After two crucial losses to ACC Coastal opponents, the Blue Devils host Pittsburgh Saturday looking to right the ship. The Panthers enter the game on a two-game skid of their own and this weekend's matchup could hold bowl implications for the teams going forward. Here are three keys to the game for Duke:
Protect Thomas Sirk
After weeks of stellar play, North Carolina’s defense easily corralled the Blue Devils’ quarterback. Sirk posted a quarterback rating of 42.1 and finished just 18-of-37 passing in the crushing defeat and never appeared to find a rhythm in the contest. Although Sirk was tentative on multiple occasions, Duke's signal-caller never quite had a clean pocket and the Tar Heels lived in the Blue Devils' backfield, finishing with five tackles for loss in the game.
Pittsburgh enters the game with 26 sacks on the season—tied for third highest in the ACC. Duke’s offensive line will face all sorts of blitz schemes this weekend and must establish a pocket for Sirk to operate at his strengths in the run and intermediate passing game.
Run the Option
Earlier this season, the Panthers allowed 376 rushing yards to Georgia Tech's triple-option offense. Although the Blue Devils' rushing attack is not quite as strong as the Yellow Jackets', Jela Duncan, along with Shaquille Powell and Thomas Sirk, should be able to find running room throughout this matchup. Running the option with Sirk and a tailback will play to the Blue Devil offensive line's strengths and keep the Panthers' defense on their heels. Keeping Pittsburgh head coach and defensive guru Pat Narduzzi’s play calls honest will allow Duke to be more creative on offense and take risks downfield.
Contain Tyler Boyd
The Panthers have averaged just under 200 yards per game through the air this season. Outside of a rough performance last week in which they allowed 494 passing yards, Duke's greatest strength has been its secondary and especially senior safety Jeremy Cash. The Blue Devils secondary must commit extra coverage to slow down wide receiver Tyler Boyd, who has 66 completions on the season for a total of 662 receiving yards and is slated to be a potential high draft-pick following the season.
Panthers quarterback Nathan Peterman has struggled this season, but is more of a pocket passer and will likely turn to Boyd whenever the team needs a big play. Limiting his favorite target will serve the Blue Devils well as the wide receiver has had his fair share of memories against Duke. In the last two seasons, Boyd has averaged 147 yards receiving and three touchdowns against the Blue Devils
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