Duke Blue Devils

Date: Nov. 7, Durham, NC

Duke 2019 Record: 5-7, 3-5 ACC

Postseason: None.

Returning Starters: Offense 8, Defense 7

Head Coach: Ask any coach in the ACC and they will tell you they don’t enjoy preparing for David Cutcliffe’s teams. The 65-year-old Blue Devils’ coach enters his 13th season in Durham and has done what few people thought was possible: Made Duke competitive. The Devils are 72-79 under Cutcliffe, including 34-62 in the ACC and 3-3 in bowl games. Duke even finished nationally ranked in 2013.

3 Key Players: DE Victor Dimukeje(41 tackles, 8.5 sacks) is one of the best in the ACC and is a likely pro; DE Chris Rumph (47 tackles, 6.5 sacks) is also one of the better defensive ends in the ACC and complements Dimukeje very well; QB Chase Brice is a grad transfer from Clemson where he backed up Trevor Lawrence the last two seasons completing 82 of 136 pass attempts for 1,023 yards9 TDs and 4 INTs, he also ran the ball for 187 yards and a score.

Must Figure Out: Duke was more than solid a year ago at linebacker, but the loss of some key players, one unexpectedly, makes this perhaps the position laced with the most questions entering this season.

In Great Shape: Running back. Duke loses a lot of talent on offense and its top two leading tacklers on defense, but does return two of its top three leading rushers in 2020.

Looking Ahead: “Duke’s offense struggled throughout 2019, finishing 11 in the ACC in scoring, 13 in passing and 10 in rushing. That’s the bad news. The good news is that most of Duke’s contributors on offense return, giving the Blue Devils some consistency and a chance to improve as the returnees develop.” – Shawn Krest, SI Blue Devil Maven.

History vs. UNC: UNC leads 60-41-4 and has won one straight.

Duke’s ACC slate: Home: BC, FSU, UNC, Va. Tech and Wake; Away: Ga. Tech, NC State, Notre Dame, Syracuse and UVA.

Matchup with UNC: The Tar Heels and Blue Devils usually play very competitive and spirited games, and that may trend may continue this season. The Heels head over the Durham, and while the range on what Duke will be is considerable, expect a high-end performance by Cutcliffe’s team when the Heels walk into Wallace Wade. That said, if Carolina is the team is believes it is, there’s no reason to expect a defeat in this game.

Rivals site: DevilsIllustrated.com