IU takes on Duke in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl in New York City, the first bowl appearance for the Hoosiers since 2007.
Duke finished the season 7-5 and is looking to earn its first bowl win since 1961. The Blue Devils recently learned some bad news, as ACC Defensive Player of the Year Jeremy Cash will not be playing in the game due to a wrist injury.
The IDS spoke to Ryan Hoerger of The Chronicle, Duke's student newspaper to learn a bit more about the team.
IDS: Just how much does it hurt this defense to lose star safety Jeremy Cash going up against the balanced No. 1 offense in the Big Ten?
Hoerger: Cash was the heart and soul of this Duke defense. Not only was he the ACC's Defensive Player of the Year — no small feat playing for a defense that gave up 32.5 points per game in league play — but he brought a swagger and confidence to the field that will be hard to replace. As the strike safety in Duke's 4-2-5 defense, Cash spent much of his time up near the line of scrimmage, which is how a safety winds up with 18.0 tackles for loss.
Cash's replacement, Corbin McCarthy, is capable, and played fairly well against Virginia and Wake Forest after Cash was ejected for targeting against the Cavaliers, but he doesn't have the athleticism or knack for winding up in the backfield that made Cash so special for this defense.
IDS: The season seemed to turn for the Blue Devils after losing in miraculous fashion to Miami. What really was the problem in that four game losing streak?
Hoerger: That Miami game was the obvious turning point in Duke's season, but players and coaches refused to characterize the four-game losing streak that followed as a hangover from that brutal loss.
Simply put, Duke's schedule was backloaded — the Blue Devils didn't face a quality passing offense until Virginia Tech the week before Miami, and then they had to face the Hurricanes (who scored 30 points), ACC Coastal champs North Carolina (66), Pittsburgh (31) and Virginia (42) in consecutive weeks.
Those aerial attacks picked apart the secondary, which has been banged up at times this year, and the offense struggled mightily with ball security. Duke committed 10 turnovers in those four losses and generated just five takeaways. When they snapped the skid at Wake Forest, the Blue Devils forced three turnovers and committed none.
IDS: Quarterback Thomas Sirk is Duke's dual-threat catalyst on offense, what kind of things does this offense do to utilize his skillset best?
Hoerger: In his first year under center, Sirk has definitely gone through his ups and downs. Early in the year, most of his throws were short, and he was criticized for checking down to his underneath receivers and running backs too quickly. He then had to battle through an upper body injury for a few games, but looked much better against the Demon Deacons.
Duke's offense lulls you to sleep at times with a series of screen passes and draw runs or designed quarterback runs up the middle before taking a shot downfield. Sirk may not look speedy, but he's a physical runner with some good size who can pick up yards, often running straight up the gut. In recent years, the Blue Devils have dialed up some beautifully executed trick plays in the bowl game, so watch out for that as well.
IDS: Even with Cash, the Duke defense has struggled in pass defense this season. What have been the core issues?
Hoerger: Coming into the season, the worry defensively for Duke was its front, which lost a core group of veterans from last year's squad, leaving an undersized unit at the line of scrimmage. But that group has largely performed very well, effectively stopping the run.
In the passing game, cornerback Bryon Fields tore his ACL before the season started and rover safety DeVon Edwards hasn't been fully healthy for much of the year. Duke uses a 4-2-5 scheme, but Cash and Edwards are extremely aggressive at the line of scrimmage, so the Blue Devils have been left vulnerable over the top.
A mixture of mistakes by young corners and just not being as fast as opposing wide receivers have led to explosive plays in the passing game — preventing those is something that head coach David Cutcliffe talks about nearly every week, and will be especially important come Saturday.
IDS: Without further ado, what's your prediction for Saturday and why?
Hoerger: I think this game could go either way. The only thing I feel like is a near-certainty is that there will be plenty of points scored, which for Duke will make Saturday's contest the fourth straight bowl game shootout.
That said, I think Duke finds a way to get this done and snap a 54-year bowl win drought. I'll take the Blue Devils in a 31-28 thriller, thanks to a big play by Edwards on special teams.
