After suffering a season-opening loss on the road against Charlotte, who hosted their first ever power five conference foe at Jerry Richardson stadium, the Duke Blue Devils, led by long-tenured head coach David Cutcliffe, will not hold their heads down.
“There’s no time to ponder, but in fact look at film on areas we can get better as a ball club. One play here andone play there are the differences between winning and losing a ball game”, Coach Cutcliffe stated during his Monday press conference.
Duke, who hosts their home opener versus NC A&T Friday night, has since practiced three times times, according to Cutcliffe. Viewing the team’s mistakes has been a point of emphasis for the Blue Devils’ coaching staff – specifically in the second half. Duke’s starting quarterback Gunnar Holmberg fumbled the ball in the end zone which completely shifted the tide of the game. Coach Cutcliffe took ownership of the fumble, adding he is now coaching Gunnar to properly protect the ball when facing pressure from the weak side. He said on the bus ride back to Durham, he kept admitting that was on him not coaching Gunnar on technique.
The Blue Devils have little time to worry about what could have been and more about what is looming Friday night at home versus NC A&T. The Aggies have several weapons, starting with dual-threat quarterback Jalen Fowler who can cause a problem for the Blue Devils if they can’t apply pressure in the pocket. Duke had nine quarterback hurries versus Charlotte, but only got one sack.
The Aggies have several speedsters on the outside led by star receiver Ron Hunt, who took one 74 yards to the house versus Furman this past weekend. The Duke secondary had its share of struggles against the 49ers and look to correct their mishaps Friday night during its home opener.