The biggest things Duke football should be thinking about heading into the bye week

Duke football suffered its first loss under rookie head coach Manny Diaz this past Saturday at Georgia Tech after a 5-0 start to the season. Overall, it's been an extremely successful first campaign for Diaz as the program started 5-0 for the first time in thirty years in 2024.

There have been some positive trends on the season, but also some negative ones. Here are the biggest things Duke football needs to be thinking about at practice as it moves through the bye week.

Converting on third down

One of the biggest issues for the Blue Devils so far this season has been converting on later downs, as Duke is converting an ACC-worst and 126th nationally 28.8% of the time on third down. In the pass-heavy offense offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer rolls with on a consistent basis, it's made third-and-middle situations a lot more predictable as the weeks go on for defenses to figure out. Against Georgia Tech, Duke ran the ball on second down a fair amount of the time, and with the Yellow Jackets's great run defense, it left the Blue Devils with a lot of third-and-uncomfortable situations. As the season progresses, the Blue Devils are going to need to find ways to keep drives moving and not get themselves in a hole with regular three-and-outs. This has been a big contributor in Duke's tendency to go into offensive droughts in most games this season, and should be a big point of emphasis as we move forward in 2024.

Maalik Murphy handling blitz pressure

Throughout the majority of the season, Duke's offensive line has done a great job at protecting quarterback Maalik Murphy and giving him plenty of time to operate in the pocket. Against Georgia Tech last week, the Yellow Jackets brought consistent pressure and it clearly affected Murphy's play. There were several forced throws and trying to make something out of nothing, which is not a recipe for consistency on offense. The Blue Devil offensive line was almost entirely new entering the season and as a unit has made amazing strides throughout the season. For Murphy, being able to make quick decisions under pressure and finding a throw without having ample time in the pocket is the next checkmark in his game to improve.

Costly penalties

In several games this season, Duke has committed penalties at the wrong times completely stifling drives and limiting scoring opportunities. Against Georgia Tech, a 67-yard kickoff return by Peyton Jones sparked momentum for Duke to come back, but an offensive pass interference in the possession call eventually forced a Duke punt. There were also a few defensive penalties made after the Blue Devils had already stopped the Yellow Jackets, keeping their drive alive. We've seen this on a couple occasions from Duke and it's costed the team points and allowed opponents to keep moving at the wrong times.