After its second bye week of the season, Duke travels north to take on the star-laden Pittsburgh Panthers in a game with major ACC Coastal Division implications. Kickoff is 12:00 p.m. at Heinz Field. Here are the keys to this afternoon’s game:
Rely on the run game
Similarly to Duke, Pittsburgh’s biggest weakness this year has been its run defense. In each of its four losses, the Panthers have given up at least 155 yards on the ground and last week against Georgia Tech, they gave up a whopping 465 rushing yards against the Yellow Jacket spread option attack. Their struggles have them ranked ninth in the ACC in rush defense, a very different story than last year when star defensive tackle Aaron Donald clogged up the middle on a weekly basis.
Relying on the run game will allow Duke to move the ball down the field effectively and keep Pittsburgh’s star running back James Conner and wide receiver Tyler Boyd off the field. Especially in a hostile environment, the Blue Devils need to use the running game to get the offense in a rhythm early before taking their shots downfield in the passing game.
Pressure Voytik on obvious passing downs
It’s not typical of Duke’s defense to apply pressure and run the quarterback out of the pocket. The Blue Devils are tied in last in the conference with only 11 total sacks this season and often have more success closing gaps and holding their ground on the line of scrimmage. However, against the Panthers Saturday afternoon, Duke should send pressure on throwing downs.
Although Pittsburgh’s physical offensive line excels in the run game, it has struggled in pass protection, giving up the fifth most sacks in the conference this season. Most importantly, Duke must make sure quarterback Chad Voytik doesn’t have time to find Boyd downfield for a big gain. The Panthers’ star sophomore receiver already has 45 receptions for 651 yards and five touchdowns this season after devastating Duke with 154 yards and three touchdowns last fall.
Continue to use tight ends, execute efficiently in the red zone
Two weeks ago against Virginia, Duke’s only touchdowns were caught by tight ends. In the first quarter, Anthony Boone found backup Erich Schneider for a one-yard reception and, in the fourth quarter, Thomas Sirk found David Reeves from three yards out on a jump pass. When All-ACC tight end Braxton Deaver— who was ready for a breakout season and on the radar of NFL scouts—went down with an ACL tear this summer, no one would have thought that Duke would rely on the tight end position for red zone production.
But with defenses often expecting a quarterback sneak, a Jamison-Crowder screen or a fade to the corner of the end zone to wideouts Issac Blakeney or Max McCaffrey, Boone and Sirk have been able to make high percentage passes to tight ends camping out in pockets of open space. The Blue Devils need to continue operating at a high level in the red zone and getting touchdowns if their two-game winning streak is to continue, especially with the starts Pittsburgh has on offense.
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