Duke and Northwestern did enough in their respective season-opening games to appreciate the results, but there are significant concerns for both teams entering Friday night’s non-conference matchup in Evanston, Ill.
“It’s going to be a line of scrimmage game,” Duke first-year coach Manny Diaz said.
Both teams will address offensive concerns. The Blue Devils (1-0) finally pulled away from Elon for a 26-3 home victory last Friday, while the Wildcats (1-0) eked out a 13-6 decision against visiting Miami (Ohio) on Saturday.
“Excited about the outcome from Saturday, but humble enough to know that we have a lot of work to do,” said Northwestern coach David Braun. “Excited to host Duke.”
Northwestern managed 328 yards of total offense in the opener. On the positive, quarterback Mike Wright did a solid job of getting off passes in a timely manner, and that could be vital against a Duke defense that recorded eight sacks versus Elon.
“That group knows that there’s a lot of continued growth that is necessary,” Braun said of the Northwestern offense.
Duke could be in another scrap without many big-yardage plays.
“Their defense is built to prevent the explosive plays,” Diaz said. “They do a great job of trying to make it difficult, trying to keep the score down.”
Yet the Blue Devils won’t be shy about testing the Northwestern defense.
“We want to be able to take those (downfield) shots and make those shots,” Diaz said.
Duke topped the Wildcats 38-14 last year in Northwestern’s first road game with Braun in charge as an interim coach. This week, it’s Duke making its first trip with a new coach.
In last year’s meeting, the offensive stars for then-No. 21 Duke were running back Jordan Waters and quarterback Riley Leonard, who are playing for North Carolina State and Notre Dame, respectively, this year.
But quarterback Maalik Murphy, a transfer from Texas, won last week in his Duke debut and showcased a sampling that could put the Wildcats on edge.
“They have a quarterback that might have the most live arm that we’ve seen in a long time,” Braun said. “There will be some unique stresses on our defense this week.”
Diaz has a history with Northwestern because he was in the Big Ten as Penn State’s defensive coordinator the past two years.
Duke leads the series with Northwestern 13-10, winning the past five meetings.
–Field Level Media
