The 'Hoos come to Durham

[devildeac]

I think Duke starts off at about a 5 point favorite. Waiting on Bob Green and/or Wolfpackdevil for some reviews .

[wolfpackdevil]

30 hours later and I am still pumped about the GT win! I even got a chance to talk to Josh Snead at Southpoint mall earlier today.

The win yesterday sets up a great matchup for next Saturday against Virginia. UVA is 2-0 in ACC play so far this year, which gives them the honor of being the only team in the Coastal division without a conference loss. Granted, the game against Duke will be their first road ACC game of the year.

I must say, this is a very impressive UVA team. They are 4-2, with there losses coming by less than 10 points to UCLA and BYU. They have also already beaten Louisville and Pittsburgh to open ACC play. This is the best team they have had in a few years, and I think we will be in for a battle next Saturday.

Mike London has recruited very well during his time in Charlottesville, and it seems that is starting to pay off. This Cavaliers team has a fast and physical defense that will try and put a lot of pressure on Anthony Boone. Luckily, our offensive line has been amazing this year and has kept Anthony almost untouched. If their defensive line and linebackers are able to pressure AB, we could be in for a long day on offense.

Virginia's offense has not been nearly as impressive as their defense so far this year, but their senior RB Kevin Parks is a beast. He is a strong, physical runner, who they like to give the ball to a lot. I have loved what I have seen out of our defense so far in ACC play, and our boys must slow down Parks if we intend to win.

If there are no new injuries on our side, I think we win a close game in the high 20's on Saturday. A win against UVA puts us at the top of the Coastal, and gives us another bye week to get prepared for the final stretch!

[Bob Green]

This Cavaliers team has a fast and physical defense that will try and put a lot of pressure on Anthony Boone. Luckily, our offensive line has been amazing this year and has kept Anthony almost untouched. If their defensive line and linebackers are able to pressure AB, we could be in for a long day on offense.

Duke is 23 in the nation in rushing at 228.5 yards per game, while Virginia is 6 in the nation in rushing defense yielding just 91.5 yards per game. Something has to give. We will need to achieve balance on offense, which has been our strength all season with the notable exception of the Miami game.

Virginia's offense has not been nearly as impressive as their defense so far this year, but their senior RB Kevin Parks is a beast. He is a strong, physical runner, who they like to give the ball to a lot. I have loved what I have seen out of our defense so far in ACC play, and our boys must slow down Parks if we intend to win.

The defense has played very good the past few weeks and another solid effort will be needed this coming Saturday. In addition to Parks, who I agree is a beast, Virginia is getting solid play from sophomore quarterbacks Matt Johns and Greyson Lambert. Poor QB play has doomed the Cavaliers the past several years, but that weakness is in the rearview mirror in 2014.

If there are no new injuries on our side, I think we win a close game in the high 20's on Saturday. A win against UVA puts us at the top of the Coastal, and gives us another bye week to get prepared for the final stretch!

Coach Cutcliffe stated in his 5 pm Sunday telephone call that there are no long term injury concerns from the Georgia Tech game, just bumps and bruises.

This is a big game as Duke and Virginia both control their own destinies at this point. Whoever loses on Saturday will need help to make it to Charlotte.

[CameronBornAndBred]

As Wolfpackdevil mentioned, London has recruited well; it had to start paying off at some point. I am always nervous about playing Virginia, but I was really impressed with our team last Saturday. That was a great performance, and NOT the team the showed up in Miami. If we protect the ball, keep a healthy mix of running and passing, and play the same D as we did in Atlanta, we should be ok.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Speaking of playing D...this is a nice article.

Duke defense proving to be among best in ACC – The Blue Devils defense ended last season with a thud, allowing 97 points in season-ending losses to No.1 Florida State in the ACC Championship Game and No. 20 Texas A&M in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

Halfway through this season, that defense has proven to have a much tighter bite.

After putting the clamps on Georgia Tech’s spread option offense in Saturday’s 31-25 upset win at Bobby Dodd Stadium, Duke has allowed 99 points in five games. That’s an average of 15.5 points per game, good for No. 2 in the ACC behind Louisville’s 14.1.

http://www.heraldsun.com/news/showcase/ ... ning-After

[Bob Green]

Speaking of playing D...this is a nice article.

Steve Wiseman does a wonderful job with his Duke coverage. Between him and Laura Keeley, the team receives much good press in the local media.

[devildeac]

This Cavaliers team has a fast and physical defense that will try and put a lot of pressure on Anthony Boone. Luckily, our offensive line has been amazing this year and has kept Anthony almost untouched. If their defensive line and linebackers are able to pressure AB, we could be in for a long day on offense.

Duke is 23 in the nation in rushing at 228.5 yards per game, while Virginia is 6 in the nation in rushing defense yielding just 91.5 yards per game. Something has to give. We will need to achieve balance on offense, which has been our strength all season with the notable exception of the Miami game.

Virginia's offense has not been nearly as impressive as their defense so far this year, but their senior RB Kevin Parks is a beast. He is a strong, physical runner, who they like to give the ball to a lot. I have loved what I have seen out of our defense so far in ACC play, and our boys must slow down Parks if we intend to win.

The defense has played very good the past few weeks and another solid effort will be needed this coming Saturday. In addition to Parks, who I agree is a beast, Virginia is getting solid play from sophomore quarterbacks Matt Johns and Greyson Lambert. Poor QB play has doomed the Cavaliers the past several years, but that weakness is in the rearview mirror in 2014.

If there are no new injuries on our side, I think we win a close game in the high 20's on Saturday. A win against UVA puts us at the top of the Coastal, and gives us another bye week to get prepared for the final stretch!

Coach Cutcliffe stated in his 5 pm Sunday telephone call that there are no long term injury concerns from the Georgia Tech game, just bumps and bruises.

This is a big game as Duke and Virginia both control their own destinies at this point. Whoever loses on Saturday will need help to make it to Charlotte.

I'm still worried about Dewalt-Ondijo. His knee injury sure looked worse than a bump or a bruise .

[DevilWearsPrada2.0]

I hope Dewalt is healing quickly ! It looked nasty. Get well soon!

[Bob Green]

I'm still worried about Dewalt-Ondijo. His knee injury sure looked worse than a bump or a bruise .

Coach Cutcliffe did not mention JDO at all. He did talk about Jamal Bruce who was suffering from dehydration. Cut said Bruce was okay on Sunday.

[DevilWearsPrada2.0]

The Cavs, The Hoos, The Yahoos, or whatever UVA calls themselves, Let's Go Duke, Beat Virginia!!!!

[CameronBornAndBred]

Laura Keeley (and just about everyone else) notes that Virginia recent success is due to its defense.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/10/15/ ... /103/&rh=1

[CameronBornAndBred]

The ACC blog team at ESPN has unimously picked UVA to win the game. They did the same with GT. I hope this is the beginning of a fun trend.

http://espn.go.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/7 ... redictions

[DevilWearsPrada2.0]

Great Win on Homecoming!!!!! Bowl Eligible!

Let's FINISH STRONG !!!!

Let's Go DUKE!