After being on the losing end of a 23-0 beatdown in Kentucky at the hands of Louisville, Duke is back home for a Thursday night game against Wake Forest. While two consecutive decisive losses will be tough to recover from, the Demon Deacons are one of the weaker teams on the Blue Devils’ ACC schedule. If Duke can get back to stronger form, this game has the potential to be a solid, bounce-back win as the team heads into the final third of the regular season.
With that said, let’s take a look at what Wake Forest will bring to the fight.
It has been a relatively tough year for the Demon Deacons, who are 1-4 in the conference. The group managed to pull off a late win against Pittsburgh, but besides that floundered against weak Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech squads. Wake Forest’s total point margin across ACC play is 78-135, not an ideal number for any football team looking to compete at a meaningful level.
Part of the issue has been injuries, which have caused problems in the quarterback room. The original starter, redshirt junior Michael Kern, is out for a few weeks with an undisclosed injury. The first backup, Mitch Griffis, was benched after a subpar first half against Virginia Tech. Third-string Santino Marucci led a late drive against the Panthers to win it, but was otherwise uninspiring. Griffis looks like the probable starter, as he saw the majority of snaps in the Demon Deacons’ most recent game against No. 4 Florida State. But his performance against the Seminoles was rough. He threw for just 82 yards on a 6-for-16 clip — certainly not ideal. He did manage to use his legs to run for a total of 27 yards, but most of the gain came on one 20-yard dash. However, he might be more comfortable back in the system for another week.
“I'm sure they're expecting him to take a big step forward, now that he's got his feet back underneath and then ready to go,” said Duke head coach Mike Elko of Griffis in a midweek media availability. “And so this will be a huge challenge for us.”
The rest of the ground game has been fine, but not great. Wake Forest averages 143 yards on the ground, led by sophomore Demond Claiborne. Claiborne has posted a solid average of 61.6 yards per game and 4.5 per attempt. The other back, junior Justice Ellison, has been a more explosive option this year. He ran for 77 yards against Florida State, including a 51-yard sprint Saturday.
Plain and simple, this is not an especially strong offense. The passing options are lacking, and the running backs have been good but not great. If the Blue Devils can play the defense that won them some of those early games, then this should be a pretty straightforward day on that side of the ball. Look for defensive coordinator Tyler Santucci to go with his preferred style of play: He can use the talent on the defensive line to run fewer blitzes, limiting other options and forcing a weaker team to bend against its will.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Demon Deacons are not a whole lot better. They have allowed 24.5 points per game this year, including giving up 30 to both the Hokies and Yellow Jackets. The rushing defense is solid, allowing 128 rushing yards per game. In the secondary, Wake Forest is a little bit weaker, having given up an average 256.5 through the air.
“[The Demon Deacons] have been really good at stopping the run, I think they've got a talented back end,” Elko said. “And I think they're executing the way they want to play the defense at a much higher level.”
While Wake Forest may be struggling defensively, Duke has floundered on offense as of late, too. The Blue Devils have been held scoreless through their last six quarters of football, and will need to get back on track in that regard. If the squad from Durham cannot get its offensive feet under it, then this game could be rough in terms of points — for both teams.
Ultimately, this is a game that Duke should win. It is, by most of the numbers, the better football team. But it has been a rough pair of games for the Blue Devils as of late, and they will need to bounce back and come out ready to play Thursday. Otherwise, bowl eligibility may be delayed another week.
“People always think there's these huge sweeping answers. We're in a little bit of a rut. But we've also been a very efficient, very effective offense for the better part of my tenure here,” Elko said. “And we’ll have all the confidence in the world that we're going to get that thing turned in the right direction.”
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Martin Heintzelman is a Trinity junior and Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.