““Any time you take the game of football for granted it will find a way to humble you really quick.”
That’s Mike Elko Monday afternoon.
Undefeated Duke plays winless Connecticut Saturday afternoon, Duke’s first road trip of the season. On paper this should be a mismatch.
But few college coaches see mismatches in their future. They worry about stuff. It’s in their DNA.
“They gave NC State all they could handle in the opener [a 24-14 State win], Elko says of Connecticut. “I think they’re very talented on defense. I think their front seven is extremely physical. I think they’re athletic. I think their kids have done a really good job of stopping the run most of the year. They’ve been bitten a couple of times by explosive plays but if you take those explosive plays out, they’ve played really good defense.”
Elko added that their offense started to put it together late in last week’s 24-17 loss to Florida International.
There is one concrete area of concern. Northwestern converted 10 of 15 on third down, including three on a 15-play touchdown drive that ended the first half.
Elko cited communication issues after the game. Having watched film of the game he elaborated on Duke’s concerns.
“It’s not consistent. We talk about this a lot. I think there’s split recognition that creates communication [lapses], there’s receivers getting close together, there’s bunches, there’s motion, there’s a lot of things that people try to do to us on third down to try to create advantages and our ability to execute what we’re trying to get done needs a lot of communication. At times it’s not as crisp and clean as it needs to be. It’s not like we’re busting coverages, like people are wide open but maybe some of the softness, some of the balls getting caught in front of us could be handled a little bit better if we can get some communication cleaned up.”
And you thought Mike Krzyzewski was the only coach who talked about communication on defense.
That’s about the only negative Elko can find. Wide receiver Jalon Calhoun, tight end Nicky Dalmolin--”by far and away his most physical game-” and cornerback Myles Jones came in for special praise, especially Jones who has missed the last two seasons with injuries.
This is Duke’s first road game and Elko acknowledged that Duke struggled on the road early last season, with losses at Kansas and Georgia Tech.
But that was a younger team still adjusting to a new staff and system. Elko doesn’t expect those problems this season.
“We drive to a hangar, we get on a private charter, we land, a bus picks us up. I don’t know how tough it is for these guys any more. I think it’s just a matter of staying focused. Right now they’re in a comfortable rhythm of what Thursday to Saturday feels like. We’ve done that rhythm three straight times. Right now that rhythm is different. Then you’re going into an atmosphere at game time that’s different and foreign and you’re going to have to play through that.”
Duke should take a healthy team into UConn. Elko said that kicker Charlie Ham, running back Jaylen Coleman and defensive end Anthony Nelson should be back. Offensive lineman Justin Pickett will be a game-time decision.
A trap game with Notre Dame coming up? Perhaps. But portions of the fan base felt the same way about the Northwestern game and we saw how that turned out. The message from Duke has been that Duke is trying to be the best Duke it can be and not to worry about outside noise.
It seems to be working so far and I’m strongly inclined to give Elko and his staff and his team the benefit of the doubt.
I agree with Jim, Gary and Bob: I just don't see this team falling for the trap game crap. Yes, generically speaking, it's human nature for a sports team to take this kind of a game for granted. But our football team is not a generic football team. It's focus, intensity, peer-to-peer pride and both player and staff leadership are dialed in to doing their best, chasing excellence -- even more than W's -- every time they play. I say excellence more than W's because Elko has already inculcated into this team the reality that a player or a team cannot actually control the W's. But they can certainly control the quality of preparation, physically, psychologically and tactically. I'm looking forward to a great game against UConn.
I was happy to see Peyton Jones get some reps and a TD! This young man is strong, determined and talented.
Riley, plan ahead, do your homework! :-)
"They’ve been bitten a couple of times by explosive plays but if you take those explosive plays out, they’ve played really good defense.” This almost sounds like a Jeff Bzdelik quote :)
Great review as always an no surprise he's focused on the team being focused. Go Duke!