ACC Football Pick ‘Em Contest — Week 5 Prize Announced
Congrats to Mike for winning the contest last week. Seemed like everyone had a tough go of it picking ACC Football games as the league as a whole suffered a letdown after week three’s good showing.
The Duck Shop has been killer throughout this whole thing, offering up some great prizes. I had the pleasure of meeting the fine folks at the store this week and they are some of the biggest Duke fans I’ve run across. They all bleed Duke blue, just like you and have an incredible selection of Duke items. If you’re in town, drop in on 9th street or if you aren’t, hit them up online at TheDuckShop.net
Your Week 5 prize is nice. If you win, you will get your pick between two different car flag designs. The first one is pictured up above and you can go here to check out the second. In addition to the car flags, you will have your choice of 3! car magnets to “Duke” up your ride. Check out the magnets here: Football, Small Helmet, and Large Helmet.
Injury Report Update: Duke vs. FIU
For the first time since their injuries, Duke’s top two running backs Desmond Scott and Josh Snead have both been upgraded to “questionable”. Scott was injured in Duke’s opening loss to Richmond, and Snead has not seen any game action this season.
Probable: Will Snyderwine (K), Ross Cockrill (CB), Johnny Williams (CB)
Questionable: Desmond Scott (RB), John Snead (RB)
Out: Brandon Connette (QB), Lee Butler (S/PR), Brian Moore (C)
Out for Season: Kenny Anunike (DE), Jack Farrell (TE)
Coach Cut Week Five Press Conference
Wednesday’s ACC Media Conference Call, featuring Coach David Cutcliffe. Thanks to ASAP Sports.
COACH CUTCLIFFE: I have been really pleased with the fact that we have gotten better over the last couple of weeks. Actually, we’ve gotten better each week all season, but started to play better.
The thing that I think pleases me the most is that we have gone right back out and had good Tuesday and Wednesday practices, and we demanded a lot from them and they have responded. Now we are getting ready to play quite possibly the fastest team that we have played. Might be the fastest team we play. A lot of speed on the field. Not just at receiver. They have got it at running back and they have got it at secondary and they have got it at linebacker and they have got it in their defensive front. That’s why they have got 15 sacks.
This is a very good FIU football team. We are going to be very challenged and we are going to have to continue the mode of improving to have an opportunity to win this one on the road.
Q. Wanted to ask you about T.Y. Hilton on their team. With a guy like that that can make an impact at receiver and return game, what’s best way to slow him down, and do see yourself kicking to him or away from him?
COACH CUTCLIFFE: We will kick it deep and cover kicks. He’s a guy that can burn you. They are averaging 30 yards at return. We do have alternative kicks. We have got style kicks and script kicks. We try to use directional kicks and we’ll try to pin him on a spot on the field and try to cover it. I think it you have to maintain your player’s confidence.
I don’t really want to give into having to kick it away from one but he’s very special. He’s very strong, not real big. Amazingly quick and fast, but extremely strong, and there are others besides him. Just a really talented football team they have got down there. Read more
Depth Chart Updated for FIU
Good news and bad. Looks like the Duke Football team will get Ross Cockrell back and Lee Butler won’t miss anymore game time than he missed against Tulane. Brian Moore continues to be sidelined with a broken arm, hopefully he can make it back after the bye week.
Here’s a link to the game notes: https://www.nmnathletics.com//pdf8/787820.pdf?ATCLID=205303284&SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4200
Scroll down to Page 12 to see the Two-Deep. Jordan Dewalt-Ondijo, who showed promise in the offseason will step into Kenny Anunike’s spot at defensive end. Also, Brandon Connette is back on the chart, which could mean he is healthy enough to resume playing. Anthony Boone has stepped up admirably in his absence though and
the second QB spot is listed as “or” so it remains to be seen who will man that backup QB spot.
Maybe the biggest area of interest for Duke fans is the backfield where there are still questions about Desmond Scott and Josh Snead. Snead hasn’t seen the field yet this season, and Scott went down with (in honor of the return of hockey) a “lower body concern” after a fast start against Richmond in the opener. Expect more information today. From the “take it for what it’s worth” department, Dez Scott hinted on Twitter before the Boston College game that he wouldn’t be making the trip with his teammates, and has taken to Twitter again this week letting us know he’ll be in Miami. This could be a positive sign, which is unusual for anything good to come from a football player tweeting about an upcoming trip to Miami.
DE Kenny Anunike Out For Year
The Duke Football program may have gained a win on Saturday, but they lost their best defensive player at putting pressure on the quarterback. Redshirt Junior Kenny Anunike, who was leading the ACC in sacks at the time, and tied for third in the nation with 4, tore ACL and MCL ligaments in his left knee while making an open field tackle.
Kenny, a converted tight end, who was just beginning to come into his own on the defensive side of the ball, will likely be out for an entire calendar year, possibly more. If it comes to it, he may be eligible for an extra year of playing time as he redshirted his freshman year while recovering from knee surgery. He had another operation this past offseason that caused him to miss contact drills this spring.
For Anunike, it is another terrible blow to what looked to be a bright future. Hopefully, he can recover and get back on the field but if not, he is a very strong student, majoring in biological anthropology & anatomy.
Duke On A Win Streak After Blowout of Tulane
Duke’s offense was clicking in all areas on Saturday in Wallace Wade Stadium as the football team got back to .500 for the first time since September 11, 2010. Sean Renfree continued his assault through the air, going 21-30 for 278 yards and a touchdown after playing only about 3 quarters of football. Out of 12 drives, Duke scored SIX TDs and made TWO FIELD GOALS(!!!). The time of possession battle was dominated by the Blue Devils in both halves, with a 17:09-12:51 edge in the first half and a 19:03-10:57 in the second. The Blue Devils didn’t punt until the 6:31 mark in the fourth quarter, when the second string offense was in the game.
It was an absolute pleasure to watch the team marching up and down the field, something Duke fans haven’t seen in Wallace Wade in quite some time against a Division 1 Opponent. While Tulane isn’t the greatest team in the FBS, the Green Wave were just coming off a dominating performance of their own against UAB, 41-10. Read more
Countdown to Craziness Tickets On Sale Thursday
College basketball season is getting closer and closer! Countdown to Craziness, Duke’s version of midnight madness, tickets are going on sale to the public this Thursday, September 29th at 8:30 AM EST. Tickets range in price from $20-$35.
As always, there will be festivities happening in Krzyzewskiville and outside of Cameron starting at 5:30 PM, with a free volleyball game going on inside of Cameron at 4:30 PM.
4:30 pm – Duke Volleyball vs. Boston College – Cameron Indoor Stadium (Free Admission)
5:30 pm – Inflatable games, live music, face painting – Kville
7:30 pm – Doors to Cameron Indoor Stadium open for Countdown to Craziness (Paid ticket)
This will be a big weekend as the football team will be hosting the Florida State Seminoles the following day in Wallace Wade Stadium.
2013 prospect Matt Jones is expected to visit, as is 2014 point guard JaQuel Richmond. Read more
Watch Nolan Smith Live Tonight!
Do you remember how much of a badass Nolan Smith was? It’s been a while since we’ve seen that crossover and flashy smile dominate on the court, but lucky you. He’s playing in a charity evident (Jimmer’s All-Stars) tonight in Utah with a number of other NBA ballers and it will be broadcast live on BYU TV. The game starts at 7 PM Mountain Time (9 PM EST).
Here’s an interview with Nolan about the event:
Here’s the link to watch the game: http://byutv.org/watch/livetv. FYI: You need to register for an account to watch, do so early so you don’t miss a beat.
ETA: You can also watch on channel 9403 on DISH, 374 on DirecTV.
2ETA: You can watch on Time Warner Cable in the Raleigh-Durham area on Channel 287!
image courtesy of TobaccoRoadBlues.com
Week 4 Duck Shop Contest: New Prize Announced
Get your picks in for The Duck Shop ACC Pick ‘Em Contest before Saturday. This is by far the coolest prize I’ve seen so far this season. Every week there is a new winner (unless zurcmada, quizzy, CLE Devil, or Strength of Schedule can pull a repeat) so don’t give up if you haven’t won yet.
This week, our wonderful sponsors at TheDuckShop are celebrating the arrival of Fall by offering you a choice of Navy or Gray Zip-Up Duke Hoodies retailing at $52.95. These come in sizes S-XXL, just let me know if you win what size and color you’d like.
See the hoodies online here for more info: Gray Navy
If you haven’t picked yet, go to http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/college/18974, click Join Group, enter in the Group ID of 18974 and the password of dhb.
Good luck!
Duke Football Injury Report for Tulane
According to The Chronicle, the Duke Football Injury Report is the longest it’s ever been this season.
CB Tony Foster (foot) – Probable
CB Ross Cockrell (leg) – Questionable
K Will Snyderwine (foot) – Questionable
WR Tyree Watkins (leg) – Questionable
QB Brandon Connette (upper body) – Out
LB Britton Grier (illness) – Out
C Brian Moore (arm) – Out
RB Desmond Scott (leg) – Out
RB Josh Snead (foot) – Out
TE Jack Farrell (leg) – Out for Season
I’m a little surprised that Josh Snead is still out honestly. From what I had heard in the past, Duke expected him to be ready for this game. Juwan Thompson has been running well in his absence though, racking up 54 yards on 10 carries vs BC and 43 yards on 9 carries against Stanford. Tulane is giving up 223.5 yards a game on the ground, so it’s possible the coaching staff wants to rest Josh and Desmond one more game before the Blue Devils head out on the road for the first time this season. Brian Moore and Brandon Connette are still out. Hopefully, Brian can come back and strengthen the O-Line soon. Anthony Boone has played well in Brandon’s absence.
If Ross Cockrell and Tony Foster are unable to go, it will make the Duke secondary play more snaps than I’m sure they’d like. We’ll see if they’re able to go on Saturday.
There are still tickets available for the game here: https://tkt.xosn.com/tickets/TicketHome.dbml?DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4200&_MODE_=EVENTSELECT&SALE_TKT_EVENT_ID=233592
If you can’t make it, check out the game on ESPN3.com or the Blue Devil Sports Network.
