Early line in Las Vegas had Duke -1, but it's quickly moved to -3. I like the Cat's with that number. Under Fitz the Cat's are a tough road Dog. I doubt this line will move much further though, as I would agree that on a neutral field that this is a pick em' game. Our defense will get a definate test against the Blue Devils in NC. I still like the Cat's to win though.
It's all Duke so far!
- Thread starter mybrotha
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I don't bet on games but if I did I would be all over this because I believe NU will make another statement and win by at least a TD. Duke is the new Vandy for us, although Cutcliffe is far better than Franklin was as a coach and as a person.
I believe the game is a pick. We are going to have a lot of games like this when we get in conference. We will win some and lose some. Duke will score, but our defense hopefully can force some turnovers. NU will take the handcuffs off Thorson. The staff protected him from taking hits last week like they should have. I think he will keep the ball instead of pitch on some of the read option we put in. I think we will be able to run some, so it will likely come down to which defense can force turnovers, just like most pick em's.
Thorson doesnt look comfortable yet. Too hesitant on his first steps even when he has the right reads. And he has to run the ball hard if he takes it. Cant have a read option qb being protected or otherwise. He simply is not running with authority.
Gosh...I felt like Thorson made a noticeable improvement on Saturday. He looked pretty comfortable the couple of times he stepped up in the pocket and zipped the ball downfield. He didn't have the luxury of much play action and the majority of his throws were on obvious passing downs. Hopefully he continues to progress vs. Duke.
I agree. He looked better and more comfortable. A shame he overshot McHugh when he was wide open...
I have no idea what crowds Duke gets, but you cannot ignore the pressure and difficult of being on the road as a starting QB for the first time.
Question: as a redshirt, would Thorson have not travelled at all last season? Is this his first trip? If so, it's worth considering the discomfort that traveling for the first trip brings with it...
Good to hear. Admittedly i didnt see saturdays game but only observations from the stanford game. The poster above said fitz placed him in cuffs saturday so i must have misinterprested it.
He only attempted 16 passes all afternoon so the sample size is pretty small. Jones had one bad drop, and he threw one away, so he only failed to complete 3 passes, including the wold high throw to McHugh which should have been a TD.
And I saw only one throw into a trouble area. Definitely saw some improvement. We still have not seen a deep ball and at some point, that will be needed, if for no other reason than to open things up.
He was also in for only 3/4 so under normal conditions attempts would have been about 24. Still lower than what I expect as at some point I would see us as going closer to 50/50
Thorson was at Notre Dame, at least, last year. There are video highlights that showed him jumping around on the sideline.
It's going to be a tough game- I'd feel much better if we were playing at home. I don't bet individual games, but if I did, I wouldn't touch this game. So many variables in play. However, if someone forced me to make a pick, I'd probably go with Duke. Never easy for a QB to make his first road start, especially against a respectable opponent like Duke.
That being said, this game is very winnable for NU. To me, it will come down to limiting turnovers (no more than one), and how our d-line does against the Duke o-line. That is one area where it looks like we have a pretty big edge as it is not one of their stronger groups, and it is arguably the strongest unit on our entire team. I am confident we will get pressure, but we have to make sure we actually get some of the sacks, and contain the Duke QB, who does have the ability to scramble. I also think that our secondary could pose problems for a Duke QB that has ability, but hasn't faced a quality defense yet. Our passing game is going to have to show a dynamic that it hasn't shown yet as well (IMO). I'm not saying we have to be slinging it all over the place, but I think we need to stretch the field a little bit more so Duke has to at least respect the mid/deep ball and doesn't put 8-9 guys in the box the entire game.
That being said, this game is very winnable for NU. To me, it will come down to limiting turnovers (no more than one), and how our d-line does against the Duke o-line. That is one area where it looks like we have a pretty big edge as it is not one of their stronger groups, and it is arguably the strongest unit on our entire team. I am confident we will get pressure, but we have to make sure we actually get some of the sacks, and contain the Duke QB, who does have the ability to scramble. I also think that our secondary could pose problems for a Duke QB that has ability, but hasn't faced a quality defense yet. Our passing game is going to have to show a dynamic that it hasn't shown yet as well (IMO). I'm not saying we have to be slinging it all over the place, but I think we need to stretch the field a little bit more so Duke has to at least respect the mid/deep ball and doesn't put 8-9 guys in the box the entire game.
I think Thorson took a big step forward against EIU and looked extremely confident rolling out, planting, and throwing darts. But I completely agree with your point about running with authority. If he makes the decision to run, he's got to go. He seems to hesitate and can't decide how hard to go (based on limited reps, so far). I'd like to see him run aggressively and then get out of bounds if necessary. His approach now worries me and could expose him to injury.
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