Duke football: Balanced Northwestern offense is a big concern

You often hear talk of a team being balanced on offense. Their run/pass ratio hovers around a 55/45 percent split. They usually don’t have too many more yards in one category than the other. The Northwestern offense is the epitome of this. Duke football head coach Mike Elko is concerned about the Wildcats’ balance,

“They can do a lot of things, so you’ve got to be able to be multiple in how you attack them. You’ve got to be able to take away the run at times without making yourself susceptible on the outside to the pass game,” Elko said at his weekly press conference.

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There is nothing spectacular about the Northwestern offense. They’re not explosive and really aren’t a threat to score from anywhere on the field. Solid is more the word I’ll use. Their offensive line is physical, Evan Hull and Cam Porter are no-nonsense backs who run hard, and quarterback Ryan Hilinski throws it well enough. They may not possess a “Wow!” factor, but they’re good enough to put up 518 total yards against a decent Nebraska defense.

A must-win position matchup

If the Duke defense is going to have success, the interior of its line must have a repeat of their performance against Temple. DeWayne Carter, Ja’Mion Franklin, and their fellow defensive tackles have to win the line of scrimmage and not get blown off the ball by that physical Wildcat offensive line. Be disruptive, blow up some plays in the backfield, and allow linebackers Shaka Heyward and Dorian Mausi to flow to the ball with a minimum of trouble. In passing situations, this group needs to collapse the pocket from the middle and harass Northwestern quarterback Ryan Hilinski. The ends are going to need to do their part as well. Set the edge, be tough against the run, and make Hilinski have to step into the pocket and run into those defensive tackles.

Wrap’em up when ya got’em

Elko is happy with the way his team tackled last week. They’re going to have to be even better at it this week. When a defender gets his hands on a Northwestern ball carrier, they have to get them on the ground. Hull and Porter are capable of breaking tackles or getting a lot of yards after first contact. The Blue Devils can’t let that happen. The defensive backs can’t miss on a receiver and allow a short gain to turn into a chunk play. Wrap them up and get them on the ground.

I think the Duke defense is overall faster than Nebraska’s and can do some things to cause problems for Northwestern. They don’t need to be perfect to slow down this offense, but they need to be good. If they’re good, the Blue Devils will have a good chance to come away with a win on Saturday.