Blogging With the Enemy: Duke Blue Devils

If you say the words "Blue Devils" to anyone in any context, only one thing will come to mind: Duke Basketball. Few collegiate athletic programs have had such an enduring impact on the national sports psyche as Duke, both because of their consistent success and larger than life personalities. Coach Mike Krzyzewski's tenure has stretched back three decades and been highlighted by such players as Johnny Dawkins, Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill, Shane Battier, and J.J. Redick, just to name a few. During that time the Blue Devils have won three national championships and played in eleven Final Fours.

All of this underlines what we already know: Duke University is a basketball school. The football team struggles to emerge from Coach K's shadow, but last weekend it took a huge step back when they lost to the Richmond Spiders, a Football Championship Subdivision team.

The Stanford Cardinal will take on the Blue Devils this Saturday, and Patrick Cacchio of Blue Devil Nation stopped by to answer a few of my questions about the team. I returned the favor for him, and you can read my side of the interview over at BDN, but first take a look at what he has to say about his Blue Devils...

GoMightyCard:
Everyone knows about Duke basketball and the Cameron Crazies. What kind of fan support does the football team get?

Blue Devil Nation:
Considering that Duke has had one winning season in the past twenty years, Duke football fans are some of the most dedicated in all of college sports. While Duke basketball fans are spoiled by their team's great success, the football supporters never take a game for granted. These fans already have endured so many losses, from the embarassing to the heartbreaking, but they remain loyal to the Blue Devils through it all. They fill their seats behind the Duke sideline in Wallace Wade Stadium every Saturday, not wanting to miss the game or the play that turns around the program's fortunes. They will probably never be as loud or as innovative as the Cameron Crazies, but in some ways, they are the most devout Duke fans. Since the arrival of David Cutcliffe in Durham, enthusiasm for the football team has risen exponentially. From 2000-2007, Duke had 4 home games with greater than 30,000 fans; since 2007, they have had 9 such games, and will likely add a tenth on Saturday. With the renewed enthusiasm comes heightened expectations, and the inexcusable week one loss to Richmond has left many fans jaded. While some bandwagon fans may already be looking ahead to basketball season, the long-time faithful will return Saturday, pulling for their Blue Devils to pull off a miraculous upset.

GMC: 
What are the expectations for the team this season?

BDN:
This answer has changed dramatically in the past week. Heading into the season, most of us thought the Blue Devils would improve upon their 3-win 2010 season this fall. In fact, I had Duke projected at 5 wins, with an outside shot at a bowl-eligible season if the stars aligned properly. With most of the offense back and a young, but athletic, defense, it seemed like a realistic outlook, but few predicted that the Blue Devils would fall to Richmond in the opener. At face value, the Spiders were Duke's weakest opponent on the 2011 schedule, meaning that the 0-1 Blue Devils will have an uphill battle the rest of the way. Realistically, Duke has little chance against three top opponents at home in Stanford, Florida State, and Virginia Tech. They should, however, be able to compete with every other team on their schedule. With just a handful of seniors on the two-deep, the expectation is that this team will continually improve as the season progresses, and surpassing last year's 3-win total is an important goal for the program to demonstrate progress. 

 

GMC:
Who are the playmakers on offense? What should the Stanford defense key on?

BDN:
Duke has featured one of the top passing offenses in the ACC over the past few years. Redshirt junior Sean Renfree enters his second season as starter at quarterback, having topped 3100 passing yards in his first year. All-ACC performers Conner Vernon and Donovan Varner are his top two targets, and they are joined by senior tight end Cooper Helfet to form one of the top receiving trios in the country. In contrast to their passing ability, Duke has ranked last in the ACC and near the bottom in the country in rushing offense in recent years. A much-improved trio of running backs lead the Duke ground game, but all three have already been hindered by injuries. Junior Desmond Scott and sophomore Juwan Thompson had impressive season debuts, averaging 7.3 and 5.7 yards per carry, respectively. Unfortunately, both joined injured sophomore Josh Snead on the sidelines against Richmond. Of the three, Thompson seems the most likely to be ready on Saturday, and senior Jay Hollingsworth will see an expanded role.

GMC: 

Stanford had a hard time running against San Jose State last weekend. What is the Duke run defense like?

BDN:
Not as bad as we feared, after a sample size of one game. The Duke defense surpassed most expectations in the season opener, after an abysmal 2010. Utilizing a new 4-2-5 scheme, the Duke defense was led by senior safety Matt Daniels, redshirt sophomore cornerback Ross Cockrell, and sophomore linebacker Kelby Brown. With the exception of redshirt senior nose guard Charlie Hatcher, the defensive line is inexperienced and will play like it at times, highlighted by a group of seven redshirt freshmen rotating in and out. For all but a few plays, however, the defense held Richmond in check in week one, despite the offense frequently leaving the Spiders with a short field. Richmond's leading rusher was held to just 3.2 yards per carry, though I would expect the bigger and more physical Cardinal offense to have much better success.

 

GMC:
Finally, what did people think about those all black uniforms the team broke out last weekend? Are they here to stay?

BDN:

The trend for new uniforms is definitely a gimmick, but if it excites the players and fans, I'm not entirely opposed to it. There had been talk of some new uniforms, but the decision to unveil them against Richmond was a surprise. Had Duke won the game, we probably wouldn't have heard as much opposition to it, especially since the basketball team has used a similar look for a few years now. Since they lost, most are not in favor of the new uniforms. Traditionalists argue that without the Duke blue and white, they don't even look like a Duke team. There are others that suggest alternate uniforms paradoxically can give extra motivation to the opponent. Like them or not, we have probably not seen the last of them, but personally, I would prefer Duke to focus on winning games before we spend too much energy on the color of our uniforms.