Thanks to wins in the final two games of the regular season, Duke finds itself in its fifth bowl game in six years. The Blue Devils will travel to Detroit to face Northern Illinois in the Quick Lane Bowl Tuesday. Here are three keys to the contest:
Control the clock
In all six of its victories this season, save for a blowout against N.C. Central, Duke has soundly beaten its opponents in the time of possession battle. Not only did that allow the Blue Devils to dictate the pace of those games, but it also alleviated some of the pressure on the defense, giving the players more time to rest in between possessions.
At the beginning of the season, this was something the team was doing well. But, during its six-game losing streak, the offense failed to move the ball down the field with authority on a consistent basis. Following that skid, Daniel Jones has shown resilience, leading Duke to two come-from-behind wins to conclude the season, throwing a pair of touchdown passes in each game and controlling the time of possession. Both the Blue Devils and Northern Illinois run a very similar offense centered around a power run game. If Duke can establish the run, it can control the clock and put itself in good position to walk away with its seventh win of the year.
Contain Sutton Smith
The Blue Devils will need to be especially wary of Sutton Smith, a consensus All-American at defensive end. Over the Huskies' last three games, Smith has racked up 4.5 sacks and is a major contributor to the 8.8 tackles for loss per game that Northern Illinois has averaged this season.
Smith finished the year with 14 sacks and 56 tackles, including a whopping 28.5 for loss. Duke’s offensive line, which has been inconsistent at protecting Jones this year, will need to keep Smith and the rest of the Northern Illinois front seven out of its backfield if it wants to give Jones time to throw.
Carry the momentum
This season has been a tale of three streaks for the Blue Devils. The first: a 4-0 start to the season that gave Duke fans optimism that the team could contend for a spot in the ACC Championship. Second: an ensuing six-game losing streak in which the Blue Devils’ offense disappeared. Third: two wins to close to the season to make Duke bowl-eligible.
To end the season on a high note, Duke will look to carry the momentum from the last two games into its first bowl game in two years, after failing to qualify for one last year, especially on offense. Despite losing six consecutive games in the middle of the season, four of those six games were decided by seven points or fewer, so a win to wrap up the season can salvage what nearly became one of the program’s largest disappointments in recent history after such a promising start.
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