The offense stole the show in Duke’s spring game Saturday, which should come as no surprise to anyone who has become accustomed to head coach David Cutcliffe’s methodical, efficient offensive scheme.
Cutcliffe came to Durham heralded as an offensive mastermind, having tutored Peyton and Eli Manning, and indeed Duke’s passing game has made a noticeable improvement during Cutcliffe’s tenure. Graduating senior Thaddeus Lewis’ numbers jumped considerably in his final two seasons with Cutcliffe, and he earned All-ACC honors in both years. Duke’s offense has grown faster and more effective over the past two years, both as a result of Cutcliffe’s system and strong recruiting. If the spring game is any indication, recruiting should help the running game reach even greater heights this year to the tune of true freshman Josh Snead and his nine carries for 99 yards.
But as the offense progresses, where does the defense fit in?
The Blue Devils’ biggest asset on the defensive side is the secondary, where junior Matt Daniels anchors the unit from his safety spot. Daniels will receive support from two solid cornerbacks in senior Chris Rwabukamba and junior Johnny Williams, who has moved over from his wide receiver role, where he was Duke’s most promising freshman pass-catcher two years ago. The secondary was a bright spot against the pass over the weekend, limiting Sean Schroeder to just four completions on 20 attempts and only 23 yards through the air.
Beyond that, Duke’s defense will be a largely unknown factor heading into the fall.
“I’m concerned about our depth on defense,” Cutcliffe said. “I’m concerned about our front, to be real honest with you, coming out of spring practice, but we’re going to be a very multi-front, multi-schematic defensive team.”
The Blue Devils will have to be after saying goodbye to seniors Vincent Rey and Vince Oghobaase, the cornerstones of last season’s front seven. They leave no clear successors, and their absence was noticeable Saturday. Although the first-team defense managed to hold the first-team offense to just three points, the unit proved to be quite susceptible to the run. Snead broke a 60-yard dash against the first-teamers, only to be dragged down by Daniels six yards from the end zone. As a whole, the first-team offense racked up 135 yards on the ground against the first-team defense.
The running game was even more devastating against the second-team defense, exposing Duke’s lack of depth as Desmond Scott, Patrick Kurunwune and Brandon Connette combined for 232 yards on the ground.
A new scheme, therefore, may be just what the Blue Devils need. Their weakness against the run is nothing new, as Duke allowed opponents to record 152.8 yards per game on the ground last season. Things only got worse down the stretch, as the Blue Devils gave up 192, 306, 148 and 127 yards in their last four games with bowl eligibility on the line against North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Miami and Wake Forest, respectively.
Duke will look for turnovers to alleviate some of the pressure this season, as Cutcliffe has said that he wants a defense with a more aggressive mentality. But turnovers also dwindled over the last four games last season, and the Blue Devils came up with only two interceptions and two fumble recoveries during that period.
But then again, there weren’t any turnovers in the spring game, either.
“There could have been [turnovers]—yeah, I’m concerned,” Cutcliffe said. “[The White team] dropped the ball on the 2-yard line and [the Blue team] should have recovered it…. We’re going to be better at taking care of it on offense and better at taking it away. I’m hoping that a big part of the reason there weren’t a lot turnovers is that our offense took care of it.”
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