Behind Enemy Lines: Five Questions for Blue Devil Country's Matt Giles
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After suffering their first loss of the season at Pitt, the Louisville football program is coming out of their bye week ready to rebound, hosting Duke for a top-20 showdown.
Ahead of the matchup, Louisville Report sat down with Matt Giles of Blue Devil Country to find out more about the Blue Devils:
1. What is the overall vibe surrounding the Duke program right now? Obviously their two losses are to top-15 teams, but the Blue Devils have now dropped two of three after winning four straight to open up the season.
Despite dropping two games to nationally ranked teams in its past three games, Duke still boasts plenty of confidence and desire to accomplish more. The Blue Devils are still in the running for a shot at the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium, but they will likely need to win out. Duke lost in the last minute at home against Notre Dame and went toe to toe against a powerful Florida State team for three quarters on the road and in primetime. To date, nobody has run the Blue Devils out of the stadium. This is a team that wants a better bowl than a season ago under ACC Coach of the Year Mike Elko (Military Bowl win over Central Florida) despite facing one of the nation's most daunting schedules. There are still immense positive vibes around the program, but this week's matchup with Louisville is critical in many ways.
2. What is the status for QB Riley Leonard after re-aggravating his ankle? If he can’t go, how does that impact what Duke wants to accomplish on offense?
Riley Leonard is day-to-day, Mike Elko said at Monday's weekly press conference. Elko didn't elaborate on that. When healthy, Leonard adds an ability to run the ball well, with extreme toughness and uncanny field awareness. But he also controls the game by just being on the field. Per his experience, Leonard has better field vision and time management. If he cannot go, Duke plays a quarterback who has had minimal snaps in Henry Belin IV, the starter for Duke's 24-3 home win over NC State two weeks ago. Belin completed only four passes against the Wolfpack, but two were for touchdowns, and Duke ran the ball much of the second half to milk the clock. Belin is a talented passer. However, at this point in his career, the redshirt freshman lacks the edge that Riley Leonard brings to the field.
3. What makes the running back tandem of Jordan Water and Jaquez Moore such an effective duo?
Duke is more dedicated to the run game than any of the program's teams in a decade or longer. Attribute part of the Blue Devils' success to a veteran offensive line, not to mention Riley Leonard's prowess in this department (he's the squad's third-leading rusher at 339 yards on the season). Jordan Waters, who has totaled 465 yards on the ground and tallied at least one rushing touchdown in each of Duke's first six games (he had a touchdown reception at Florida State), is the lead back. And when Jaquez Moore comes in, there is little drop-off and a slight change of speed, as Moore displayed with his electric 42-yard scamper to give the Blue Devils a 7-0 early lead in Tallahassee on Saturday night, giving defenses a different look. Waters, Moore, and Leonard each average over 5.5 yards per carry.
4. Duke’s top-25 defense is anchored primarily by a top-15 secondary. What is it about this unit that makes it so difficult for quarterbacks to have success against?
It's a deep, experienced bunch. But it starts with coaching. Mike Elko, a former defensive coordinator at Texas A&M, is a defensive guy, and his coordinator this year at Duke, Tyler Santucci, is having a banner first season in Durham. The chemistry between these two is where it all starts. There was a time when the Duke secondary looked like a question mark. But the staff went out and added just the right pieces in the offseason. Duke added Al Blades Jr. from Miami and former Blue Devil Jeremiah Lewis, who transferred back in from Northwestern after one season there. Elko brought in Myles Jones from Texas A&M as well, and they also lean on Chandler Rivers to make it a formidable secondary.
5. What is the one thing that Duke must do if they are to escape Louisville with a win?
Limit explosive plays. Louisville plays well at home, and Elko and his crew know this will be another hungry and hostile crowd. Limiting big plays from the Cards means playing good defense while not missing assignments. In the loss at Florida State on Saturday night, immediately after taking a 17-7 lead early in the second quarter on an interception that Chandler Rivers took to the house to seemingly give the Blue Devils all the momentum at the time, Duke allowed a kickoff return for a back-breaking touchdown. That is the type of explosive play the Blue Devils must guard against at Louisville.
(Photo of Riley Leonard: Melina Myers - USA TODAY Sports)
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