Coming off its first bowl win in 55 years last season, Duke will take the field for the first time of 2016 Saturday night against N.C. Central at Wallace Wade Stadium. The Blue Devils will have several new faces among their starters and hope to build a big enough lead to be able to rotate most of their young talent into the game. Here are three keys to the team's home opener:
Avoid mistakes from Daniel Jones
Perhaps the biggest storyline for the Blue Devils this year is their new quarterback, redshirt freshman Daniel Jones, who takes over after Thomas Sirk re-injured his left Achilles' tendon. The 6-foot-5 Jones has impressed coaches throughout the preseason and can make plays with both his arm and his legs, but N.C. Central's stiff passing defense allowed only 12 touchdowns through the air last year.
Thanks to its strong rotation of running backs, Duke does not need Jones to be stellar in order to defeat the Eagles—it is just as important for him to get his feet wet and feel comfortable directing the offense heading into next week's ACC opener against Wake Forest.
Steady special teams
Throughout head coach David Cutcliffe's tenure in Durham, the Blue Devils' special teams have consistently been among the top units in the country. But with the departure of four-time All-ACC specialists Will Monday and Ross Martin, an area that used to be reliable for Duke is now cloaked with uncertainty.
Austin Parker is set to follow Monday as the punter, and true freshman A.J. Reed will likely take over at kicker with senior walk-on Danny Stirt close on his heels. The Blue Devils will need to avoid giving N.C. Central any momentum-shifting opportunities with special teams gaffes and begin developing chemistry to make their special teams units a force again.
Hold their own on the defensive line
The weakest part of Duke's 2015 team was the defensive line, something that needs to change if the team hopes to qualify for a fifth consecutive bowl game. The defense registered only 17 sacks last year—with just 6.5 of those coming from defensive linemen—and senior A.J. Wolf returns as the only experienced starter.
The Blue Devils brought in new position coach Ben Albert—who helped lead Boston College top-ranked defense in the nation last year—to inject some energy into the defensive front, and they will use a rotation of players to keep everyone fresh. But without the line getting some pressure on the quarterback, Duke could expose a secondary that looked awfully thin near the end of last season to a busy night against the Eagles.
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