Duke To Open The Season With North Carolina Central
Duke will kick-off the 2017 season by hosting NC Central who plays in the Mid Eastern Atlantic Conference Saturday and they will look to get off to a good start after taking a step back last season finishing with a record of 4-8 while they were 1-7 in the ACC Coastal Division and missed being bowl eligible for fifth straight year after being bowl eligible for the last four seasons under David Cutcliffe who is headed into his 10th season as Duke's head coach.
Duke kicks off its 105th season of football by hosting N.C. Central in the Bull City Gridiron Classic on September 2 at 6 p.m. ... The game will be broadcast live by ACC Network Extra with Shawn Kenney (play-by-play) & Al Groh (analyst) • In 2016, the Blue Devils went 4-8 overall and 1-7 in ACC play while the Eagles posted an overall ledger of 9-3, captured the MEAC title and fell to Grambling, 10-9, in the Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl
• Saturday’s game will mark the sixth on the gridiron between Duke and N.C. Central ... All five previous meetings have come on Duke’s campus in 2009 (49-14), 2012 (54-17), 2013 (45-0), 2015 (55-0) & 2016 (49-6) • Duke will celebrate Employee Appreciation Day versus the Eagles • Ameritas serves as the official game sponsor of this week’s contest
• Duke owns an all-time record of 496511-31 in 104 seasons
• Now in his 10th season as Duke’s head coach, David Cutcliffe is 52-61 with the Blue Devils and 96-90 overall • Under head coach David Cutcliffe, the Blue Devils are 7-2 in season openers, including last year’s 49-6 triumph over N.C. Central ... Duke enters this week’s N.C. Central game having won five consecutive lid-lifters ... The Blue Devils have not won six straight season-openers since a seven-game run from 1949-55
• Elected by their teammates, four returning starters will serve as team captains for the 2017 campaign: C Austin Davis, CB Byron Fields Jr., QB Daniel Jones, and DT Mike Ramsay • Duke QB Daniel Jones enters the 2017 campaign with an active streak of 173 consecutive pass attempts without an interception ... The streak is currently the longest nationally and matches the third best stretch in school history ... Thaddeus Lewis owns the Duke standard with 206 straight throws without an interception spanning the 2006-07 seasons
• Duke RB Shaun Wilson is the only active player nationally with TDs of 80+ yards via rush, reception & return • 85-yard rush vs. Indiana, 2015 • 89-yard reception vs. N.C. Central, 2015 • 98-yard KOR vs. Indiana, 2015 • 96-yard KOR vs. Notre Dame, 2016
• Over his last 13 games dating back to the New Era Pinstripe Bowl win over Indiana to close out the 2015 season, LB Ben Humphreys has amassed 117 total tackles to average 9.00 stops per game ... In that stretch, he has reached double digits six times: • Indiana: 11, 2015 • Virginia: 13, 2016 • Army West Point: 10, 2016 • Georgia Tech: 10, 2016 • Virginia Tech: 16, 2016 • North Carolina: 12, 2016
• Dating back to the 2013 season, the Blue Devils are 28-16 in their last 44 regular season games
• The Blue Devils enter the N.C. Central tilt having won 18 of their last 24 games against non-ACC opponents
• Next week, Duke hosts Northwestern at 12 noon on ESPNU "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211664069
2 — Career interception returns for TDs for CB Bryon Fields Junior ... The scores came against Tulane (2014) and Pittsburgh (2016) as Fields is one of 11 players in Blue Devil history with multiple interception returns for TDs "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211664069
213 — Combined tackles in 2016 for LBs Joe -Giles Harris (107) and Ben Humphreys (106) "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211664069
14.35 — Recorded time for S Jeremy McDuffie in the 110-meter hurdles to earn all-league honors at the 2017 ACC Track & Field Championship meet ... McDuffie also garnered All-ACC accolades in the triple jump "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211664069
12 — Fourth quarter & OT wins for the Blue Devils over the past five seasons (games in which Duke was tied or trailing in the fourth period) "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211664069
14 — Nation's-best AFCA Academic Achievement Awards earned by Duke "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211664069
1,923 — Career snaps played by OT Gabe Bradner Duke’s most experienced offensive player "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211664069
47-4 — Duke’s record under David Cutcliffe when leading or tied after three-quarters of action "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211664069
4 — Career rushing TDs of 50+ yards for RB Shaun Wilson to rank tied for first in school history along with George Clark (1944-47) & Jay Wilkinson (1961-63) "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211664069
113 — Career pass receptions for WR T.J Rahaming , who is one of two players in Duke history with 100+ catches in his first two seasons, joining Conner Vernon (2010-11) "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211664069
3,192 — Career all-purpose yards for RB Shaun Wilson who sits 808 yards shy of becoming the eighth player in Duke history to reach the 4,000-yard plateau "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211664069
5 — Games with 10+ tackles in 2016 for LB Joe -Giles Harris who finished with a team-high 107 stops to rank fourth nationally among freshmen in total tackles ... Giles-Harris carded a season-best 16 tackles in Duke’s 2827 upset win over No. 15 North Carolina on November 10 "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211664069
7.4 — Average number of points allowed per game in five contests against N.C. Central "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211664069
10:1 — TD-to-INT ratio for QB Daniel Jones over the final seven games of the 2016 season. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211664069
4 — ACC Rookie of the Week citations for QB Daniel Jones in 2016 following performances against Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, North Carolina & Miami "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211664069
5-6 — Duke’s all-time record in OT games "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211664069
In 2016 though Duke did not have a very great season as they finished with a record of 4-8 while they were 1-7 in the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division and missed out on playing in a bowl game after being bowl eligible for four straight seasons.
The program though is better off now than it was before David Cutcliffe arrived in Durham in 2007 from Tennessee where he was the offensive coordinator.
Can Duke start this season off on the right foot when they host NC Central who last season finished with a record 9-3 while they were 8-0 in the Mid Eastern Conference? "according to http://www.nccueaglepride.com/schedule.aspx?schedule=221&path=football
As far as the Duke, NC Central matchup goes last season when they played Duke crushed North Carolina Central by a score of 49-6. "according to tohttp://www.goduke.com/SportSelect.dbml?SPSID=22666&SPID=1843&DB_OEM_ID=4200&Q_SEASON=2016
Will this seasons game have a similar result?
Kick-off is set for 6:00 pm from Brooks Field @ Wallace Wade. The game will be televised on ACC Network Extra. "according to http://www.goduke.com/SportSelect.dbml?SPSID=22666&SPID=1843&DB_OEM_ID=4200&Q_SEASON=2017