‘Excited for where we are going’: What we learned about Duke as it became bowl eligible
.JPG "Duke quarterback Riley Leonard (13) is lifted by center Jack Burns after scoring a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Boston College, Friday, Nov. 4, 2022 in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)")
Getting rid of the coach who took Duke football from the worst program in the country to heights it hadn’t experienced in decades was not easy.
Duke athletics director Nina King oversaw that move, parting ways with David Cutcliffe when the program’s stretch of six bowl appearances in seven years was followed by three consecutive losing seasons.
That move in late November 2021 led to Mike Elko’s arrival as Duke’s new coach in December.
He’d never been a head coach before. But, he’s proven masterful at the job, leading the Blue Devils back to bowl eligibility with three games still to play.
Duke got the requisite six wins, something it hadn’t done since 2018, with a 38-31 win at Boston College on Friday night.
King, not yet two full years into her first gig as an athletics director, was at Alumni Stadium for the win that gave Duke a 6-3 record and a celebration that brought plenty of satisfaction.
“Mike and his coaches and staff have done an incredible job,” King told The News & Observer. “Our student-athletes are having fun and doing the work. They are bought in and we are seeing it play out on the football field. Just really excited for where we are going with this program.”
There’s plenty to be excited about and plenty still left to achieve. Over the last six seasons of Cutcliffe’s tenure, Duke only won seven regular-season games once (in 2018).
That’s the next achievement to unlock, and Duke can do that by beating Virginia Tech (2-6) at Wallace Wade Stadium on Nov. 12.
Looking ahead to that, here’s what Duke showed it may have in store for its next three ACC opponents, and whomever it meets in a bowl game.
Blue Devils still hungry
Achieving bowl eligibility was a goal for Duke this season. So upon reaching that mark, the Blue Devils naturally soaked it in.
The postgame locker room featured smiles and hugs — and dance moves.
“The celebration was pretty good,” Duke quarterback Riley Leonard said. “But honestly, that’s what we expected. We expected a lot more. So six was the bare minimum. You know, it’s great to be bowl eligible now. But we’re gonna win out from here. That’s the plan.”
The struggling Hokies (2-6, 1-4 ACC) are next for Duke, on Nov. 12. After that it gets tougher, at reigning ACC champion Pittsburgh (4-4, 1-3 ACC) on Nov. 19 and against No. 22 Wake Forest (6-2, 2-2) in the regular-season finale Nov. 26 at Wallace Wade Stadium.
The more Duke wins, the better its bowl destination.
“I just think the biggest thing is to make sure no one is comfortable,” Duke junior left tackle Graham Barton said. “The six wins is an unfamiliar place for the guys on this team. We haven’t done it in a couple of years and I think we’ve got to make sure we stay consistent in our preparation, stay consistent in our work ethic and just make sure we come out and play like we have been playing the next three games.”
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Duke run game is steady
The Blue Devils entered Friday night averaging 205.1 rushing yards per game, second in the ACC to Florida State’s 209.63.
Boston College schemed to stop Duke from gaining yards on the ground by consistently stacking the line with players at the expense of the defensive secondary. The Eagles still couldn’t stop Duke, which averaged 5.7 yards per carry while rushing for 232 yards.
“They played a loaded box all night,” Elko said. “When they play loaded boxes it becomes really challenging and I thought early on we really came up with some different looks and some different things that we were able to do to create leverage. We were able to execute a lot of that stuff really well obviously.”
Leonard, thanks to his 60-yard touchdown run that began the scoring, led the way with 96 yards. Running back Jaquez Moore gained 82 yards and scored two touchdowns.
That’s balance. As long as Duke keeps churning out 200 rushing yards per game, the Blue Devils will be tough to beat.
“We go into a game knowing that we want to run the ball, and that’s a strength of ours and we’ve got to play to it,” Barton said. “So I just think it’s a group effort by the backs, the whole line, the coaches, the receivers, just playing physical, blocking through the whistle. Just trying to create lanes and just continuing to fight.”
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Defense needs shoring up
The Blue Devils were last in the league in all of the major defensive categories last season. Moving up to the middle of the pack this season in scoring defense (22.1) is notable.
That doesn’t mean all is good.
Boston College freshman quarterback Everett Morehead threw for 330 yards and four touchdowns against Duke. The Blue Devils entered the night No. 13 among the 14 ACC teams by allowing 262.9 passing yards per game, and allowed even more.
Boston College rushed for just 75 yards, averaging just 2.7 yards per carry. So that’s strong.
But allowing all those receiving yards isn’t great.
“We didn’t obviously play well enough on defense for three quarters,” Elko said.
Duke did record a pair of fourth-quarter sacks that stopped Boston College drives to keep the Eagles from further whittling away at what had been a 38-21 Duke lead. The five sacks Duke had in the game is something to build on.
But uncertain play at cornerback, for example, where Duke used Chandler Rivers, Speedy Young, Josh Pickett and Tony Davis against Boston College proved leaky too often.
This story was originally published November 5, 2022 at 6:40 AM with the headline "‘Excited for where we are going’: What we learned about Duke as it became bowl eligible."