Inveigle
All American
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2014
- Messages
- 2,766
Duke goes to Virginia Saturday for a 4pm kickoff.
Duke has been awful so far in their first two games, but at least they have played two games.
Virginia is finally able to get its season going, but as we’ve seen so far – for the most part – teams aren’t exactly coming out of the gates roaring. It’s been rocky for too many teams in their first games, and there’s a chance Duke worked out a few kinks.
There’s no shame in losing on the road to Notre Dame, and the defense wasn’t totally miserable in the loss to Boston College. Overall, the D came into the season expected to be okay, and it’s been solid against the run. It’ll hold its own against the Cavalier ground game, but …
Why Virginia Will Win
Duke’s pass defense has been ripped to shreds.
RS Senior CB Mark Gilbert had surgery this week on his foot to remove a bone fragment. He will be out indefinitely. Duke redshirt junior cornerback Josh Blackwell underwent surgery Monday to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee suffered in Sunday's practice. He will be out indefinitely.
And other than Gilbert's interception against BC the secondary isn’t coming up with stops on a regular basis. Notre Dame’s Ian Book and Boston College’s Phil Jurkovec – a Notre Dame transfer – combined for 563 yards and three scores taking target practice to keep the chains moving.
Virginia QB Brennan Armstrong has been in the Wahoos' system long enough to know what he’s doing. Give him a little time, and he’ll be effective.
What’s Going To Happen
Duke hasn’t done a thing so far to keep its offense on the field. Fumbles and Interceptions along with three and outs caused by undisciplined penalties were the main reasons. Duke has to eliminate those and move the chains.
Virginia should have the ball for at least 35 minutes as it doesn’t take a whole lot of chances, relies on a good defense, and gets a good day out of Armstrong without enough mistakes for the Blue Devils to capitalize on.
Prediction:
Virginia 24, Duke 17
Duke has been awful so far in their first two games, but at least they have played two games.
Virginia is finally able to get its season going, but as we’ve seen so far – for the most part – teams aren’t exactly coming out of the gates roaring. It’s been rocky for too many teams in their first games, and there’s a chance Duke worked out a few kinks.
There’s no shame in losing on the road to Notre Dame, and the defense wasn’t totally miserable in the loss to Boston College. Overall, the D came into the season expected to be okay, and it’s been solid against the run. It’ll hold its own against the Cavalier ground game, but …
Why Virginia Will Win
Duke’s pass defense has been ripped to shreds.
RS Senior CB Mark Gilbert had surgery this week on his foot to remove a bone fragment. He will be out indefinitely. Duke redshirt junior cornerback Josh Blackwell underwent surgery Monday to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee suffered in Sunday's practice. He will be out indefinitely.
And other than Gilbert's interception against BC the secondary isn’t coming up with stops on a regular basis. Notre Dame’s Ian Book and Boston College’s Phil Jurkovec – a Notre Dame transfer – combined for 563 yards and three scores taking target practice to keep the chains moving.
Virginia QB Brennan Armstrong has been in the Wahoos' system long enough to know what he’s doing. Give him a little time, and he’ll be effective.
What’s Going To Happen
Duke hasn’t done a thing so far to keep its offense on the field. Fumbles and Interceptions along with three and outs caused by undisciplined penalties were the main reasons. Duke has to eliminate those and move the chains.
Virginia should have the ball for at least 35 minutes as it doesn’t take a whole lot of chances, relies on a good defense, and gets a good day out of Armstrong without enough mistakes for the Blue Devils to capitalize on.
Prediction:
Virginia 24, Duke 17
