When Coach Cutcliffe sent in backup QB Sean Renfree, the world got a taste of what the Duke offense was capable of. The team was in need of a spark and Coach Cut, who had already promised  that Renfree would get action, sent him in where he connected on his first pass (ever) for a touchdown.

On a subsequent drive Renfree tossed a 31 yard touchdown to Donovan Varner to give Duke a 21-13 lead.

Although they were outgained in this game 385 yards to 236, Duke was able to pull out a touch win at Army.

Unfortunately for the Devils old habits have plagued this team, growing pains are a plenty. In the game against Richmond Duke did not establish a running game whatsoever, in fact Duke rushed for only 19 yards in the opener. That coupled with special teams miscues and mistakes (2 field goal misses, and a blocked punt). Duke is going to have to improve by leaps and bounds if they do not want to be embarrassed by Kansas (22).

Duke will need to improve in the area of third down conversions for sure if they are to stay in a game with the powerful Jayhawks. Going 2-10 against Army and 3-12 against Army will not get it done. Duke also needs to establish a serviceable running game or risk being predictable and allowing the Jayhawks to tee off on the quarterback position.

If you’ve read much of what the ACC media has said about Duke this past week, some would have you believe that a quarterback controversy is brewing at Duke.  I suppose you could spin it that way, but make no mistake Thaddeus Lewis is still the starter.

Lewis is still on track to set several Duke passing records and move up in the ACC record book.  Lewis, a four year starter in Durham, struggled in Duke’s 35-19 win over Army and was replaced by redshirt freshman Sean Renfree.  Lewis has been nursing injuries in the pre season which kept him from getting a lot of reps.  In short, he is working back into the timing and speed of a game.

Renfree on the other hand, had a story book debut against Army missing on a single pass and going 6 of 7 for the game.  In his first collegiate play, Renfree faked, rolled right and hit a wide open Brett Huffman who hauled in the pass and battled his way into the end zone.

Renfrees first completion put the Devils up 14-10 giving them a shot in the arm for it was the first time they led a team this season.  Army would answer with a field goal, but Renfree didn’t look like this was his first rodeo on the next possession.

Unusually calm, cool and collected, Renfree remained in the pocket as it was collapsing throwing a perfect touch pass to Donovan Varner for another score giving Duke a 21-13 lead late in the game.

During this weeks media call in show and Tuesday’s media gathering at Duke, Coach David Cutliffe quickly put a QB controversy to rest saying Lewis would start against Kansas.  But he also said Renfree would play and that if he could play the Richmond game over again, he would have seen action there as well.

Starting Lewis is a no brainer in that why would you throw a blooming newcomer to the wolves of the Big 12 on the road?  Also, you can bet that Lewis will step it up now that he realizes Duke has a guy waiting in the wings who is prepared to play.

Look for Duke to play both QB’s all season long but make no mistake ACC and Duke fans saw the future in Sean Renfree this past Saturday.  Renfree is a true pro style, drop back, stay in the pocket as long as possible passer, the kind of kid Cutcliffe has had success with in the past, i.e. the Manning’s.

It simply makes more sense to bring Renfree off the bench instead of Lewis.  Having a veteran like Lewis in place also helps Renfree in that Duke can bring him along at a pace they deem fit.

Don’t lool now folks, but Duke may well have the best quarterback situation in the ACC with a perfect balance of young and old  manning the position.

For interviews with with Duke football players on a weekly basis and more on the program, visit my site, bluedevilnation.net

Mark Watson

Duke hopes to avenge an opening day loss to Richmond when they take the field against Army this Saturday.  In order to do that, Duke must establish a more consistent rushing game in that they rank 109th in the nation after a paltry 19 yard effort in their 24-16 opening day  loss to Richmond.

To do so, Duke will have to get more consistent play from a very young offensive front that lacks experience.  Only two of the starters have played significant minutes coming into the season and one freshman starts.

If the rushing game can improve, the Duke offense could be formidable, for senior quarterback Thaddeus Lewis threw for 350 yards and a pair of touchdowns.  The 350 yards was the fourth highest total in college football in week one.

One of Lewis’s key targets this past Saturday was Johnny Williams, a sophomore wideout that is sure to be a go-guy all season long.  Williams pulled in his first collegiate touchdown against Richmond on 7 catches for 115 yards.

There were other bright spots on offense, namely true freshman Conner Vernon who hauled in 4 passes for 48 total yards in his debut.  Another freshman, Tyree Watkins added 3 catches for 31 yards, meaning the newcomers averaged just over 11 yards per catch.

The Duke defense allowed just 282 yards to a veteran Richmond team now ranked number one in the country in the FCS poll.  While that looks good on the surface, the defense created no turnovers.

The real killer for Duke on opening day was their lack of execution in special teams play.  Richmond blocked a punt recovering it for a touch down just minutes into the game.  Add that to two Nick Maggio missed field goals and you have a 12 point swing.

Duke coach David Cutcliffe made it clear after the game on Saturday that he was disappointed in the effort and execution.  The second year coach knows that these are the kinds of games his team needs to win and had just a few plays gone right on Saturday Duke would head to Army 1-0.  You can hear Coach Cut’s audio comments at bluedevilnation.net.

This weekends opponent, the Army Cadets, opened their season with a win over a favored Eastern Michigan team on the road and they appear to be rejuvenated by new head coach Rick Ellerson.  The Blue Devils have been watching film of his former team, Cal-Poly, in an effort to be ready.

Coming into the season Duke figured to be the favorite in West Point, but Army is a 2.5 point choice mid week.  This will also be the Devils first game on artificial turf this season.   For the record, they play on turf at Kansas the following week, making it the only two times off grass this season.

I expect that the Blue Devils will bounce back this week and that they’ll go on the road and win at Army but only if they come more prepared to play.