It’s been a magical time at Duke with David Cutcliffe at the helm. Cutcliffe turned the most maligned Power Five football program in the country and brought it some respectability. Duke has now made bowls in four straight seasons after having not made a bowl since 1995 prior to that and Cutcliffe got his first bowl victory at Duke last season against Indiana. The Blue Devils have a lot of work to do if they want to get to a bowl this season however.
Duke Blue Devils Season Win Total Odds at BookMaker.eu
Blue Devils Over 6 +125
Blue Devils Under 6 -165
2015 DUKE BLUE DEVILS SEASON REVIEW
Duke started the season 6-1 with wins against Georgia Tech, Boston College, and Virginia Tech and it looked like the Blue Devils were once again going to contend for the ACC Coastal title. However, one of the flukiest losses you will ever see then sent Duke into a four-game tailspin. Duke scored with almost no time left to pull ahead of Miami, but then the Hurricanes had a dubious lateral return for a touchdown that won the game for Miami. The Blue Devils had real trouble bouncing back from that and in consecutive weeks got blitzed by North Carolina and Pittsburgh as a result.
Thomas Sirk was the team’s leading passer and rusher last season and he made the offense go. Sirk passed for 2625 yards with 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions and also tallied 803 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground. He had his best game of the season in Duke’s 45-43 quadruple overtime win over Virginia Tech, passing for 270 yards and four touchdowns and also rushing for 109 yards as well in the game.
The defense wasn’t as good as it was in season’s past and a large reason for that was the failure of Duke to get to the quarterback. The Blue Devils went from posting 29 sacks in 2014 to 17 sacks last season and although the unit was much better in run defense, the pass defense stagnated.
WHAT CHANGED
Duke suffered two huge blows from last season’s squad. The first came in February when it was announced that Thomas Sirk had torn his Achilles heel and would be questionable to play at all in 2016. Sirk was expected to have his best year yet as a season and although he is optimistic to play at some point, it’s up in the air.
The Blue Devils also suffered a big loss on defense when Jeremy Cash ran out of eligibility. Cash was a playmaker as a hybrid linebacker/safety and won First Team All-ACC honors with his strong play. He led the team in tackles for loss with 15.5 last year, and was second on the team with 101 tackles.
2016 DUKE BLUE DEVILS SEASON PREVIEW
Sirk’s injury thrusts Parker Boehme into the starter’s role for at least the early part of the season. Boehme has some playing experience, having thrown 78 passes last year, but only has one start under his belt and is an unknown quantity. The good news is that if anyone can coach a player into becoming a serviceable starter, it’s Cutcliffe.
Boehme will have some good receivers to throw to in TJ Rahming and Anthony Nash. Rahming and Nash combined for 1046 yards last season and Rahming has the speed to get open on slant routes. These two will help Boehme’s transition into the starting role.
The defense lost Cash, but the secondary is still the strength of the team. Four starters from last year’s position group return and 10 of the top 11 defensive backs. All four projected starters are seniors and that means Duke has an edge.
At this point, people underestimate Cutcliffe at their own risk. The schedule is tough with six road games, including a pseudo conference game against Notre Dame in South Bend, but after years of proving wrong it’s hard to imagine him not working some kind of magic with his team.
College Football Odds: Duke Blue Devils Over 6 Wins +125
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