Duke released its full 2013 football schedule Monday afternoon. Here it is:
Aug. 31 vs. N.C. Central
Sept. 7 at Memphis
Sept. 14 vs. Georgia Tech
Sept. 21 vs. Pittsburgh
Sept. 28 vs. Troy
Oct. 5 open
Oct. 12 vs. Navy
Oct. 19 at Virginia
Oct. 26 at Virginia Tech
Nov. 2 open
Nov. 9 vs. N.C. State
Nov. 16: vs. Miami
Nov. 23 at Wake Forest
Nov. 30 at North Carolina
Initial reactions:
***Coming off their first bowl appearance since the 1994 season, the Blue Devils will face higher expectations. So, on that note, Duke should go 4-0 in nonconference play. Navy finished 8-5 with its best win probably coming over East Carolina. Troy, from the Sun Belt, finished 5-7 with its best win coming over Navy. And we all saw how terrible Memphis was last season.
***Building off the previous point, Duke should make back-to-back bowl appearances for the first time ever (yes, that's right). In addition to the four winnable nonconference games, the ACC slate provides a few more games that could and should result in victories: Pittsburgh, at Virginia, N.C. State, at Wake Forest and at North Carolina. Miami Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech will probably be more than Duke can handle, but there aren't any Florida State or Clemson-level teams on the schedule this year. Again, six wins should be expected of this squad.
***With the 14-week schedule comes two open dates, and the Blue Devils shouldn't have any gripes with where theirs fall. Last year, Duke played ten straight games before its open date, which was the latest in the ACC. This year, the two weeks break up the schedule nicely.
***On the flip side, conference opponents Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest all play Duke after facing open dates. Beating the Hokies or the Yellow Jackets would have been a tall task even without the scheduling advantage those two teams have. Giving Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe two weeks to prepare is a significant advantage for the Demon Deacons.
***N.C. State comes to Durham the week after hosting UNC, so there's major letdown potential for the Wolfpack (last year, N.C. State lost a heartbreaker to UNC and then turned around and was blown out by Virginia at home the next week). And the Duke-Carolina game is back to Thanksgiving weekend, which is unfortunate, as most students will be away from both campuses. Last year's midseason game had a great atmosphere.
--Laura Keeley, News & Observer
Aug. 31 vs. N.C. Central
Sept. 7 at Memphis
Sept. 14 vs. Georgia Tech
Sept. 21 vs. Pittsburgh
Sept. 28 vs. Troy
Oct. 5 open
Oct. 12 vs. Navy
Oct. 19 at Virginia
Oct. 26 at Virginia Tech
Nov. 2 open
Nov. 9 vs. N.C. State
Nov. 16: vs. Miami
Nov. 23 at Wake Forest
Nov. 30 at North Carolina
Initial reactions:
***Coming off their first bowl appearance since the 1994 season, the Blue Devils will face higher expectations. So, on that note, Duke should go 4-0 in nonconference play. Navy finished 8-5 with its best win probably coming over East Carolina. Troy, from the Sun Belt, finished 5-7 with its best win coming over Navy. And we all saw how terrible Memphis was last season.
***Building off the previous point, Duke should make back-to-back bowl appearances for the first time ever (yes, that's right). In addition to the four winnable nonconference games, the ACC slate provides a few more games that could and should result in victories: Pittsburgh, at Virginia, N.C. State, at Wake Forest and at North Carolina. Miami Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech will probably be more than Duke can handle, but there aren't any Florida State or Clemson-level teams on the schedule this year. Again, six wins should be expected of this squad.
***With the 14-week schedule comes two open dates, and the Blue Devils shouldn't have any gripes with where theirs fall. Last year, Duke played ten straight games before its open date, which was the latest in the ACC. This year, the two weeks break up the schedule nicely.
***On the flip side, conference opponents Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest all play Duke after facing open dates. Beating the Hokies or the Yellow Jackets would have been a tall task even without the scheduling advantage those two teams have. Giving Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe two weeks to prepare is a significant advantage for the Demon Deacons.
***N.C. State comes to Durham the week after hosting UNC, so there's major letdown potential for the Wolfpack (last year, N.C. State lost a heartbreaker to UNC and then turned around and was blown out by Virginia at home the next week). And the Duke-Carolina game is back to Thanksgiving weekend, which is unfortunate, as most students will be away from both campuses. Last year's midseason game had a great atmosphere.
--Laura Keeley, News & Observer
Posts
1 comments:
The fans must see this so they know all the schedule of the teams playing in this league. I always love to watch football live.
Post a Comment