Duke came out guns ablazing in 2018, dismantling NC Central, Northwestern, Baylor and North Carolina en route to being just 13 votes outside of the AP Top 25 poll. Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, disaster struck—the team lost their next six games before rebounding to win their final three contests, including a victory over Northern Illinois in the Quick Lane Bowl to cap the season.
So just what went awry for head coach David Cutcliffe and his squad? Much of Duke’s early success can be attributed to a stifling rushing defense that yielded a meager 65.3 yards per game, the second best mark in the nation through the first four weeks. Additionally, the Blue Devils allowed only 2.3 yards per rushing attempt.
In Duke’s six-game slide, their run prevention came crashing back to mediocrity, as they gave up 207.3 yards per game on the ground on 4.5 yards per carry (for reference these would be No. 107 and No. 80 out of 129 Division I teams if paced to the whole 2017 season, respectively).
"I think [responsibility] is one of the biggest things for us," linebacker Joe Giles-Harris said. "[You need to] hon[e] in on what you have to do and doing your part, your one-eleventh."
A major factor of the dip in production came from breaks in communication among defenders. Long runs, which were few and far between in the beginning of the season, came frequently for Duke’s opponents during the losing streak.
At times, there were holes left entirely unmanned, allowing for the running back to get past the line completely unscathed. In what was perhaps the low point of the season for the Blue Devils’ defense, Pittsburgh running back Darrin Hall ripped off touchdown runs of 79 and 92 yards without a Duke player laying a finger on him.
"It’s been an emphasis since I’ve been here to not give up explosive plays. So I think the biggest thing [to stop them] is studying the film, learning from our mistakes in previous years and reps and just understanding what we have to do to limit those," Giles-Harris said. "When we do limit those plays we’re a much better defense."
With the departure of former defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to Oklahoma State, Duke will turn to Ben Albert and Matt Guerrieri to share defensive coordinator duties this fall. Albert and Guerrieri will have a highly experienced unit to work with, as eight defensive starters from last season returned to Durham this fall.
Weak side linebacker Joe Giles-Harris, an all-ACC selection in 2017, and Ben Humphreys will spearhead one of the best linebacking corps in the country. The pair had 125 and 70 tackles in 2017, respectively, the two best marks of returning Blue Devils. The highly capable defensive line returns three of four starters in defensive ends Tre Hornbuckle and Victor Dimukeje and defensive tackle Edgar Cerenord. Hornbuckle was a master at providing pressure behind the line of scrimmage, and his 9.5 tackles for loss were second-best on the team, behind only Giles-Harris’ 16 tackles for loss.
With ample talent and experience on the line and at linebacker, Duke has the ability to be an extremely stout rushing defense. However, it will face an immediate test in its season opener against Army. The Black Knights had the most effective rushing attack in the nation last year, totaling 4710 yards on the ground on six yards per carry and 50 rushing touchdowns.
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