several topics including the Blue Devil’s offensive play calling, his use of Jeremy Cash, and the multiple run-options of the Black Knights. Duke (4-1) faces Army (1-4) Saturday at 12:00 p.m. at Michie Stadium. Here are some of the more notable sound bytes from Cutcliffe’s press conference:
Despite the Black Knights subpar record, the team remarkably has a positive point differential thus far. They have lost by two, five, three and six points so far against formidable major conference teams such as Wake Forest and Penn State.
“[We’re] going to be playing an Army team that really could be undefeated right now if you look at their tape, very easily. And they’ve played well enough to win every game, and obviously we know they have haven’t, they know they haven’t."
When Duke beat Georgia Tech two weeks ago, it held the then top-ranked rushing offense below half its average yards per game. Like the Yellow Jackets, the Black Knights also boast a multi-faceted rushing attack. Sophomore quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw leads the team with 85.3 rushing yards per game, followed by fullback Aaron Kemper’s 48.2 yards per contest. A total of six players average more than 30 yards on the ground per game and Army is ranked tenth in the country in rushing offense.
"You could ask Army, 'Is it advantageous to see us do what we do against Georgia Tech?' That can work both ways. We’ll have some differences in some things, because they’re different personnel, a little different, but it helps our players, it wasn’t that long ago, to understand the challenge of what we’re about to see. But again, Army is sitting there looking at a lot of it, thinking, 'We’re going to do this, because they did that, etc.' So a little bit of cat and mouse involved in that."
The Blue Devils have thrown just one touchdown in the past three games. Duke ran the ball four straight times from the one yard-line against Boston College, but couldn't manage to get it into the end zone. The Blue Devils finished with just 33 rushing yards the entire game, albeit against one of the nation’s stingiest defenses.
"I thought the balance of what we did, what coach Montgomery did, was great. I really do. Had we executed, I can show you drives and/or just plays that we left points on that field. That could have easily been a 30-point production game offensively, with just better execution. "
Redshirt senior safety Jeremy Cash has been perhaps the most prolific member of Cutcliffe’s team this year, leading the ACC in tackles for losses despite playing in the secondary. Cash was used as a linebacker against Georgia Tech’s triple-threat rushing options and will be used there again against Army. But Cutcliffe mentioned that he plans to keep him at the safety position against standard offenses.
"Where we have him, he’s a great space player that we can bring into the box. When you play a guy in space like that, he’s a great edge player, he’s great on the perimeter, one of the better things he does…we have calls that put him inside, so I like the versatility of where he is now."
The Black Knights follow the same graduation requirements as all other cadets, and must serve in the military for at least the first five years after graduation. Army defeated the Blue Devils in Durham in 2010 and fell to Cutcliffe’s team at Michie Stadium in 2009.
"First thing, I admire everything about the athletes and the students. The first thing I can tell you, and I’ve been up there, when you not just look at the football players on the field, but you look at the cadets in the stands, and you understand commitment…The football end of it, these guys play as a team…They’ll say, 'It’s amazing what you can accomplish when no one cares who gets the credit.' They’re the epitome of that as they play."
Stay with the Blue Zone for continued coverage of Duke football as the Blue Devils look to move to 5-1 for the season before heading into their bye week.
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