By BRYAN STRICKLAND

bstrickland@heraldsun.com; 419-6671

The day after a game always leaves college football coaches to deal with a long list of concerns.

Duke coach David Cutcliffe's list -- specifically his injury list -- has never been longer.

"We have 28 guys that have been playing that are on our injury list, which as far as I know is a record number for me," Cutcliffe said Sunday. "Normal would be half of that or so.

"It's pretty amazingly long. Part of that is the wear and tear of the season, and part of it is bad luck. It's extremely concerning that it's as big as that."

Cutcliffe did point out that the list he receives from the training staff every Sunday includes everybody that could miss some practice time, all the way down to guys who might be too sick to practice for a day.

Cutcliffe wasn't ready to reveal specifics about the list -- he said more information could be available today -- but he is already figuring out what to do at quarterback for the final two games of the season if back-up Sean Renfree isn't available.

Saturday evening, after Renfree went down with some sort of injury to his right knee in Duke's 49-10 loss to Georgia Tech, Cutcliffe said he wouldn't burn true freshman Sean Schroeder's redshirt if Renfree were out and starter Thad Lewis was knocked out of action.

Sunday, he said using Schroeder was something he'd have to consider.

"Sean Schroeder would do whatever we had to do," said Cutcliffe, whose Blue Devils need to finish 2-0 to go bowling. "There's a lot on the line here, and he knows and understands that."

If Renfree is sidelined and Lewis were knocked out for just a series or two, Cutcliffe said that sophomore punter Alex King -- who made his college debut against Georgia Tech -- works with the quarterbacks some and could fill in. Cutcliffe also could go with the "wildcat" formation for a few plays, with a running back taking a direct snap.

There's certainly drama surrounding the possibilities at quarterback, drama that could disappear if Lewis can stay in the game. But the depth of injuries on a depth-shy team aren't going to disappear, and it will create quite a challenge for Duke to end the season, staring with Saturday's trip to Miami (noon, ESPNU).