Duke head coach David Cutcliffe held his weekly press conference today. Cutcliffe talked about his team’s 58-55 loss to Pittsburgh last week and also the upcoming matchup against Troy. Here are some highlights from his 30-minute question and answer session. The Blue Devils play the Panthers Saturday at 3:00 p.m. at Wallace Wade Stadium.
After last weekend's shootout against the Panthers, a game that featured over 1,100 combined yards of total offense, Duke will look to regroup against a non-conference opponent this weekend. The Trojans are 2-2 on the year and have allowed 34.3 points per game thus far. The Blue Devils will look to build on their offensive success against Pittsburgh and torch Troy the same way Mississippi State did last week, when the Bulldogs racked up 62 points against the Trojans in Starksville, Miss.
"[Troy head coach] Larry Blakeney is a guy I've known a long time, and he humbles me in regards to our profession; 23 years at Troy University. I grew up in Alabama, Larry grew up in Alabama. Larry was an Auburn guy, I was an Alabama guy. What he has done for Troy and where he has taken them... Larry Blakeney gets to coach on Larry Blakeney field in Troy, Alabama. Does that tell you anything about the job he has done? I think he is one of the finest football coaches in the business."—Cutcliffe
Troy utilizes a dual-quarterback scheme, with seniors Deon Anthony and Corey Robinson splitting time taking snaps. Anthony is used primarily as a running option and leads the Trojans with 215 yards on the ground this season, averaging 5.9 yards per carry. Robinson has thrown eight touchdowns and four interceptions, while completing more than 72 percent of his passes for a total of 975 yards.
"This is a dangerous team with a lot of weapons, two outstanding quarterbacks, receivers that can run and catch and play and two backs that are really good," Cutcliffe said.
Duke wideout Jamison Crowder received the ACC specialist of the week award after his performance against Pittsburgh. The junior racked up 109 punt return yards, including an 82-yard touchdown. Crowder also caught seven passes for 141 yards and and a touchdown, as well as rushing for a touchdown.
"Real proud of Jamison, and I'm real proud of Scottie Montgomery, his coach, because Scottie was the last Duke player prior to Jamison that had a return [for a touchdown], a touchdown catch and a rushing touchdown in a game. So I shook Scottie's hand on that, and now him and Jamison are in the same club."—Cutcliffe
Cutcliffe also commented on Eli Manning's early-season struggles with the New York Giants, who are 0-3. Manning played under Cutcliffe at Mississippi from 2000-2003 before heading to the NFL and leading the Giants to Super Bowl victories in 2007 and 2011.
"My comment to Eli would be that in 2011 I watched him win the Super Bowl, and during that year they had a run of six games where they lost five of them, including four in a row. Football is a season-long event, that would be my only comment to him, and to Duke."—Cutcliffe
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