Blue Devils demonstrate levels of maturity
Duke is being tested in a variety of ways and the maturation of the team is one of the bright spots so far in the season.
So is a 3-0 record, marking the first consecutive 3-0 starts to seasons in more than three decades.
Now the Blue Devils receive another kind of test as they’ll be overwhelming favorites in Saturday’s home game against North Carolina Central, which shares the city of Durham with a campus less than five miles away.
Duke dealt with a distraction last week because of Hurricane Florence. That forced the Blue Devils to leave a day earlier than scheduled for their game at Baylor, where they put together a strong overall showing in a 40-27 victory
“We have to adjust,” coach David Cutcliffe said of the altered routine, nothing that it’s difficult to leave people behind with a potential disaster looming.
The Blue Devils also had to introduce a new starting quarterback. That went well for redshirt junior Quentin Harris, who backed up the confident words expressed by teammates during the week and performed well in his first collegiate start.
Harris is filling in for three-year starter Daniel Jones, who sustained a broken collarbone Sept. 8 at Northwestern.
The game against North Carolina Central should be a mismatch, but that means Cutcliffe will be concentrating on making sure the Blue Devils perform at a high level and show execution in all areas.
After all, this is Duke’s final tune-up before Atlantic Coast Conference play, with nationally ranked Virginia Tech the first team on the docket in league competition.
Duke also played with heavy hearts last weekend because of the death of the father of co-defensive coordinator Matt Guerrieri, who spent time away from the team prior to the Baylor game.
The defense mostly adjusted well in the Baylor game and the Blue Devils showed a knack for being able to deal with a team using multiple quarterbacks with different skill sets.
This is certainly a time for the Blue Devils to heal up even as injuries have mounted.
Aaron Young, who displayed big-play capabilities in the opener, has missed the past two games with a hamstring injury.
Jeremy McDuffie, who has been slow to recover from a torn knee ligament last year, hasn’t made the trip to either of the road games and figures to take another week to continue mending. Defensive end Terrell Lucas also missed the Baylor trip with an ankle injury.