6 questions about Duke
Greetings-
The weekly Q&A with a beat writer who covers Georgia Tech’s opponent. This week, Steve Wiseman of the Durham Herald-Sun was gracious enough to answer some questions about the Blue Devils. Steve has been covering Duke for the Herald-Sun since Aug. 2010. He’s previously worked at the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, the Biloxi Sun-Herald and the State in Columbia, covering the Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints and South Carolina, respectively. You can follow him on Twitter here and read his stuff here.
1. To what degree have Duke’s injuries cost the Blue Devils? Could their record be a win or two better if they’d been healthy?
Injuries have really cost Duke this year. It started early when Will Snyderwine, the preseason all-ACC kicker, suffered a foot injury in preseason camp. He missed two chip-shot field goals in a 23-21 loss to Richmond and has never been the same. He also had a big miss in the 24-23 loss to Wake Forest. So that’s two wins right there. The Blue Devils will have seven players from their two-deep unavailable for Saturday’s game with Georgia Tech.
2. Duke has played a lot of teams close only to lose in the fourth quarter. Do you see any patterns in how those games have been lost?
In David Cutcliffe’s four years on the job, he’s upgraded facilities and improved Duke’s recruiting. The talent in the freshmen and sophomore classes is superior to the junior and senior classes. But Cutcliffe and his staff have been unable to teach the Blue Devils how to win games. One game, it’s a key penalty or turnover that costs them. In another it will be blown assignments on defense, the offensive line allowing a key sack or a running back not getting to the hole fast enough. The 14-10 loss to Virginia Tech is a good example, as are the Wake Forest and Richmond losses. Duke has yet to give Cutcliffe a signature win, despite several chances.
3. Is safety Matt Daniels that good or does he have that many tackles (10.2 per game) because he’s the last line of defense?
Daniels is a legitimate defender, particularly against the run. He has good size, decent speed and is smart about the routes he takes to the ball carrier. Cutcliffe is touting him as an All-American candidate, which is a tough sell because of the team he plays on. Daniels does tend to get exposed in passing coverage – Florida State burned him on a couple of deep routes – and that will keep him from being any more than a late-round pick or undrafted free agent in the NFL next year. But the kid is very smart, a hard worker and one of the team’s steadiest players for sure.
4. What are Sean Renfree’s strengths and weaknesses, and where do you place him among ACC quarterbacks?
Renfree is a classic drop-back, pro-style quarterback. He’s 6-5 and has the ability to see the field well. He suffered a torn ACL in 2009, which has limited his mobility. Many observers, myself included, thought he would take a big step forward this season and become one of the ACC’s top quarterbacks. But it just hasn’t happened. At times, he looks brilliant. At other times, he’s somewhat erratic. I believe he tends to over think things and it hamstrings him. When he is playing loose and free, he’ll lead a team downfield. But for now he’s in the middle of the pack in the ACC.
5. What would you say is the over/under on attendance Saturday?
22,000. It’s going to be cool and, frankly, the fan base has turned its attention to basketball. Duke is on a five-game losing streak and in real danger of closing out with seven losses. Not a pretty sight.
6. What are a few restaurants or bars you’d recommend to Tech fans going to the game?
The place nearest to Wallace Wade Stadium is the Bull Durham Bar and Grill at the Washington Duke Inn. It’s about a three-block walk to the stadium from there. Other than that, there’s really not much on campus. Two sports bars popular throughout the Triangle have locations in Durham – the Carolina Ale House and the Tobacco Road Sports Café. Tobacco Road is in downtown Durham and overlooks the left-field wall at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, so that’s different. Ale House has lots of seating and a long list of brew choices and good food. One other popular local place is Satisfaction, also in downtown Durham.
Thanks for reading. This is probably it until Saturday.
Ken Sugiura, Georgia Tech blog
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295 comments Add your comment
Gorilla Biscuit
November 18th, 2011
11:06 am
Unleash the hounds!!!!
GT Joe
November 18th, 2011
11:07 am
GB: let’s look at those “multidimensional” SEC offenses:
Florida #96
Vandy #97
Tenn #98
SC#87
Auburn #99
Yeah, Tech needs to be more “multidimensional”.
Supersize that order, mutt
November 18th, 2011
11:07 am
GT Joe, for some reason the filters won’t let me ask you something. I’m going to keep trying though, so any questions that might seem directed to nobody in particular are meant for you
Supersize that order, mutt
November 18th, 2011
11:08 am
There has been another GT Joe posting on here lately. Is that you or an imposter?
GT Joe
November 18th, 2011
11:09 am
Any anti-GT poster named GT Joe is an impostor…
7.
November 18th, 2011
11:09 am
Does Duke really have a football team?
Supersize that order, mutt
November 18th, 2011
11:10 am
Thought so, GT Joe. That guy is a total jerk. Incidentally, I think I found why my question was blocked. Apparently the word used to describe the day before “today” won’t fly.
Gorilla Biscuit
November 18th, 2011
11:11 am
GT Joe, it don’t matter about those teams, ya’ll ain’t playing them you’re playing the DAWGs and they are going to destroy you. Maybe they’ll let ya’ll have some rushing yards in the fourth quarter when the scout team defense is in.
GT Joe
November 18th, 2011
11:11 am
When did Kentucky start a football team?
Supersize that order, mutt
November 18th, 2011
11:11 am
Maybe yesserday will work. LOL
GT Joe
November 18th, 2011
11:11 am
GB: “Destroy” us? LOL. When have the mutts EVER destroyed a CPJ team?
Supersize that order, mutt
November 18th, 2011
11:12 am
Gorilla, I bet you said the exact thing last year, and even though you won, you never stopped us on offense. What makes you think you will this year, other than the fact that we don’t have a back like Allen this year?
GT Joe
November 18th, 2011
11:13 am
Do you mutts realize that Wake Forest would rank #2 in total yards in the SEC Least?
TexJacket
November 18th, 2011
11:18 am
On the subject of penalties, it’s very clear that the refs have a double standard in the ACC with regard to two teams in particular. VT and Fla St continually hit late and after the whistle, but are nearly never penalized for it. Also, while I think it’s pretty easy to pick out particular plays where errors were made against GT, overall I have seen a pretty fair job of officiating except when it comes to calling offensive holding on GT’s oppostion. GT’s smaller and quicker defense tempts linemen and receivers blocking to grab and hang on as the defender tries to turn and make a play and this occurs a lot when the opponents are trying to set the edge on an outside run. The officials seem reluctant to call this because they are not used to seeing it. In the NFL, this is the one of the most common run-play penalty calls because of the speed of the players but it is very rarely called in the college game.
Gorilla Biscuit
November 18th, 2011
11:19 am
Supersize, “What makes you think you will this year, other than the fact that we don’t have a back like Allen this year?”
Kwaeme Geathers, John Jenkins, Deangelo Tyson, Abry Jones, Jarvis Jones, Alec Ogletree, Corneleus Washington, Baccari Rambo, Shawn Williams and the rest of the #4 defense in the country.
Buzzed
November 18th, 2011
11:20 am
Joe: Don’t think you can make that comparison. Wake didn’t rack ‘em up against the SEC – the Least or otherwise.
Super: From Upper North at BDS, I can tell the field is green, but unless the play is at the North goal line, can’t really see the game. Guess all the visiting fans get to pay more when visiting.
Jacket Dad
November 18th, 2011
11:21 am
This game has me nervous….. Duke has played some teams close and we tend to play down to our opponent. I’m hoping we have focus and play up to our potential. We didn’t against VT.
We should win this week, but that’s why you play the game. I’m worried Duke will be hungrier than we are.
GO JACKETS!
Buzzed
November 18th, 2011
11:23 am
TexJacket: This has been covered. It’s your opinion, nothing to prove what you say, and every team could find the same kind of claims.
Supersize that order, mutt
November 18th, 2011
11:23 am
Buzzed, the ticket price is the same for visitors as it is for Tech fans
Supersize that order, mutt
November 18th, 2011
11:24 am
Gorilla, your D is ranked number 4 because you have stopped WHO????
GT Joe
November 18th, 2011
11:25 am
#4 defense in the country. Against the vaunted SEC offenses such as:
Florida #96
Vandy #97
Tenn #98
SC#87
Auburn #99
Supersize that order, mutt
November 18th, 2011
11:26 am
Buzzed, I’m not going to go so far as to say ACC refs (or any other refs) are biased in their calls, but Tech opponents almost NEVER get called for holding, and there have been MANY times when it was obvious to everybody that there was holding on a play
GT Joe
November 18th, 2011
11:26 am
But seriously, you guys did stop Coastal Carolina, the missy sisters and new mexico community, in addition the the vaunted SEC Least offenses…
Supersize that order, mutt
November 18th, 2011
11:26 am
GT Joe, EXACTLY !!!!
GTBob
November 18th, 2011
11:27 am
UGA fans are convinced that their super talented team this year will stop us unlike the super talented teams from the last three years who had no idea what they were doing. They have big fat nose tackles now so we have no chance. Vandy putting up 200 yds rushing on them. That was just a fluke.
Supersize that order, mutt
November 18th, 2011
11:28 am
Gorilla, all you mutts made fun of Tech’s HIGH offensive output and ranking in the early games because of the competition we had faced. The same holds true for UGA’s high defensive stats and rankings against similarly weak competition.
SansWorld
November 18th, 2011
11:28 am
Question to any UGA advocate: When was the last time and SEC school had an easier conference scheudle that this year’s mutts?
Supersize that order, mutt
November 18th, 2011
11:29 am
SansWorld, last year’s mutts’s conference schedule maybe???
BS Patrol
November 18th, 2011
11:30 am
UVA,Duke,Miami,Tech,Clemson,VPI,FSU,Wake would beat every single team you doggies have beaten. Big Boy football, NOT!
Some dumb doggie wrote in the Tech blog: “if you want a good education go to an ACC school. But if you want to see good football, go to an SEC school.” That’s so stupid it boggles.As my daughter would say, “DUH!
GT Joe
November 18th, 2011
11:34 am
ACC probably goes 5-0 vs. SEC This year.
Clemson vs. Auburn, Clemson vs. South Carolina, Florida State vs. Florida, Georgia Tech vs. Georgia and Wake Forest vs. Vanderbilt
SansWorld
November 18th, 2011
11:35 am
I think Auburn would beat Duke
Gorilla Biscuit
November 18th, 2011
11:36 am
Look, the DAWGs beat you guys last year with a terrible team and a defense who couldn’t get off the field on third down. Our defense has improved ten-fold and our offense is just now hitting it’s stride.
Maybe Al can show Grantham his Super Bowl ring during pregame warm ups.
Buzzed
November 18th, 2011
11:39 am
Super: Surprised that your home tickets are $75/each per game for your own season ticket holders. That’s a ripoff. UGA season tix are $40/each for each home game. I pay $55 at Vandy, $40 at Jacksonville, $75 at BDS, $50 at Columbia, $50 at Auburn, so it’s all over the board.
Supersize that order, mutt
November 18th, 2011
11:40 am
Gorilla, like I said, your defense will prove itself when they beat somebody. You haven’t done that yet, so your performance to date doesn’t prove anything. Just like Tech’s early offensive performance didn’t really prove anything either. I don’t know about your offense; maybe it has found its stride, but again, you haven’t played anybody that would really give you the stats to indicate that either.
Bobby Dodds Ghost
November 18th, 2011
11:41 am
Supersize, Just a typo , of the losses listed all were against, LSU, Alabama, Arkansas, South Carolina or Georgia , all top 15 teams.
headley lamar
November 18th, 2011
11:41 am
Do you mutts realize that Wake Forest would rank #2 in total yards in the SEC Least?
Please don’t ever compare an ACC team to an SEC team.
Sure they might. Because they haven’t been playing the same level of competition.\
Wann guess what your record will be this year against SEC Least teams
0 – 1
UGA comes out and is probably close to a 2 touchdown favorite.
On your field.
Wise crack all you want if you guys cant see that UGA defense is unbelievably better that the last few years you are a fool.
What im hearing here are allot of Tech fans who are getting real nervous and are in denial.
We are going to destroy you guys and in your heart of hearts you know it.
Either way we’ve got bigger fish to fry.
Supersize that order, mutt
November 18th, 2011
11:42 am
Buzzed, I honestly don’t remember what the per-game cost is for season tickets, but all individual game tickets cost the same for both visitors and one-game-at-a-time Tech fans. I’ll check my per-game cost in a minute just to find out.
Supersize that order, mutt
November 18th, 2011
11:44 am
I would say that it’s the mutts who incessantly troll on the Tech blogs who must be getting nervous.
Gorilla Biscuit
November 18th, 2011
11:46 am
headley lamar, I’m leaving work to go home, so I’m gonna pass the baton to you. Give ‘em he11!
Gorilla Biscuit
November 18th, 2011
11:48 am
Hope ya’ll sneak by Duke. Have a good day.
Supersize that order, mutt
November 18th, 2011
11:49 am
Buzzed, the price of my season tickets work out to be 50 bucks per seat per game.
headley lamar
November 18th, 2011
11:50 am
ACC probably goes 5-0 vs. SEC This year.
Clemson vs. Auburn, Clemson vs. South Carolina, Florida State vs. Florida, Georgia Tech vs. Georgia and Wake Forest vs. Vanderbilt
1. No way Tech beats UGA
2. The ACC may have a decent record against the SEC this year. Its easy to take a small sample size and get whatever result you want.
Here is a much bigger sample size. the all time SEC vs ACC record.
The SEC holds an 263-130-10 (.665) all-time advantage.
Umm 1 no.
Do you really think Tech will beat UGA ??? LOL
headley lamar
November 18th, 2011
11:51 am
I would say that it’s the mutts who incessantly troll on the Tech blogs who must be getting nervous.
What would we be nervous about ????
The beat down is coming. Whats funny is you guys know it too.
Supersize that order, mutt
November 18th, 2011
11:53 am
hey, headley, as little use as I have for you and your opinions, do you know that you have an imposter who sometimes posts on here. Now why anybody would want to pose as you is beyond me, but I thought you might like to know that.
GTBob
November 18th, 2011
11:53 am
Wise crack all you want if you guys cant see that UGA defense is unbelievably better that the last few years you are a fool.
They may be but we won’t really be able to tell until they play a team with a moderately good offense. Prarie View would be in the top 5 in defense if they played UGA’s schedule this year.
headley lamar
November 18th, 2011
11:55 am
Gorilla, like I said, your defense will prove itself when they beat somebody
Are you joking ??? You must not watch the games because if you did you would see what a dramatic difference it is this year.
Unfortunately we have to play your unranked team again this year.
So I guess when we shut down the pop warner offense I wont really mean anything.
Because you are most definitely not somebody in College Football.
Supersize that order, mutt
November 18th, 2011
11:56 am
headley, check the rankings, Tech IS ranked and will be next week unless we lost to Duke tomorrow.
Buzzed
November 18th, 2011
11:58 am
Super: Thanks. I guess I’m getting a good deal over the whole season, then. The donation is a killer, though.
Supersize that order, mutt
November 18th, 2011
11:58 am
OK, it’s time to get some lunch and get to doing something worthwhile. Enjoy talking to yourself, headley; after all you are the only one who takes anything you say seriously.
Buzzed
November 18th, 2011
11:59 am
Bob: Considering your schedule, how come your defense isn’t ranked any higher?