Blue Devils seek to get it right vs. Virginia
Duke’s breakthrough in recent seasons has encountered a glitch when it comes to Virginia. The Blue Devils have lost three straight meetings with the Cavaliers.
On Saturday, Duke plays its only home game in October when Virginia visits.
“Virginia is a game we’re definitely looking forward to,” center Zach Harmon said. “Virginia, they deserved those wins. Each one of those games (in the past) we should have had a chance. … I think it’s the same sentiment this year, we think we should win.”
Duke recovered from its lone loss of the season by winning last week at Georgia Tech. The Blue Devils took advantage of three Georgia Tech fumbles in the third quarter to score three touchdowns in an eventual 28-14 victory.
A year ago, Duke’s first loss turned into a six-game losing streak, so the Blue Devils avoided that kind of slide this time.
Yet the recent snafus against Virginia haven’t been pushed aside.
“Coach (David Cutcliffe) said something about it coming into a meeting,” senior receiver T.J. Rahming said this week.
It’s certainly being used as motivation.
“Our seniors could leave here without having a win (vs. Virginia),” Cutcliffe said.
Duke can take some solace in the physical nature presented in the Georgia Tech game. Still, the Blue Devils managed only 98 rushing yards, well below their 174.5 yards per game on the ground.
In many ways, the Blue Devils know their passing attack must be improved than in recent matchups with Virginia. Much of the emphasis is placed on the receivers doing a better job finding openings.
“We got beat up as a receiver group,” Rahming said of the 2017 meeting with Virginia. “They have a lot of great DBs.”
Virginia limited Duke to 255 yards of offense last year.
Duke has to regroup to some degree on defense after losing senior defensive tackle Edgar Cerenord to a right Achilles rupture in the Georgia Tech game. Linebacker Joe Giles-Harris said that’s a significant reduction on the roster, but that Blue Devils have strong enough backups.
“Our defensive line is very good,” he said. “Guys step up and play big roles. I think they’re up to the challenge.”
Duke is 5-1 through six games for the first time since 2015. If the Blue Devils reach 6-1, it will mark only the seventh time they’ve been that good after seven games since 1950.