A year ago, the Blue Devils entered their November meeting with Pittsburgh coming off a crushing 35-point blowout loss to North Carolina. Duke was in a funk at the time and wound up falling to the Panthers 31-13 for its third straight loss.
But this season, the storyline is the opposite.
Following a 28-27 win against the Tar Heels last Thursday, the Blue Devils will try to notch their first winning streak of the season on the road against Pittsburgh Saturday at 3 p.m. at Heinz Field. After losing three straight games by an average of five points, Duke finally showed it could win a close contest with the victory against its in-state rival.
“We’ve been confident throughout the year,” redshirt sophomore wide receiver Johnathan Lloyd said. “We’ve been on the wrong end of games, but everything’s been very close…. Hopefully we use the Carolina game as the stepping stool to elevate, keep getting better and play to our potential.”
Duke’s defense has been a primary reason why the Blue Devils (4-6, 1-5 in the ACC) have struggled in close games. In each of its last three losses, Duke has failed to generate stops late in the fourth quarter.
Against Louisville, the Blue Devil defense surrendered a touchdown after a roughing the kicker penalty, denying the offense a chance to tie or take the lead on its last drive. After a 38-35 loss at Georgia Tech in which Duke could not protect a four-point, fourth-quarter lead, the defense allowed Virginia Tech to run out the last four minutes of clock with a 10-play, 53-yard drive in a 24-21 defeat. Once again, the Blue Devil offense did not have an opportunity to close out a game.
But against the Tar Heels, the defense secured the win with strong play down the stretch. After surrendering 21 points in the first half, Duke held North Carolina’s high-powered attack scoreless on its final seven possessions. The Blue Devils’ pressure up front and tight pass coverage limited the Tar Heels to just 87 passing yards in the second half.
Duke especially benefited from freshman cornerback Mark Gilbert’s standout performance. After struggling early on, the Fayetteville, N.C., native—who started after senior Breon Borders injured his hip—helped bottle up North Carolina’s receivers.
With Borders ruled out Saturday, Gilbert is expected to start again facing a Pittsburgh offense that relies on misdirection and smash-mouth running game to create explosive plays.
The Panthers—who average 37.2 points per game and scored 43 in an upset against then-No. 2 Clemson last week—try to confuse opposing defenders and beat defenses on the edges by motioning receivers. The Blue Devils will have to hold their gaps and cannot become distracted by Pittsburgh’s various pre-snap shifts.
“They steal your eyes with a lot of things,” Duke head coach David Cutcliffe said. “You’ve got to align well…. You can’t do more than your part. Sometimes that’s difficult for players. You have to play your position.”
Regardless of whether the defense slows down the Panthers (6-4, 3-3), Duke’s offense wants to run the ball effectively and attack Pittsburgh downfield.
Despite losing running back Jela Duncan to a season-ending Achilles injury, the Blue Devil rushing attack has recently flourished. Duke has run for more than 200 yards in each of its last three contests, which has opened up the passing game for redshirt freshman quarterback Daniel Jones.
After mostly throwing short passes in the first half of the season, Jones has been more aggressive lately. In two of Duke’s last three games, the Charlotte native has thrown for at least 240 yards and averaged more than seven yards per attempt. The 6-foot-5 signal caller has added 193 yards and four touchdowns on the ground in his last two contests.
His willingness to throw the ball deeper has not compromised his accuracy. In fact, Jones has recorded just one interception in Duke’s last five games after throwing eight earlier in the season.
On Saturday, the ACC Rookie of the Week will likely have more opportunities to connect with receivers downfield against one of the worst defenses in the ACC. In particular, the Panther secondary has struggled, surrendering 343.4 passing yards per game—the second-worst mark in the country.
“[We’re going] to continue to be aggressive like we have over the past few games,” Lloyd said. “We’ve had a few big plays, so hopefully [we] continue to do that.”
With two games remaining, the Blue Devils are fighting to become bowl eligible. Duke will secure a bowl birth with road victories against Pittsburgh and Miami Nov. 26. But if the Blue Devils win just one of those two games, they could still extend their four-year old bowl streak thanks to their academic progress rate.
When there are not enough six-win teams to fill up all available bowl spots, the NCAA considers five-win squads that perform best in the classroom. Duke would be at the top of the list.
But Cutcliffe has not discussed the different bowl scenarios with his squad. He said thinking about a bowl game could disturb his players’ focus on each remaining contest.
“You’re not going to get there if you don’t play great against Pittsburgh,” Cutcliffe said. “People think that’s coach talk. Well it’s not because if you don’t think that way…you’re going to be an ex-coach.”
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