Duke football head coach David Cutcliffe held his weekly press conference Tuesday, addressing the Blue Devils' bye week and the upcoming matchup against Virginia Tech. Duke (5-1, 2-0 in the ACC) faces the Hokies (3-4, 1-2) on the road at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Va. Saturday at 3:30 p.m. for its first conference matchup away from Wallace Wade Stadium this season. Here are some of the more notable sound bytes from Cutcliffe’s press conference:
Following an indefinite suspension in the spring semester, Cutcliffe declared redshirt sophomore wide receiver Terrence Alls eligible this week. After playing in all 13 games for a total 207 career snaps in 2014, Alls received an award for Co-Most Improved Offensive Player alongside offensive tackle Gabe Brander for his performance during spring practice. The 6-foot-1 receiver was projected as a starter for 2015 before his suspension, and could see action in the receiving corps this week.
“Terrence Alls is back eligible and will be making the trip. I’m proud that he has done the things that we’ve asked of him to put himself in position to return to play…. He’s ready, he knows what to do and he’s in the best shape since he’s been here, which is a great part of the hard work that he’s been through.”
After suffering an undisclosed knee injury against Army prior to the bye week, defensive end Kyler Brown is making progress for the Blue Devils. In six games this season, Brown recorded 23 total tackles and two tackles for loss prior to his injury. Although the loss of defensive ability on the end of the line is a concern for Duke moving forward, the loss of his leadership in the front six could be just as much of a concern moving forward if he misses significant time.
“[Kyler] didn’t practice today. He’s making really good progress. I’m hesitant to say anything until I get a little deeper into the week, but if wanting to and working at it has anything to do with it, then he’s really done a nice job. We’ll know more obviously by Thursday.”
At midseason, the Blue Devils have faced two of the nations top ten defenses in Northwestern and Boston College, but they have been matched up against just as many unconventional offenses. Both Georgia Tech and Army run the triple option, providing a different look for the Duke defense in terms of assignments and schemes. In the other four games, Northwestern sported a young, inexperienced quarterback, Boston College was missing its starting quarterback due to injury and both N.C. Central and Tulane did not demonstrate as dynamic of an offense as other Power Five competition. As a result, Saturday marks the first time the Duke defensive unit will face a tried and true quarterback in a conventional system this season, giving this week of practice a new set of dynamics.
“I think it’s a challenge to jump back into a different world. [Facing a conventional offensive scheme] does allow us, as we did today, to do some good work ones versus ones. We’re going to do that again tomorrow, which I think will help both sides of the ball. There are some similarities with what our defense can do to what Virginia Tech’s defense can do, so hopefully it does help some.”
Although Duke enters Saturday’s contest 2-0 in the ACC and controls its own destiny to reach the ACC championship game in Charlotte, Cutcliffe is quick to dismiss a playoff mentality this early in the season. With six ACC opponents remaining on the schedule and North Carolina and Pittsburgh being undefeated in conference as well, Cutcliffe recognizes the road ahead for his Blue Devils is a tough one, but knows that there are plenty of opportunities to succeed even if another loss should befall his team.
“We’re not really quite [at playoff football]. I think November starts getting like that. I think there are a lot of battles to be fought and a lot of wars to be fought before any dust settles…. These are all critical games, but they’re not the final game. You lose one, you’re not out, necessarily.”
In the past three seasons Duke has reached bowl eligibility by capturing the pivotal sixth win that deems a football team worthy of the postseason. Despite what appears to be a norm in Durham under Cutcliffe’s direction, the head coach is still aware of the significance of reaching six wins. With a 5-1 record entering this weekend’s contest, the Blue Devils will look to reach bowl eligibility for the fourth consecutive season for the first time in program history.
“Y’all haven’t mentioned [being bowl eligible], but I think about it every day. I tell people all the time in this business—I tell young coaches—don’t ever forget how to count to six.”
Stay with the Blue Zone for continued coverage of Duke football as the Blue Devils prepare for their first conference road game since facing Syracuse Nov. 8 last season.
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