Duke football Player of the Week: Week 8

Thomas Sirk 

Statline: 19 for 39 with 270 yards and four touchdowns, 18 carries for 109 yards

The Good: Saturday's performance showed why Duke head coach David Cutcliffe never questioned the ability of Thomas Sirk when he struggled with growing pains earlier in the season. Seven games into the season, Sirk proved his detractors wrong with the biggest game of his career. In the longest game in ACC history, Sirk did everything on offense for the Blue Devils— including the game-tying touchdown pass to Eric Schnieder—followed by the game-winning two-point conversion on a run on the last play of the game. The Glen St. Mary, Fla., native hit Max McCaffrey for two touchdowns during regulation and managed the clock wisely during the four overtimes, getting the Blue Devils in position to win the game.

The Bad: Sirk still must work on his accuracy especially in the intermediate to long passing game. The redshirt junior only completed 49-percent of his passes against the Hokies, his lowest mark thus far this season. Sirk only averaged 6.8 yards per completion and even then, many of his longer completions were a result of long runs by his receivers. Sirk still must fine-tune his passing mechanics, as his elongated delivery continues hurt his accuracy at times.

The Bottom Line: After struggling earlier in the season on offense, the Blue Devils have been clicking as of late. Sirk has started to show more confidence in the pocket and his ability to step up and complete his throws under pressure has steadily improved. Duke will need to rely on Sirk down the stretch as they prepare to challenge conference opponents such as North Carolina and Pittsburgh. Although he accounted for 379 yards of total offense against the Hokies, Sirk will need to be more accurate if the Blue Devils hope to win the ACC Coastal crown. 

Honorable Mention: Senior wide receiver Max McCaffrey caught two passes from Sirk for touchdowns against Virginia Tech. The 6-foot-2 target caught six passes for 94 yards and two, including a long catch of 39 yards. Although he hasn't seen the targets he anticipated coming into the season, McCaffrey provides veteran leadership to a young Blue Devil receiving corp.