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First road game of the season coming up. Troy was tough last year, just as Coach Cutcliffe warned that they would be. The Elon game was a good opener, but the Trojans of Troy would likely wage a tougher battle for both our offense and defense. Who's got the scouting report?

Duke opened as an 18 point favorite in Vegas. This will be an early season test seeing as the game is on the road, but this is a game Duke should win by double digits. Step One to another successful season is to win the games we are suppose to win.

For those lucky enough to have it, the game will be on ESPN3. Julie and I are celebrating three years together next weekend, (it's actually today, but we like the idea of having a whole weekend together) so I may or may not tune in. Hoping we'll be back in our hotel before the game ends and I'll catch the audio on goduke.com.

Devil in the Blue Dress wrote:Who's got the scouting report?

UAB rushed for 338 yards and four touchdowns against Troy. I suspect we will run it right at them while mixing in the pass plays.

Really excited to see how this team performs in their first road game. Being an 18 point favorite is a pretty big compliment and Troy is a team that could definitely beat us if we do not come out ready to go.

I am interested to see how the secondary looks this week. I was not very impressed by our man-to-man pass coverage against Elon. Their receivers seemed to created a lot of space somewhat easily.

Should be a good game!!!!

Duke 37, Troy 24

Our offense is SOLID! We have lots of experienced talent with a good infusion of youth. I hope I am wrong about Troy scoring that many points, but with it being their home opener and us having lots of young guys playing on the road...

Per Jim Sumner's "Football Notes" post at DBR, Coach Cutcliffe said to expect changes on Special Teams as kick coverage was a disappointment. The team had a very physical practice today.

Duke 30
Troy 13

Troy only managed 70 rushing yards on 31 attempts against.... UAB. That is horrific. Their new quarterback was pretty accurate, but was only able to throw for 160 yards and no TD's. I will be shocked if they move the ball very well against our defense. And if they do, we will be in trouble once ACC play starts.

Our offense should be able to run the ball efficiently and get it to Blakeney, Crowder, and McCaffrey when we need to. This should be a game thats over midway through the third quarter.

GO DUKE!

I would like to see us create a turnover.

CameronBornAndBred wrote:I would like to see us create a turnover.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/apple-turnovers/


I'll leave that to you and TNTDevil. I prefer cherry, please.

Troy Football Press Conference - Duke Game:

http://www.troytrojans.com/news/2014/9/ ... 44127.aspx

Head Coach Larrry Blakeney:

We rushed for 71 yards, and that is not enough. We are going to try and get to where we can run the football. I think that is somewhere that we can be better at with our offensive line and tight ends and our backs

A look ahead on wral.com.

"Obviously last week we out-physical'd Elon, as far as on offense we just physically dominated them," said Duke quarterback Anthony Boone. "But this is a team that's not going to let you go into their place, first home opener in a new stadium, just come in there and try to beat them up. That's not going to happen."

http://www.wralsportsfan.com/duke-faces ... 4sFCVG6.99

Let's Go Duke!!!!

Attended the Coach Cut Radio Show, and he was talking about the trip to Alabama to play Troy. To all of you making the trip.......... have safe travels and yell loud!!! Let's Go Duke!!!

I participated in Duke's mid-week teleconference with Scottie Montgomery and Jim Knowles:

http://bluedevilnation.net/2014/09/foot ... nce-notes/

Bob Green wrote:I participated in Duke's mid-week teleconference with Scottie Montgomery and Jim Knowles:

http://bluedevilnation.net/2014/09/foot ... nce-notes/

Some interesting points from Coach Knowles. Maybe my assessment of the poor pass coverage was actually their plan all along. From what he said, it sounds like they were letting Elon get those short passes and trying to avoid a deep ball.

C.J. France will not play on Saturday due to a leg injury. Redshirt Freshman Chris Holmes will get his first start of his career at WLB this weekend.

I touted C.J. France's experience after the injury to Kelby Brown and multiple knowledgeable folks pointed out to me that France simply does not possess ACC level talent, so this opportunity for Chris Holmes and Zavier Carmichael to gain much needed experience is most likely a blessing in disguise.

At the big picture level, the continuing parade of injuries is disconcerting.

Bob Green wrote:I touted C.J. France's experience after the injury to Kelby Brown and multiple knowledgeable folks pointed out to me that France simply does not possess ACC level talent, so this opportunity for Chris Holmes and Zavier Carmichael to gain much needed experience is most likely a blessing in disguise.

At the big picture level, the continuing parade of injuries is disconcerting.

I agree wholeheartedly. None of us want injuries to take players out of playing, but so far the timing of such events is allowing for some adjustments and opportunities.

Bob Green wrote:I touted C.J. France's experience after the injury to Kelby Brown and multiple knowledgeable folks pointed out to me that France simply does not possess ACC level talent.

I definitely agree with this Mr. Green. It seems pretty obvious that Holmes has a very high ceiling and looked pretty good last week. If he can step up and play well this week, I think it could solidify Helton/Holmes as our top duo at linebacker.