Duke Vs. NC State

[CameronBornAndBred]

Who knows what we could have done if our QB was as tall as the one at Arkansas!

We woulda run for 2 so we got 50...lol. Woooohoooooo!

[CathyCA]

WOW! That was so much fun!

I had a great time in Section 21 with my CTN buddies this afternoon.

They're gonna party in Durham tonight!

[OldPhiKap]

Great effort, great win!!!!

Best part: the team walked off like they expected to win. Nice. We've come a long way, baby!

[CameronBornAndBred]

Cut just said to close...
"Our crowd..in that corner...I heard them alllll night long!"
That's awesome too!

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Tickets are still available for the next game, October 24, in Wallace Wade Stadium. Celebrate this win by being on hand for the Maryland game..... show the team how much we love 'em!

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Who knows what we could have done if our QB was as tall as the one at Arkansas!

We woulda run for 2 so we got 50...lol. Woooohoooooo!

At half time, I said "first team to 50 wins!"

I'm going to post some pictures over on Our House, since not everyone looks here for the good stuff! ;)

[devildeac]

Dukediv2012 promised a recap sometime soon.

[bjornolf]

Duke seemed to take advantage of every mistake made by the wolf puppies in that game. Great job.

The only thing that seemed odd to me was kneeling down so early. Try to get the first so you can ice the game. I know it was out of reach, but that's just an odd endgame decision. Why not practice the situation for when you need it, like if you're up by 4 instead of 21, if nothing else? Plus, why not punt there? Kneeling on 4th down stops the clock IMMEDIATELY. Even if you punt it out of bounds to prevent a return so the punt is short, they have farther to go AND it wastes more clock (the amount of time it takes to snap, set up, kick, and the time the ball's in the air. That can take a good extra 10 seconds off the clock. Even if they block the punt and score, their not scoring another 2 TDs in 40 seconds. Not the way Duke's D was playing at the end there.

[devildeac]

I had an interesting thought after this game. If "lightning" doesn't strike twice in this game for the wuffies (63 yd TD pass on the 1st play after we scored once and a LOONNG KO return for a TD), this coulda been real ugly for them. Our D was REALLY good for about 14 minutes of the 19 (?) minutes they had the ball. Am I remembering that stat correctly, 41 minutes of possession for us and 19 for them? I looked at it last night but still can't believe it.

[CameronBornAndBred]

One of the things I was impressed by, but didn't think about during game time, was our play calling after we had a "comfortable" lead. Cutcliffe talked about it in his post-game, he said they wanted to keep playing to win. That was refreshing to see us not become conservative.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

One of the things I was impressed by, but didn't think about during game time, was our play calling after we had a "comfortable" lead. Cutcliffe talked about it in his post-game, he said they wanted to keep playing to win. That was refreshing to see us not become conservative.

Amen! Coach Cutcliffe has said repeatedly that the team has to learn to think and act like winners..... as do the fans. The play calling during the second half was geared to win, not just hold on to a lead.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

One of the things I was impressed by, but didn't think about during game time, was our play calling after we had a "comfortable" lead. Cutcliffe talked about it in his post-game, he said they wanted to keep playing to win. That was refreshing to see us not become conservative.

I said something similar in the stands. "If we get conservative (meaning a "prevent offense"), we're going to lose this game." I'm very glad that Coach and I were on the same page!

As for the kneel down with about 40 seconds to go, we were up 3 TD's. If we punted and were blocked and run back, suddenly we were only 2 scores up. Stranger things have happened Think 3rd and 38 from last week. I think it was the right call, even if we didn't intercept the pass.

[dukediv2012]

The experience I had last night was one that I will always remember. The State fans were hostile, rude, and obnoxious, but Duke didn't care... as Coach Cut said in the locker room before the game, "I saw fear in a lot of eyes before the game. I saw fear in the eyes of players, fans, and even the Head Coach. They are scared of being beat by Duke. We don't want to disappoint them, do we?" The entire team EXPECTED to win that game. That was a totally different viewpoint than in previous games this year. The team was prepared for everything that State had to offer and because of that we dominated them on their own field.

For those fair-weather Duke fans on other boards (Devils Den, DBR, and others) Thad Lewis shut all of you up. He played like an ACC Champion today. Everything that he did was perfection and it was awesome to watch. My favorite part of the evening was 3rd downs because the State fans got really really loud, but Thad was calm, collected and converted 13 of 16 third downs. In the stats it may say 13 of 19, but if you don't count the kneeling on 3rd downs, he was 13 of 16 on 3rd down. That is spectacular. Two weeks ago in the N&0, NC State's defense was ranked #1 in the nation. Thad tore them apart. Needless to say, I was proud of his effort last night.

The OL is getting better very quickly. NC State's front seven on defense is very talented, but our OL stepped up and blocked extremely well. While they allowed 4 sacks, they also provided protection for 50 attempts and 40 completions. This game was a huge step forward for a young OL.

The defense was taken back by Russell Wilson in the first half, but in the 2nd half, Wilson was smothered by the defense. 78 offensive yards in the 2nd half against a Russell Wilson led team is great. Without the 93 yard KO return for TD, Duke won every facet of the game.

I told someone earlier this week, "If Duke plays like they did in the first 3 quarters against VT for the rest of the season, they have a great chance of winning 4 or 5 more football games." I believe that Duke is going to win four more games this year. I hope that you have the same faith that I do.

The fans last night were wonderful. I heard Cut say, "Where are these fans during our home games?" Recently Cut has been pretty disappointed with the lack of support from the Duke faithful, but last night he was very proud of our fans and at times, our fans were louder than the NC State fans. The players were also grateful for the support and were glad to see that there are people out there that truly want them to do well. I hope that this win will spark all of you and the rest of the Duke faithful to start cheering for Duke football as avidly as we cheer for basketball. Having a "12th Man" really makes a difference and helps swing momentum in Duke's favor. My perspective from the field last week was that VT had the advantage because their fans were more involved and cared more than our fans did. I challenge everyone to come out to the Maryland game and to bring a couple of friends so that we can SELL OUT Wallace Wade with DUKE BLUE. The team is doing their part, it is time that the fans step up now.

I am so happy to be a Duke fan right now. We have made huge improvements this year and with full support and effort, we will continue to improve.

GO DUKE! BEAT MARYLAND!

[DukePA]

That was an amazing post DukeDiv. Thank you so much for sharing this journey with us. I think it is safe to say that all the CrazieTalkers who can be at WW will be at WW.

GO DUKE!!! Spear the Turtle!!

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Dukediv2012, your description of how Coach Cutcliffe identified and used the fear in the eyes of the opposing team and fans raised goosebumps as I read it. This is how a winning coach talks to a winning team...... we'd all but forgotten that language set. What a great sense of confidence the team projects now!

I think I remember reading that Wallace Wade used to look his team in the eyes before a game. What he wanted to see was "the look," an intense visage of somebody expecting to play well and win. That's the look our guys are projecting these days.

To think that there were some "fans" expecting every game this year to be like the Richmond game!

Come on October 24! Time for the turtle to fear Duke! Now the cheer "We are Duke" means something!

[CameronBornAndBred]

Thanks very much DD12...awesome post, and thanks for the peek inside the locker room.

[OldPhiKap]

Great post '12, thanks for the view from the front line!!

Week of rest, a few interesting games coming up -- good time to be a Devil.

[devildeac]

The experience I had last night was one that I will always remember. The State fans were hostile, rude, and obnoxious, but Duke didn't care... as Coach Cut said in the locker room before the game, "I saw fear in a lot of eyes before the game. I saw fear in the eyes of players, fans, and even the Head Coach. They are scared of being beat by Duke. We don't want to disappoint them, do we?" The entire team EXPECTED to win that game. That was a totally different viewpoint than in previous games this year. The team was prepared for everything that State had to offer and because of that we dominated them on their own field.

For those fair-weather Duke fans on other boards (Devils Den, DBR, and others) Thad Lewis shut all of you up. He played like an ACC Champion today. Everything that he did was perfection and it was awesome to watch. My favorite part of the evening was 3rd downs because the State fans got really really loud, but Thad was calm, collected and converted 13 of 16 third downs. In the stats it may say 13 of 19, but if you don't count the kneeling on 3rd downs, he was 13 of 16 on 3rd down. That is spectacular. Two weeks ago in the N&0, NC State's defense was ranked #1 in the nation. Thad tore them apart. Needless to say, I was proud of his effort last night.

The OL is getting better very quickly. NC State's front seven on defense is very talented, but our OL stepped up and blocked extremely well. While they allowed 4 sacks, they also provided protection for 50 attempts and 40 completions. This game was a huge step forward for a young OL.

The defense was taken back by Russell Wilson in the first half, but in the 2nd half, Wilson was smothered by the defense. 78 offensive yards in the 2nd half against a Russell Wilson led team is great. Without the 93 yard KO return for TD, Duke won every facet of the game.

I told someone earlier this week, "If Duke plays like they did in the first 3 quarters against VT for the rest of the season, they have a great chance of winning 4 or 5 more football games." I believe that Duke is going to win four more games this year. I hope that you have the same faith that I do.

The fans last night were wonderful. I heard Cut say, "Where are these fans during our home games?" Recently Cut has been pretty disappointed with the lack of support from the Duke faithful, but last night he was very proud of our fans and at times, our fans were louder than the NC State fans. The players were also grateful for the support and were glad to see that there are people out there that truly want them to do well. I hope that this win will spark all of you and the rest of the Duke faithful to start cheering for Duke football as avidly as we cheer for basketball. Having a "12th Man" really makes a difference and helps swing momentum in Duke's favor. My perspective from the field last week was that VT had the advantage because their fans were more involved and cared more than our fans did. I challenge everyone to come out to the Maryland game and to bring a couple of friends so that we can SELL OUT Wallace Wade with DUKE BLUE. The team is doing their part, it is time that the fans step up now.

I am so happy to be a Duke fan right now. We have made huge improvements this year and with full support and effort, we will continue to improve.

GO DUKE! BEAT MARYLAND!

Fabulous stuff. Thanks for sharing. We had concert tickets. It was good but we shoulda gone to the game .

[CameronBornAndBred]

Reminder to watch Cutcliffe's show this morning (on fox sports south). It should be a fun recap of that state game.