ACC Football: Biggest offseason question for every team
By John Buhler
Duke Blue Devils: Can this team even go bowling?
It’s a good thing that Duke University is a blue-blood basketball school. That’s because the Duke football program will have a brutal 2017 season. Duke missed out on a bowl game for the first time since 2011 under head coach David Cutcliffe.
4-8 (1-7) would have been a halfway decent year in Durham prior to Cutcliffe’s arrival, but he’s too good of a coach to not have his team bowling every January. Where are the wins on the Duke Blue Devils’ 2017 slate of games?
Duke should be able to beat the North Carolina Central Eagles and possibly the Army Black Knights, so that’s two in the non-conference. The other two non-conference games come against the Northwestern Wildcats and the Baylor Bears. These aren’t traditional powers by any means, but have played some of the best ball in school history of late, just like Duke.
Looking at the ACC slate, drawing North Carolina, Miami and Florida State in a four-week stretch just reeks of at least two losses. Duke will have a winnable game against Virginia sandwiched in between, but even that one’s in Charlottesville.
On the road against Virginia Tech on October 28. Forget about it. The Blue Devils will have to beat either Pittsburgh or Georgia Tech at home and probably Wake Forest on the road at season’s end to even get to six wins. Being in good academic standing at 5-7 might help, but anything better than a 7-5 campaign from Duke would be a total shocker. If Duke doesn’t get to a bowl, does that mean the end of the line for Coach Cut?