It wasn’t that long ago that Duke football fit the profile Alabama seeks to pad its schedule. Sprinkle in cupcakes to inflate scoring margins and the wins. The overwhelming numbers help poll voters forget an upset here and there.
It works, too. In 2017, Alabama finished essentially third in the 2017 SEC race – second in the SEC West – yet was still picked among the four College Football Playoff semifinalists.
Back in the 2010 season, Duke fit Alabama’s victim profile when David Cutcliffe was in only his third year of rebuilding one of the worst programs in the nation. The Blue Devils hosted Alabama at Wallace Wade Stadium packed with Crimson Tide fans and points. Sure enough, Alabama left Durham with a 62-13 victory.
That was then, this is now. The list of candidates willing to accept an invite to play Duke in a high-profile preseason bowl game is a short one.
Since then Duke has traveled a long road to credibility – six bowl games in the last seven seasons – and respectability — an ACC Coastal title in 2013 — to earn this year’s matchup.
Duke was invited to represent the ACC against the SEC’s Alabama in the Chick-fil-A Bowl to open the season Aug. 31 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
“We have known it has been sitting out there,” Cutcliffe said in a Wednesday teleconference call. “This is an opportunity that we have earned. It is different than just having something laid on the table and how you approach it. Everybody in this program, from seniors to freshmen, knows that we have earned this opportunity for a showcase ballgame.”
Duke is still a heavy underdog, 34.5 points, by the oddsmakers, but they aren’t a pasty. Betting lines are often matched with public perception to balance the bets. If Duke does lose a one-sided game, they may not finish the year alone with a winning record and double-digit loss to Alabama.
“We have no way to control Alabama,” Cutcliffe said. “We know that they are a national championship type of program. You have to become the team to match strength with strength. That is how you get better from these types of challenges. There is no weakness to find in Alabama. They are too well-coached and they are really gifted. You build yourself to attack strength vs. strength and that is what we expect people to do when we get to Atlanta.”
In 2010, Duke didn’t have the physical strength nor talent to match up with the Crimson Tide in the trenches. If you’re whipped on the line of scrimmage, it doesn’t matter what else you have on the field.
Alabama still features the 5- and 4-star recruits and a preseason picks up front. They basically have had their pick of the nation in recent years until Clemson starting building similar rosters.
Senior defensive tackle Raekwon Davis is a first-team All-American pick on the AP preseason team. He’s a 6-foot-7, 312-pounder that was ranked a 4-star prospect out of Meridian Ms.
Davis and offensive linemen Alex Leatherwood (6-6, 310, 5-stars, Penscola, Fla.) and Jedrick Willis (6-4, 316, 5-stars, Lexington, Ky.) are SEC preseason first-team choices. Third-team SEC picks are offensive linemen redshirt senior Matt Womack (6-7, 325, 3-stars, Hernando, Ms.) and defensive lineman LaBryan Ray (6-5, 292, 4-stars, Madison, Ala.).
It’s not a coincidence among the five that the only one that didn’t play as a true freshman was Womack, the lone 3-star.
Womack has developed over time, which is what Duke is counting on to be competitive. The Blue Devils are largely 3-star prospects, but they’ve developed techniques and grown strength and bulk.
Duke hasn’t set a depth chart, and the ACC only announced a preseason first-team that was dominated by Clemson players.
On Duke’s offensive line, two returning starters are junior Ohio State transfer Jack Wohlabaugh (6-4, 305, 4-stars, Akron, Oh.) and junior guard Rakavious Chambers (6-6, 310, 3-stars, Opelika, Ala.).
Redshirt junior tackle Robert Kraeling (6-7, 310, 4-stars, Bogart, Ga.) and junior guard Julian Santos (6-3, 325, East Lake, Fla.) have started games, but they are being pushed for starting jobs last year. Kraeling’s competition is freshman Jacob Monk (6-4, 305) from nearby Corinth Holders in Wendell. The 4-star enrolled early to get a head start on learning the scheme.
Kraeling has gained 60 pounds since he committed out of high school. Wohlabaugh has gained 31, Chambers 35 and Santos 40.
On the defensive line, there are four returning starters: true junior defensive end Victor Dimukeje (6-2, 265, 3-stars, Baltimore Latin), true junior defensive end Drew Jordan (6-2, 260, 4-stars, Suwanee, Ga.), sixth-year senior defensive tackle Edgar Cerenod (6-1, 305, 3-stars, Plantation, Fla.) and true junior defensive tackle Derek Tangelo (6-2, 285), 2-stars, Potomac, Md.).
Dimukeje has gained 20 pounds since high school, Jordan 35, Cerenod 15 and Tangelo 20.
In contrast, Alabama’s 5-stars and 4-stars are about close to same weight as high school.
Duke’s players have made the weight gains to catch up to Power 5 linemen and Duke’s has caught up with bowl trips. They have a Chick-fil-A invite that wasn’t conceivable a decade ago.
