When it comes to Duke Blue Devils college football, there is no equivalent of: the Cameron Crazies, Krzyzewskiville, slapping the floor when you get back on defense, the Tobacco Road rivalry or the tradition of ACC championships.
To call this place a college basketball school is to say that Kim Kardashian has “a bit of a booty on her.” The football program is pretty much like any Kardashian not named Kim. Maybe that’s not fair entirely- Duke sports does have some talent within in it. Can’t say the same for any Kardashian.
But did you know?…Duke went to the 1994 Hall of Fame Bowl, and tied for the 1989 ACC Conference title, the final season that the big visor, Steve Spurrier was leading the program.
2010 was:WONDERFUL! If you’re concerned with just the passing offense, and nothing else. When it comes to the running attack and overall defense, it was pretty much a train wreck, and the overall package yielded an ugly 3-9, 1-7 in conference season.
The defense was balanced- it was laughably pathetic in all areas: 109th in scoring, 113th against the run, 108th in total yards and 96th versus the pass. I guess you could call the secondary a “team strength.” You’d be wrong, but you could do it.
BMOCs: Senior PK Will Snyderwine has not missed an extra point in his entire college career. He also set a school record with 21 field goals last season. QB Sean Renfree is very talented. And he’s got two stellar targets in Conner Vernon and Donavan Varner. You’ll notice there are no BMOCs on the defensive side of the ball.
2011 will be fruitful if: The running game makes much better strides in 2011 like they did in 2010. They were the WORST running team in the nation in ’09. The Dukies improved to 104th last year. Okay, they still only averaged 110 yards per game on the ground, so I guess they’re going to have to do a lot more work. but RB Desmond Scott has some potential.
Also, Duke plays in the ACC, which is pretty much garbage after Florida State, Virgina Tech, and Miami. Well, Maryland and NC State could have their moments, but Duke’s rival UNC is a program about to enter serious disarray. And really there’s no excuse for them to finish behind Virgina and Wake Forest
2011 will be awful if: The Duke Blue Devils don’t improve that gawd-awful running game and new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles can’t figure things out with his new 4-2-5 scheme.
Bottom Line: If the defense can find a way to look even halfway competent this season, and the running game isn’t a sick joke, they should be able to win 4-6 games. Their schedule certainly helps. Cutcliffe won 12 games over the last three years, which is very underwhelming. But it’s still more than the ten games the program won over the previous eight.
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Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports You can follow him on Twitter