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We were missing three of our better receivers (Thomas, Greathouse, Colzie), Rico Flores is still adjusting to the speed and strength of the college game, and Braylon James wasn't ready yet (we all knew he was a great talent, but a work in progress).

Also, that was a quality defense that Duke fielded. They actually got the better of us both on the front seven, as well as the secondary. Pass coverage was very good all night long, and I wouldn't be surprised to see all four of those starters in the secondary playing on Sundays.

The front seven were controlling the line of scrimmage, and generating plenty of pressure, to the point where even Joe Alt had a subpar day.

Finally, they had excellent anticipation on the snap count, and were all but getting a whole step's jump before our guys even moved on many occasions.

All you can do is tip your cap to Mike Elko, who has certainly proven himself as a defensive coordinator throughout the years, and now as a head coach.

On another note, we are very fortunate to have Sam Hartman here. He saw that the only weak spot in the Duke's defense was the pass coverage from the inside linebacker(s), and Mitchell Evans was able to get open. Part of it was that they were running a very aggressive attacking defense, but the other part was the fact that Mitchell Evans is better than advertised, and has really stepped up his game.

He took what little the defense gave us, and turned it into 3 touchdowns.