Duke football hits the road for a tough road test at Georgia Tech versus the Yellow Jackets on Saturday. Against the Virginia Cavaliers, Duke picked up its first ACC conference win in over two years. The struggles during that period demoralized a program and a revamp was clearly needed. So far, athletic director Nina King’s hire of Mike Elko has been the recipe the football program needed with the Blue Devils starting the season 4-1, 1-0 in conference play – with their only loss coming against arguably the hottest and ranked team in the country Kansas Jayhawks on the road.
Coach Elko’s theme for this week was adversity. Necessary changes were needed on the defensive side of the ball is the Blue Devils look to continue to be competitive and bowl eligible in the ACC. Against Georgia Tech there is no time for backtracking. The Yellow Jackets are a run heavy offense which will look to rush between the tackles, with the capability to still keep the defense honest in the secondary. Hassan Hall leads their rushing attack which included a 157 yard performance against the Pittsburgh Panthers.
Georgia Tech’s schedule so far has included playing three ranked opponents to start the season, including Clemson, Ole Miss, and Pittsburgh. Just this past week the Yellow Jackets were able to upset #24 ranked Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech will be coming into the contest with momentum to protect on their home turf.
Keys for Duke
- Make Jeff Sims a pocket passer
- Contain Hassan Hall in the backfield ( Dewayne Carter, Shaka Heyward, Aeneas Peebles).
- Force 3 and outs.
- Control Time of Possession ( Riley Leonard extending long drives).
- Win the Turnover Battle ( Duke ranks top 5 in the country on recovered fumbles).
How to Watch:
Game Time: 4 PM
Channel: Charter Sports Southeast, CBS Sports App, ESPN App
Where: Bobby Dodd Stadium-Atlanta