Casey Holman Ready To "Tear the Rear-View Mirror Off" and Move On From Virginia Loss

Duke redshirt freshman left tackle Casey Holman is ready to move on from the Virginia loss and focus on UNC.

“Obviously, we’ve got to tear the rear view mirror off,” he said. “I wouldn’t say forget about it. Let’s remember it, use it as motivation, but learn from our mistakes and get better.”

Playing the Tar Heels this week helps make it easier to move on.

“We have a big rival this week and want to get after those guys,” he said.

In addition to bragging rights and the Victory Bell, Duke and UNC are playing a key game in the Coastal Division standings.

“They’re a big rival, but they’re also another opponent in the ACC,” Holman said. “We’ve had a sense of urgency since the Alabama game, whether in out of conference or Coastal games. The stakes are a little bit higher now.”

Holman and the rest of the Duke line were named to the 2019 midseason honor role for the Joe Moore Award for the Most Outstanding Offensive Line Unit in College Football. Duke's line has allowed just seven sacks this year, which ranks third in the ACC and tied for 10th nationally. The Blue Devils currently are tied for seventh in the country with 3.71 tackles for loss allowed per game.

The honor came a few days after coach David Cutcliffe criticized the line’s blocking in Virginia.

“We need to execute better,” Holman said. “We knew our assignments. We knew what to do. Execution is 100 percent the reason coach thought we didn’t block well. Fitting our blocks, running our feet, blocking with second and third effort, all of which we didn’t necessarily do against Virginia.”