A True Test for the Defense is Coming

Didn't we just break Miami's win streak against us? I'm sure Duke is going to be looking to do the same.

We will need our best effort by the coaches and players to prevent the defending Coastal Champions from getting a win on Grant Field. I hope we are up for it.
 
Most here should know I am a very optimistic poster. I hate negative nancies with the best of em. I'm just saying that I think Duke will be a good test for our D.

I foresee a GT victory along the lines of 35-27 with the 7 of the 27 coming late in the 4th.

I do not think Duke will beat out eyes if we bring a B- game.

Most teams clean up mistakes during byes, and our D has been relying on mistakes in order to make big plays for the most part. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. We were terrible at creating takeaways last season. I love the emphasis on turnovers.

I am also looking forward to being on upset watch and having 3/4 ESPN bloggers pick Duke to beat us as they have every year for the past 4
 
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coit said:
I know I am going overboard on calling people out on it, but I am seriously bewildered that people are so freaking negative.

Before they got married, did they sit for weeks on end and envision all the bad things that could happen to their marriage?

I would hope not.
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They should...
 
gte490v said:
I am predicting 7 to 10 against Duke, you are predicting 44, and somehow I am more wrong than you are.

We are good, but 57 points means 8 TD drives with a 2-pt conversion or 6 TD's and 5 FG's or 8 TD drive, two missed extra points, and a field goal. Or, you are assuming defensive or special teams TD's.

That may happen, but crazy to predict based on a ball control offense and a bend but don't break defense. I'd predict 8 to 10 drives per team. Scoring on 6 or 7 gives me my low 30's, they score on 5 or so give them their low to mid 20's. You expect us to score on 8+ drives, regardless of if they are their or ours. I hope you are right, but I can't predict that.
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Wut? When did I predict anything other than a victory?

It will be close, but I think we will be in control. Maybe an 8-10 point margin?
 
gte490v said:
The original poster has a point.

Duke will take what we give them and with our "bend, but don't break" defense it will be frustrating as they dink-and-dunk down the field. Red zone stops will be huge for both sides, fortunately, we're doing great at putting up 7's. If we trade FG's for TD's, then we can absorb the one or two big plays.

I expect Duke to protect the QB and pass a lot. I am prepared to be frustrated with the defense after a 7-10 point win.
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This looks about right. I think Duke will be able to move down the field. I just hope our D can bow up in the redzone like we have for most of the season. If we can avoid giving up huge TD's or committing stupid turnovers, we win this game handily.
 
Architorture23 said:
I'm not "scared" of anyone. We are going to rape and pillage our way to Charlotte and beyond this year.

I'm not even gonna be nervous until our first playoff game, and that's only because of the bottle of tequila I'll be hiding in my pants.:biggrin:
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Our defense is going to have problems with every team we face here on out.

If our offense dominates TOP, limits mistakes, scores tds, and the other teams offense makes mistakes we will win.

Simple as that.
 
WracerX said:
Our d better get ready. Duke is the best read option offense we have faced this year. They run it better than GSU and Wofford, with better athletes to boot.

Our O should be consistent and we have better special teams. We should win. But don't sleep on Duke. The are better this year than when we played them last year.

Based on how they have played us in the past on D, our wideouts better be in the mood to catch, because Duke has crowded the LOS forcing down field passes.
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We've also passed all over them in recent years. Believe Vad had 4 TD passes last season and Tevin had 3 the year before. I say we pass for 200, and run for 250. JT puts his name into the ACCPOY discussion.
 
You guys are all pussies. You need to get your gold-colored classes cleaned. This is a special team. I cannot exactly put my finger on it, but this is a special team. They just broke long losing streaks to rivals in back-to-back games. They have a QB who can actually run the TO well. They actually have a positive turnover differential. You think they're gonna come crashing down against a team like Duke? What is wrong with you guys? This team reminds me a lot of Auburn from last year. They don't look pretty, and they get lucky a lot, but when they get a chance, they take it a run with it. I hope to see all you pussbags in Charlotte saying, "I wasn't worried at all; I knew we would run the table."
 
eneq said:
You guys are all pussies. You need to get your gold-colored classes cleaned. This is a special team. I cannot exactly put my finger on it, but this is a special team. They just broke long losing streaks to rivals in back-to-back games. They have a QB who can actually run the TO well. They actually have a positive turnover differential. You think they're gonna come crashing down against a team like Duke? What is wrong with you guys? This team reminds me a lot of Auburn from last year. They don't look pretty, and they get lucky a lot, but when they get a chance, they take it a run with it. I hope to see all you pussbags in Charlotte saying, "I wasn't worried at all; I knew we would run the table."
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Mind = rite
 
coit said:
Wut? When did I predict anything other than a victory?

It will be close, but I think we will be in control. Maybe an 8-10 point margin?
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Sorry, that was another guy that said 57-13.

I feel like you and I are arguing although we see this thing the same way. I say 7-10 points, you say 8-10 points.

This is the last post in the thread from this 'negative nancy'.
 
eneq said:
You guys are all pussies. You need to get your gold-colored classes cleaned. This is a special team. I cannot exactly put my finger on it, but this is a special team. They just broke long losing streaks to rivals in back-to-back games. They have a QB who can actually run the TO well. They actually have a positive turnover differential. You think they're gonna come crashing down against a team like Duke? What is wrong with you guys? This team reminds me a lot of Auburn from last year. They don't look pretty, and they get lucky a lot, but when they get a chance, they take it a run with it. I hope to see all you pussbags in Charlotte saying, "I wasn't worried at all; I knew we would run the table."
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You must be blacking out during the portion of the game where we are on defense. You may want to see a doctor about that.
 
eneq said:
You guys are all pussies. You need to get your gold-colored classes cleaned. This is a special team. I cannot exactly put my finger on it, but this is a special team. They just broke long losing streaks to rivals in back-to-back games. They have a QB who can actually run the TO well. They actually have a positive turnover differential. You think they're gonna come crashing down against a team like Duke? What is wrong with you guys? This team reminds me a lot of Auburn from last year. They don't look pretty, and they get lucky a lot, but when they get a chance, they take it a run with it. I hope to see all you pussbags in Charlotte saying, "I wasn't worried at all; I knew we would run the table."
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Mind rite! But also did you become a GT fan this year? LOL, if you've watched any GT football besides 2009 and 2014, then you're waiting for the other shoe to drop every single play/game. That's just the truth about what we've been as a team over the last 20 years.
 
WreckRod said:
if you've watched any GT football besides 2009 and 2014, then you're waiting for the other shoe to drop every single play/game.
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I don't focus on the negative. I enjoy the positive.

Please name a team that hasn't lost or played extremely poorly in a game they should've dominated. I'll hang up and listen.
 
Duke vs Miami stats: http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?id=400547754

Against Miami, Duke had:

264 Total Yds
179 Passing
85 Rushing

Against Miami, GT had:

371 Total Yds
53 Passing
318 Rushing

Uh, no. I'm not worried about us running Duke into the ground.

Just go back and look at the videos of Burden & Mason driving Perryman...into the ground.

And some of you think we wont do that & more...to Duke? Pfffffft.
 
Come on 3GT, don't you understand? This is about Duke's offense and how it is a bad matchup for our defense.

Miami has those 4/5 stars and we don't. The nervous nellies can't get past thinking we don't match up.
 
I think it's a bigger test of our defense than Miami as far as precision and execution. Miami, especially Duke Johnson, has far better athletes but they also had an inexperienced QB.

Duke put up a lot of points against FSU and TAMU just through every player always being in the right place at the right time. They're the "possession receiver" of offenses. They're not the fastest or the biggest, but they're in the right place at the right time. And CPJ hinted at some defensive execution issues as far as checkdowns. So that has me worried.

I still feel cautiously optimistic mainly because of our offense. We won't win by 44 points because defenses just don't give up very long plays against us like they used to. Instead, we grind out these games where we get 7 drives and score touchdowns on 4 of them while holding opponents to 2 touchdowns and 1 field goal.

Compare this drives chart:

http://espn.go.com/ncf/drivechart?gameId=400548278

With this drive chart:

http://espn.go.com/ncf/drivechart?gameId=400547790

We'll keep winning by 10-20 points but we still won't look that "impressive" because of our lower drives per game. My only real concern on offense is JT needs to settle in the first half. He needs to give receivers a chance to catch the ball and not zip it over their heads. The pass is really crucial if, like Wofford, Duke focuses entirely on the run.
 
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