After suffering back-to-back conference losses, Duke (3-3, 0-2) heads to Charlottesville to face the Virginia Cavaliers (4-2, 2-2) – who are on a roll, winning their last two games, including a 1-point victory at Louisville. The narrative has been if Duke’s secondary can make enough plays in the open field, which allows Gunnar Holmberg and Mataeo Durant to chew up the clock.
Brennan Armstrong, arguably the conferences best pocket passer, thrives on opposing defenses’ secondaries – already passing for over 2,400 yards to begin the season, with 17 touchdowns. Armstrong leads the country in passing yards, averaging 410 yards a game. Something the Blue Devils have struggled against is the pass – specifically in one-on-one coverages, with no safety overtop. In FBS rankings Duke’s defense is an abysmal 106th in the country.
In order for Duke to make this game competitive it starts and ends in the secondary. Cavaliers’ star wide-out Ra’Shaun Henry went bonkers against Louisville last week with nine receptions for 179 yards. Keytaon Thompson, his counterpart, had nine grabs for 132 yards. The duo of Henry and Thompson can cause some serious issues for Duke.
Duke’s offense has looked rather ordinary and stagnant at times, mainly due to defenses locking in on Durant out of the backfield, stacking the box and forcing Holmberg to use his arm. Eli Pancol has emerged as a threat on the outside – adding a consistent number two opposite of Jake Bobo, who is Duke’s number one target on third down. Duke needs that vertical threat to open up the field for Holmberg.
The motor of Mataeo Durant is unmatched. He’s had several drives this season where he’s touched the ball five or more times consecutively on the same possession. The Maxwell award finalist has 791 yards on the ground for the season, which currently ties him for the lead in the conference, and with the amount of touches he’s getting, that number looks to eclipse 1,000 in the next two games.
Final Analysis
Coach Cutcliffe has preached about making the necessary adjustments, which starts on the practice field. The secondary really concerns me heading to Charlottesville with the league’s hottest quarterback licking his chops at a defense that has been torched all season. If Duke can control the time of possession battle, they certainly have a chance to upset the Cavaliers on the road.