[NU Sports] Some Duke thoughts

[johnadeg at comcast.net]

The last time that Duke played NU in Evanston, they were a poor team but beat us pretty badly as I recall..  Let's hope that we don't repeat the past.

John DeGroat -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: DPENDERG at aol.com
>  
> Yes, we should beat Duke easily (and at last report were 16 point  
> favorites), but I'm still uneasy.  The Blue Devils would just love to end  their 
> streak 
> in Evanston and will arrive highly motivated and revved up to  play.
> The Wildcats?  Will they be looking ahead to Columbus?  Will they  come out 
> flat and distracted as heavy favorites sometimes can be?  Will  Colby's "Swiss 
> cheese" defense give confidence and yards to Duke's offense and  the game 
> suddenly becomes a shoot-out?   
>  
> In some ways, frankly, this game will be more of a test for Fitz and staff  
> to get the team ready than the two Big Ten games to follow.  If they are  not 
> ready, this could be one of the worst Cat embarrassments ever. I'm not  
> pessimistic but just want to point out that NU will not win simply showing  up.  
> That's obvious, but we were 10-point favorites against Nevada and  barely won 
> that 
> game.
>  
>  
>  
>  
>  
> In a message dated 9/13/2007 10:35:34 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
> CHerron604 at aol.com writes:
> 
> - Duke  hasn't won in 2 years (beat VMI 40-14 September 17, 2005 - 21 game   
> losing streak)
> 
> - Duke hasn't beaten a D-I team since November 13,  2004 (beat Clemson  16-13)
> 
> - Duke ran for 15 yards against  UConn
> 
> - Duke rushed for 84 yards against Virginia (99 in two games, so  a 50-yard  
> per game average)
> 
> - Duke lost a 'close' one to  Virginia, 24-13, despite being outgained  
> 324-229
> 
> - Virginia  fumbled 3, lost 2
> 
> - 2 Virginia bad punt snaps led to 10 points for  Duke
> 
> - 1 Virginia fumbled kickoff led to Duke's other 3 points
> 
> -  Virginia also had a bad field goal snap, Duke blocked it, returned 61   
> yards, but could not score
> 
> - Duke missed 3 field goals (26, 45 and  40 yards)
> 
> All this tells me that we MUST:
> 
> - limit Duke's ground  game to their average - 50 or so
> 
> - limit Duke's offense to its average  or less (they've been averaging 199  
> yards/game on offense)
> 
> -  perform well on special teams, no bad snaps, no turnovers (this I have   
> high confidence in)
> 
> Duke has been giving up 400+ yards/game, we've  been averaging 424  
> yards/game 
> on offense
> 
> I am still concerned  that Nevada had 185 yards against Nebraska, and 541  
> yards against  us
> 
> Our O-line and D-line need to show some dominance in this game -  especially  
> sacks and quarterback pressure
> 
> Chuck  Herron   Tech  '85
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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