After a disappointing 0-2 start to the season, skeptics criticized David Cutcliffe’s football team for not showing enough progress in his fourth year at the helm. His squad has battled back to .500, however, after a road conference win and a homecoming blowout.
The Blue Devils have won back-to-back games despite missing several key players due to injuries. Cutcliffe acknowledged that the 12 scholarship players Duke missed Saturday were more than he has had to deal with in recent memory, but he believes the team is equipped with the depth to handle these losses.
Although next week’s bye may provide much-needed recovery time, the Blue Devils face perhaps their most important matchup towards reaching bowl eligibility against Florida International this Saturday.
The matchup with the Golden Panthers presents a tipping point for the year. Duke goes on the road to face a talented Florida International squad that won the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl last year. Oddsmakers in Vegas have the traveling Blue Devils as a three-point underdog, but Duke cannot afford to lose if it wants to reach its first bowl since the 1994 season.
“The goal is the bowl game,” linebacker Kelby Brown said. “That’s what we’re hunting. That’s where we want to get. I’ve always got it in the back of my mind and I think everyone else does too.”
If the Blue Devils emerge victorious Saturday night, they will have half of the six wins necessary to qualify for a bowl bid. Looking at the remaining schedule, Duke faces three types of games in conference play.
The should-wins
There are two games on the slate that stand out as expected wins for any team aspiring to postseason play.
On Oct. 22, Duke hosts Wake Forest. Although the Demon Deacons sport a 2-1 record, their two wins have come against lowly Gardner-Webb and N.C. State, arguably the worst team in the conference so far. Wake Forest was just 3-9 a year ago, but they beat the Blue Devils 54-48 in a shootout last season in Winston-Salem. If Duke can maintain the improvement it has shown in the rushing attack, it can control the clock against the Demon Deacons and should win this home game.
On Nov. 12, the Blue Devils travel on the road to face Virginia. Not only does Duke hold a three-game winning streak in this series, but the Cavaliers have lost consecutive games, at North Carolina and at home to Southern Mississippi.
The Blue Devils must beat both of these weak opponents, the two worst team remaining on their schedule. That pair of wins would bring their total to five, just one short of a bowl bid.
The likely losses
Three games stand out as the most difficult remaining on the schedule—Florida State, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech. These programs clearly form the top tier of the ACC, and all rank in the AP top-25. Although the games will be in Durham, Duke will be a major underdog, and will likely lose all three.
Still though, the Blue Devils can afford to drop these games and still have hope for a bowl bid.
The toss-ups
Duke’s bowl eligibility will likely come down to its ability to pull off one road upset from its remaining two contests.
The Blue Devils travel to Miami for a Nov. 5 game against the Hurricanes, who have had an extremely bumpy season amidst a slew of suspensions following NCAA violations uncovered during the preseason. All of the suspended players will be back on the field by the time Duke arrives, but the Hurricanes have appeared vulnerable in early-season losses to Maryland and Kansas State. The teams’ last two matchups have been close, and the off-field distractions might be enough to get the Blue Devils over the edge.
The football rivalry may not garner as much attention as the one in basketball, but the showdown with North Carolina on Thanksgiving Saturday has been extremely exciting in recent years. Even though the Blue Devils have lost seven consecutive games to the Tar Heels, five of the last six have been decided by eight points or less. You can be sure that if a bowl bid is in its sights, Duke will show up hungry and stand a real chance of winning this game.
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