I think this is all fair and pretty spot-on. I'm a little surprised to see so many grades of C and higher in the reader poll - in what world is a likely losing record (and almost assuredly yet another losing conference record) a passing grade?
I think Spav and Bloesch have done ok, and I think Bloesch's shoring up of the OL will help recr…
I think this is all fair and pretty spot-on. I'm a little surprised to see so many grades of C and higher in the reader poll - in what world is a likely losing record (and almost assuredly yet another losing conference record) a passing grade?
I think Spav and Bloesch have done ok, and I think Bloesch's shoring up of the OL will help recruit some more bodies his way. And I agree that the defense's backslide is deeply concerning. One would think that Sirmon's job is in question, but Wilcox, as a former DC and defense-minded coach, also has to shoulder the blame. In the last 4 years, Duke has had a single 4-star recruit. Duke has a bunch of nobodies, but their defense is ranked 20th in SP+ (ours is 54th). They run crazy schemes and blitz packages and keep opponents guessing. That's coaching.
SP+ attempts to correct for strength of schedule. Duke has played "weak" ACC foes Clemson (26th ranked offense held to 7 points) and Notre Dame (16th ranked offense held to 21). We'll see how they hold up against FSU, Miami, and Louisville, but I bet they don't give up half a hundy to any of them.
Well, given the options, a C- is still a C. I teetered on the edge, but I figured a C- was fair and that's a C. Yeah, the rest of the season is probably going to such, but there's just enough glimmers that I can't bring myself to give the D.
I think this is all fair and pretty spot-on. I'm a little surprised to see so many grades of C and higher in the reader poll - in what world is a likely losing record (and almost assuredly yet another losing conference record) a passing grade?
I think Spav and Bloesch have done ok, and I think Bloesch's shoring up of the OL will help recruit some more bodies his way. And I agree that the defense's backslide is deeply concerning. One would think that Sirmon's job is in question, but Wilcox, as a former DC and defense-minded coach, also has to shoulder the blame. In the last 4 years, Duke has had a single 4-star recruit. Duke has a bunch of nobodies, but their defense is ranked 20th in SP+ (ours is 54th). They run crazy schemes and blitz packages and keep opponents guessing. That's coaching.
Duke plays a lot of weak teams in non conference games. And the ACC is no where as strong as the PAC-12.
SP+ attempts to correct for strength of schedule. Duke has played "weak" ACC foes Clemson (26th ranked offense held to 7 points) and Notre Dame (16th ranked offense held to 21). We'll see how they hold up against FSU, Miami, and Louisville, but I bet they don't give up half a hundy to any of them.
Well, given the options, a C- is still a C. I teetered on the edge, but I figured a C- was fair and that's a C. Yeah, the rest of the season is probably going to such, but there's just enough glimmers that I can't bring myself to give the D.