XFactor: Duke football vs Pittsburgh

After being blown out by North Carolina 66-31 last week, the Blue Devils prepare for their home finale against a Pittsburgh team that is at a similar crossroads in its season. Duke and the Panthers each started the season 6-1, but each has lost two straight games. With both teams simply looking to get their seasons back on track, Saturday's game holds major value even though it may not affect the ACC Coastal division race as anticipated. Every week throughout the football season, the Blue Zone will break down a player on each team who could be the difference-maker in the upcoming contest:

Duke: safety DeVon Edwards

Edwards will have to help shore up a reeling secondary that got torched to the tune of 494 yards by North Carolina quarterback Marquise Williams. The task will not be an easy one with first-team All-ACC wide receiver Tyler Boyd coming to town. In two career games against the Blue Devils, Boyd has averaged 74 yards per game this season and a big performance by the junior Saturday could cripple a struggling Duke team

Perhaps more importantly, Edwards must rediscover the special teams magic that has made him such a valuable game-changer throughout his career. The redshirt junior has returned five kicks for touchdowns in his career, and the Blue Devils won all five of those games. Last year against Pittsburgh, the special teams All-American had a tie-breaking return in the fourth quarter in a thrilling contest that the Blue Devils won in double overtime. 

Since a touchdown against Georgia Tech, Edwards has been uncharacteristically quiet on special teams. Last week, the Tar Heels kicked the ball away 11 times due to their scoring onslaught, but Edwards only returned two of these kicks with a long of 31 yards. In the loss against Miami, Edwards was held to just 24 yards total on his three returns. The Panthers will be another tough opponent, and a long kick return from Edwards could prove to be the difference between winning and losing.

Pittsburgh: linebacker Matt Galambos

Duke’s rushing attack has averaged 197 yards per game this season and is coming off a 327-yard performance against North Carolina, but it will face a stiff test against Pittsburgh’s defensive front that has only allowed an average of 143 yards on the ground. As the starting middle linebacker, Galambos is unquestionably the leader of this defense and he boasts nine tackles for loss, five sacks and a forced fumble so far during his junior season.

If Galambos can get to Blue Devil running backs Jela Duncan and Shaquille Powell behind the line of scrimmage early in drives, Duke’s offense will not stay on the field for long. These negative-yardage plays force the Blue Devils into obvious passing downs, which they have not fared well on this year. Galambos can also drop back and be a threat against the passing game with two interceptions to show for it this season. Duke has exceeded 50 points in two straight games against the Panthers, but a big game from Galambos may stymie the Blue Devils and stop this streak in a big way.