Film session: Duke football vs. North Carolina and Georgia Tech

Duke football defeated North Carolina but lost to Georgia Tech in its first two ACC contents. Here is analysis on some of the biggest plays from both of those games for the Blue Devils. 

The first plays we’ll be looking at in our film review come from the Blue Devils' game-winning drive against North Carolina. The Tar Heels ran a 4-2-5 front for the entirety of Duke’s offensive drive after getting beat early on a slant to Eli Pancol. With the Tar Heels only having six men in the box, Duke took full advantage with its 11 personnel — any set with three wide receivers and one tight end — using its tight ends to help seal out North Carolina’s defensive ends to effectively run inside zone against the light box. This allowed both Star Thomas and Peyton Jones to get loose for two big runs, the latter giving Duke the lead with a 20-yard run off an inside zone.

The Blue Devil defense stepped up next with an interception from linebacker Tre Freeman to seal the game. Duke lined up with seven men crowding the line of scrimmage to make North Carolina think they would bring heat. However, Duke drops nickelback Cameron Bergeron and Freeman into zone coverage, with the remaining five overloading the right side of the Tar Heels’ offensive line, forcing North Carolina quarterback Jacolby Criswell into throwing a pick. 

While the Blue Devils didn't come away with a win against Georgia Tech, they walked away with a couple of positives. In the second half of the game, quarterback Maalik Murphy connected with receiver Sahmir Hagans on a 65-yard touchdown to give the Blue Devils their only lead of the game. Murphy picked up on a zone blitz from the Yellow Jackets, with both the left safety and middle linebacker charging, and dumped the ball off to Hagans who ran a slant in front of Georgia Tech’s zone coverage. 

Earlier in the game, Duke’s defense stepped up big while down a score in the first quarter. The Yellow Jackets try to run a swing pass to the left side, but Bergeron brings pressure off the edge from the slot. While Bergeron is unable to stop the pass from getting to the outside, corner Joshua Pickett does a great job of keeping his outside arm free to come downhill and make the tackle and the big stop. 

The Blue Devil defense has been paramount to their 5-1 record thus far, and should help carry the team’s overall success this week against Florida State. Coach Manny Diaz’s pass rush should look to torment redshirt freshman Brock Glenn against a much weaker Seminole offensive line, allowing standout safety Terry Moore plenty of leeway to jump into passing lanes. Murphy and Co. should look to build on their success in the quick passing game to open up running lanes.