Duke Blue Devils Online Sports Betting
Duke will never win the ACC title. All the fiery speeches and can-do slogans in the world won't make up for the fact that the new ACC is the toughest conference in the country, or at least a close second, and Duke will never be able to get the talent to consistently beat Miami, Florida State, and the rest of the powers. That's O.K., because there are several other ACC programs that don't have a realistic shot anymore either.
But titles haven't been the focus in Durham over the last few years for a team that has been excited to just get a conference win or two. The important thing is to not fall into the Baylor trap and get so far behind the rest of the pack that it isn't even competitive anymore in league play. New head coach Ted Roof appears to be the one to assure that things won't get that bad.
For all of Duke's limitations and losses, it has been competitive battling with NC State last year and beating Georgia Tech and North Carolina. This will be a tough team that will hit, scrap, and generally annoy all the big-name ACCers as they look ahead to that big game after already mentally chalked up a win against the Blue Devils. On straight talent, Duke can't come within double-digits of anyone in the ACC, but even great teams are manned by 18-to-22-year-old college kids who aren't focused every week. That's when Duke will strike.
The Schedule: Three straight road games to start the season is no way
to turn things around. This won't be a winning year, but there's only one
game on the slate, at Florida State, that Duke has absolutely no chance whatsoever
of winning. There should be at least one win against Maryland, Virginia or
Clemson.
Best Offensive Player: Junior TE Andy Roland. He's a big blocker and
was the team's best deep threat last year averaging 18.1 yards per catch making
14 grabs for 254 yards and a touchdown. He'll combine with Andy Patrick to
form one of the ACC's best tight end tandems.
Best Defensive Player: Senior DE Phillip Alexander. The former linebacker
is a pass rushing terror of an end making 6.5 sacks, 18.5 tackles for loss
and eight quarterback hurries. He'll be the marked man this year and will
need the rest of the line to take the heat off.
Key player to a successful season: The offense needs more life than
it had in 2003 when it averaged 17.6 points and 343 yards per game. The offensive
line needs players and RB Cedric Dargan must have a big season, but it's the
quarterback play that needs to make the biggest jump in production. Sophomore
Mike Schneider struggled as a freshman and needs to use his great arm and
all around tools to become a confident playmaker.
The season will be a success if ... Duke wins four games and upsets a big ACC team. The offense needs far too much work to ask for a winning season, but there's no reason that there can't be a few good non-conference road wins and catches a top team looking ahead.
Key game: October 16th at Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets will take
Duke seriously after getting pasted 41-17 in one of the ACC's biggest shockers
of 2003. Duke needs to prove it can hang tough on the road against a team
looking for revenge to show that it is good enough to not be a pushover. With
the rest of the nasty ACC schedule ahead, this could be a must-win if the
Blue Devils have even the faintest hopes of a winning season.
2003 Fun Stats:
- Third quarter scoring: Opponents 75 - Duke 29
- Sacks: Opponents 35 - Duke 19
- Interception return average: Opponents 24.6 (off 11 picks) - Duke 6.1 (off 8)
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