After months of construction and renovations, a new-look Wallace Wade Stadium is shining and ready to welcome everyone back on Saturdays this fall.
The refurbished stadium, now missing the track that once wrapped around the field, is set to play host to the Bull City Classic between Duke and N.C. Central Saturday at 6 p.m. With the Blue Devils returning home from New Orleans last week after a 37-7 win against Tulane, players and coaches are itching to hit the gridiron at home.
“Playing the first home game is significant in so many ways,” Duke head coach David Cutcliffe said. “Obviously first [there’s] the opening of the stadium. The fans will really benefit. The venue is gorgeous. The spectators will be in for a treat. They will feel much more involved and much closer to the game. That’s huge.”
Although Saturday’s contest will be the teams’ first in Durham since the stadium’s facelift, facing the Eagles (1-0) will be a familiar task, as N.C. Central makes its fourth crosstown visit since 2009. Duke (1-0) has dominated the Bull City Classic, winning each matchup by an average of 39.0 points, including a 45-0 shutout in the 2013 season opener. In that game, the Blue Devils racked up 488 yards and forced two turnovers to kick off one of the program’s most successful seasons in recent memory.
Two years later, Cutcliffe’s squad finds itself missing some of the big performers in that game, like quarterback Anthony Boone and wide receiver Jamison Crowder, but has so far shown little trouble replacing them. In last week’s win against the Green Wave, quarterback Thomas Sirk looked poised in the pocket and made accurate throws en route to a 289-yard, two-touchdown performance. If the redshirt junior can continue his solid play in front of the home crowd, he could stuff the stat sheet once again against a weaker FCS defense this weekend.
“I was confident [Sirk] would play well,” Cutcliffe said. “We have put him in all of those circumstances and situations in practice. [Offensive coordinator Scottie] Montgomery has done a great job with him over the last two years and he was ready to play. I think he’ll be even better this week.”
Sirk also found a pair of reliable targets Thursday night, tossing a number of passes to speedsters Johnell Barnes and T.J. Rahming, who combined for 17 catches and 179 yards against Tulane. Barnes added a 29-yard touchdown catch in the second half, the second of his career.
A steady ground game will look to open up the field Saturday and enable Sirk to make plays through the air once again. Sophomore Shaun Wilson led all rushers last week with 77 yards on 15 carries and Sirk added 68 yards operating out of Blue Devils’ read-option offense. Shaquille Powell only had seven carries against the Green Wave, but the senior will look to bounce back against an Eagle defensive line that lost starters Ty Brown and Felix Small to graduation.
The Duke offense will need to focus on limiting turnovers against an N.C. Central defensive unit that ranked third in the FCS last season with a plus-12 turnover margin. In the secondary, junior Mike Jones will be looking to cut Sirk off from some of his favorite targets throughout the day. The Baltimore native led the MEAC with 18 passes defended in 2014 and is considered one of the premier cornerbacks at the FCS level.
On the defensive side of the ball for the Blue Devils, a young and still somewhat inexperienced front six will face a strong N.C. Central offensive line that head coach Jerry Mack said he was excited about before the season. Duke will once again look to senior Carlos Wray—the only returning starter on the line—to dominate in the trenches after he registered three tackles and a sack against Tulane.
The Blue Devils could force 2014 second-team MEAC quarterback Malcolm Bell to make plays exclusively through the air if they manage to stuff the run game like they did last week against Tulane, only allowing 25 yards.
“We want to build upon the ability to tackle,” Cutcliffe said. “I thought we tackled well. We’ll be tested by a very gifted, athletic and fast football team. So I want to see if we can continue that trend.”
Another trend Cutcliffe would like to see carry over is his team’s success in special teams. The eighth-year head coach has placed an emphasis on that phase of the game and it has paid off—Duke has been one of the nation’s best return teams during the past two years and has produced All-Americans at punt returner and kick returner.
The Blue Devils are so far excelling at special teams once again early this season, with redshirt junior DeVon Edwards returning a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown in New Orleans and junior punt returner Ryan Smith nearly breaking off a big return in the first half. Senior kicker Ross Martin nailed three field goals and has become one the most accurate kickers in program history.
Duke has a sour taste in its mouth after a late kickoff return by Arizona State’s Kalen Ballage led to the game-winning touchdown in last year’s Sun Bowl. The Blue Devils understand that a big play on special teams can make a huge difference in game and will be looking for fireworks on kickoff and punt returns once again Saturday.
“We focus a lot on special teams,” Edwards said. “We prepare well in each phase of the kicking game. Special teams can make or break you at times, so we always have to know what we are doing.”
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