Posted by ESPN.com's Heather Dinich
With a 1-1 record in conference play, Duke has a lead over rival North Carolina. We’ll see how long it lasts, but so far, the Blue Devils have had the most consistently productive offense on Tobacco Road, thanks to quarterback Thaddeus Lewis. The Blue Devils got off to a disappointing start with their loss to FCS defending national champs Richmond, but began to show their true progress under coach David Cutcliffe in their loss to Virginia Tech. For the second straight season, Duke kept it interesting with the Hokies, and they were able to build upon that in an upset of NC State the following week. The win snapped a 20-game ACC road game losing streak for the Blue Devils with the last road win coming in ’03. There’s still plenty of work left to do in Durham, and until the Blue Devils string together two straight conference wins, enthusiasm should be tempered.
Offensive MVP: Thaddeus Lewis. Lewis is No. 2 in the conference and No. 17 in the country with 266.8 passing yards per game. He put together the most memorable performance of the first half of the season when he completed a school-record 40-of-50 passes for a career-high 459 yards and six touchdowns to lead the Blue Devils to a 49-28 victory over NC State.
Defensive MVP: Leon Wright. He’s No. 12 in the nation in passes defended with 11, and he had two interception returns for touchdowns in a win at Army which came just 16 seconds apart and on back-to-back snaps. He has 30 tackles this season, five pass breakups, one fumble recovery and three interceptions.
With a 1-1 record in conference play, Duke has a lead over rival North Carolina. We’ll see how long it lasts, but so far, the Blue Devils have had the most consistently productive offense on Tobacco Road, thanks to quarterback Thaddeus Lewis. The Blue Devils got off to a disappointing start with their loss to FCS defending national champs Richmond, but began to show their true progress under coach David Cutcliffe in their loss to Virginia Tech. For the second straight season, Duke kept it interesting with the Hokies, and they were able to build upon that in an upset of NC State the following week. The win snapped a 20-game ACC road game losing streak for the Blue Devils with the last road win coming in ’03. There’s still plenty of work left to do in Durham, and until the Blue Devils string together two straight conference wins, enthusiasm should be tempered.
Offensive MVP: Thaddeus Lewis. Lewis is No. 2 in the conference and No. 17 in the country with 266.8 passing yards per game. He put together the most memorable performance of the first half of the season when he completed a school-record 40-of-50 passes for a career-high 459 yards and six touchdowns to lead the Blue Devils to a 49-28 victory over NC State.
Defensive MVP: Leon Wright. He’s No. 12 in the nation in passes defended with 11, and he had two interception returns for touchdowns in a win at Army which came just 16 seconds apart and on back-to-back snaps. He has 30 tackles this season, five pass breakups, one fumble recovery and three interceptions.
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
Heather Dinich
Dinich covered ACC and Big Ten football for five seasons before joining ESPN.com in November 2007. She's an Indiana grad but somehow her favorite day of the week is Saturday.
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