College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Duke Blue Devils season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
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2019 Record: 5-7 overall, 3-5 in ACC
Head Coach: David Cutcliffe, 13th year, 72-79
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 53
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 88
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 52
Obviously, no one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.
5. College Football News Preview 2020: Duke Blue Devils Offense 3 Things To Know
– The offense fizzled late in the year – bottoming out with a four-game stretch scoring a total of 44 points – to finish 94th in the nation in scoring and 114th in total offense.
That’s not how a David Cutcliffe attack is supposed to work.
Eight starters are expected back, but it’s still going to take a little work to make it all go, starting with finding the right quarterback.
Clemson transfer Chase Brice has the biggest upside – he chose Duke for a reason – with just enough experience to not be starting from scratch. Junior Chris Katrenick had the job for a little bit last year when Quentin Harris went down, but he only completed 3-of-13 passes for 49 yards with a touchdown and a pick, and he ran for a score.
It might be Brice or bust, which isn’t a bad thing for a passing game was 125th in the nation in yards per completion.
CFN in 60 Video: Duke Blue Devils Preview
– 6-0, 215-pound Deon Jackson is back after leading the team with 641 yards and six touchdowns, but the offense will likely be missing the rushing production of former QB Quentin Harris. Brittain Brown is transferring to UCLA, but junior Mataeo Durant is a more-than-tine No. 2 option.
The line was terrific at not allowing a whole lot of plays behind the line, and it wasn’t awful in pass protection. However, it has to be stronger for the ground attack – Brice isn’t the runner Harris was. Four starters return from a young group that used two freshmen tackles, and former top recruit Devery Henderson is transferring over from Stanford.
– It’s a relatively untested receiving corps that has to rise up. It’ll be interesting to see if the downfield passing game is better with sharper quarterback play. A few more wideouts have to emerge, but top yardage guy Jalon Calhoun returns – he only averaged 9.1 yards per catch, though – and senior TE Noah Gray is back after leading the team with 51 grabs for 392 yards and three scores.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Duke Blue Devils Defense 3 Things To Know
4. College Football News Preview 2020: Duke Blue Devils Defense 3 Things To Know
– The pass rush was great, the overall defense wasn’t all that bad at times, and everyone did what they could despite not getting a whole lot of help from the offensive side.
Seven of the top nine tacklers are expected back, and the top two pass rushers return. 265-pound senior Victor Dimukeje led the way with 8.5 sacks on one end, and 225-pound junior Chris Rumph is back on the other side after coming up with 6.5. There’s decent size across the front four with enough depth to expect another decent year.
– Leading tackler Koby Quansah is done from his spot in the middle of the linebacking corps, more than enough parts are back to fill out the rotation for the two spots in the 4-2-5. The Blue Devils recruit to a type at linebacker – they’re all around 6-3 and 230 pounds.
– The depth in the secondary is getting hammered by the transfer portal, but that’s partly because just about all of the starters are back. Second-leading tackler Dylan Singleton is done at one safety job, but Marquis Waters is a nice hitter who knows what he’s doing.
As a group, though, more interceptions are a must, especially considering the help from the pass rush – the secondary came up with just seven picks.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Top Duke Blue Devils Players
College Football News Preview 2020: Top Duke Blue Devils Players
Best Duke Blue Devils Offensive Player
TE Noah Gray, Sr.
The hope will be for Chase Brice – or one of the quarterback options – to step up and be the star of the show who can carry the offense and the team, but no matter who it is, he’ll need his safety valve.
The 6-4, 240-pound Gray – and All-ACC performer – followed up a decent 20-catch sophomore season with a team-high 51 grabs for 392 yards and three scores. He’s not a deep threat, but he’s a steady producer who needs to come up with a few more touchdowns – two of his three came against Virginia Tech.
2. QB Chase Brice, Jr.
3. WR Jalon Calhoun, Soph.
4. C Jack Wohlabaugh, Sr.
5. RB Deon Jackson, Sr.
Best Duke Blue Devils Defensive Player
DE Victor Dimukeje, Sr.
Terrific from the moment he got to Durham, the 6-2, 265-pounder was great as a freshman, followed it up with terrific sophomore campaign, and last year ramped it up even more with 41 tackles and 8.5 sacks. He’s quick off the ball with a motor that’s always going full bore.
2. S Marquis Waters, Sr.
3. DE Chris Rumph, Jr.
4. LB Shaka Heyward, Soph.
5. S Michael Carter, Sr.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Duke Blue Devils Keys To The Season
College Football News Preview 2020: Duke Blue Devils Keys To The Season
Biggest Key To The Duke Blue Devils Offense
The turnovers have to stop. The Blue Devils were 3-1 and playing well with a blowout win over Virginia Tech. Six turnovers against Pitt later, and things started to change.
At 4-2 – beating Georgia Tech with no giveaways after the Pitt debacle – everything appeared to be fine, and then the Duke offense decided it was time to start giving the ball away as much as humanly possible.
16 turnovers in five games, and five losses later, the season was over.
On the year, Duke turned it over once in the four wins over FBS teams, and 25 times in the seven losses – with two or more in five of them.
The giveaways were a big problem in the collapse, and …
Biggest Key To The Duke Blue Devils Defense
The run defense has to be a whole lot stronger. It wasn’t bad over the first part of the season – Alabama only ran for 145 yards and was held in check on the ground, and no one came up with more than 175 yards in the first seven games – and then the wheels came off.
While the offensive side was turning it over in bunches, the defense was being run over for 200 yards or more in four straight games – all losses – right after giving up five touchdown runs in the loss to Virginia.
North Carolina, Syracuse and Wake Forest weren’t exactly Wisconsin when it came to consistently running, and they combined for over 800 yards on the ground.
Key Duke Blue Devils Player To A Successful Season
PK Charlie Ham, RFr.
More dynamic receivers have to emerge, a few more defensive stars have to rise up, and a quarterback – likely Chase Brice – has to rock, but the biggest key might be finding a steady kicker.
AJ Reed had an all-star season – hitting 15-of-18 field goal tries – but he transferred to Arkansas. Only two Blue Devil games were decided by three points of fewer – losing both – but a steady kicker needs to show up for a team that’s likely going to be in for far more close battles.
Key Game To The Duke Blue Devils Season
at Pitt, Sept 26
Duke was able to pull off a wild 51-48 win over Pitt on the road early on November of 2014. Since then, it’s been five straight losses for the Blue Devils to make it nine defeats in ten games going back to 1969.
This year it’s the ACC opener for both teams. If all goes according to plan, Duke should be 3-0 against a relatively easy slate. Beating Pitt would be a big, big deal in the Coastal race, but a loss will make it a bit of an uphill climb to assume six wins with a sneaky-tough ACC slate ahead.
– Duke Blue Devils Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2019 Duke Fun Stats
– Duke 1st Quarter Scoring: 47 – Duke 2nd Quarter Scoring: 116
– Fumbles: Duke 23 (lost 14) – Opponents 15 (lost 8)
– 4th Down Conversions: Duke 20-of-33 (61%) – Opponents 11-of-21 (52%)
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Duke Blue Devils Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
1. College Football News Preview 2020: Duke Blue Devils Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
It was a strange 2019 season for a Blue Devil team that started out great, and then everything crashed in the second half of the season with injuries and inconsistencies as nothing really worked.
This year’s team has the experience and depth to make this a decent enough season to get back to a bowl game, but that’s what last season’s Blue Devils appear to have, too.
There’s no threatening Clemson for ACC supremacy, but as long as Chase Brice – or one of the quarterback options – is good, and if the pass rush continues to be as strong as it was last season, this should be a good enough team to at least go bowling.
Set The Duke Blue Devils Regular Season Win Total At … 6
Bet at BetMGM Win Total Line: 5.5
This should be a better team in for a better season, but the ACC is going to be better, too.
There shouldn’t be any issues with Middle Tennessee, Elon, or Charlotte to kick things off – there’s no Alabama to start the season like last year.
The last time Duke started a year at least 3-0 and didn’t go bowling was 1988, and it went 7-3-1. The last time Duke started a year at least 3-0 and didn’t come up with a winning season was 1987.
The team will find a way to get to at least six wins with Wake Forest and North Carolina winnable games at home, and with Georgia Tech, Pitt and NC State gettable on the road.
It’s not going to be a breeze, but after the collapse of last year, getting to a bowl no matter what will be great.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Schedule Analysis
