Looking to start 4-0 for the first time in 20 years, the Blue Devils will take on Tulane Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at Wallace Wade Stadium. Every week throughout the football season, we’ll break down a player on each team who could be the difference-maker in the upcoming contest.
Duke: linebacker David Helton
The senior preseason Second Team All-ACC linebacker leads an improving linebacking corps that is rapidly developing while adjusting to the absence of mike linebacker Kelby Brown. Helton, a Chattanooga, Tenn., native, already has 31 tackles through 3 games—including 15 at Troy two weeks ago—and will need to have another big game to stop Tulane’s formidable rushing attack that averages 5.0 yards per rush and 157.3 rushing yards per game, which is currently the second-best rushing attack in the American Athletic Conference.
The rushing attack, led by redshirt freshman running back Sherman Badie, has produced yards in bunches, as Badie alone has three rushes of more than 20 yards, two of which went for touchdowns. Tulane has been in three close games, with an average point differential of just three points per contest. If the Blue Devils want to secure a convincing win, Helton and the Blue Devil defense will have to step up and contain Badie and his backfield cohorts.
Helton's guidance of redshirt freshman Chris Holmes and freshman Zavier Carmichael—who have been splitting time at Helton's usual will linebacker spot—could also be a key factor against the Green Wave.
Tulane: cornerback Lorenzo Doss
The Second Team All-American leads a Tulane secondary that has only allowed eight touchdowns in 16 red zone trips, good for 12th in the nation. Doss—a New Orleans native—tallied seven interceptions last year, ranking second in the nation, and returned two of them for touchdowns. This ball-hawking cornerback will seek to contain a talented Blue Devil receiving corps.
If anyone is going to contain the trio of senior Jamison Crowder, redshirt senior Issac Blakeney and junior Max McCaffrey, it will have to be Doss. This trio has combined for 528 receiving yards and they have caught seven of quarterback Anthony Boone’s eight passing touchdowns. The Duke offense relies on Boone to take to the air, so watch for Doss to be shadowing Crowder all over the field, especially since the Monroe, N.C. native will likely be looking to break out after catching just two passes last week.
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