Jack Wohlabaugh: Defenders complain when Duke runs triple option

Center Jack Wohlabaugh said that Duke was prepared for Georgia Tech, coming in to the 41-23 win on Saturday.

“I thought we had a good game plan going in,” he said, “especially on the o-line. We watched a lot of film this week and really broke down their defense. We were prepared for them. There was a lot of high morale from last week. We were just trying to get out there and get a win.”

Scoring points early was a priority for the Duke offense to continue the momentum established in last week’s late comeback.

“We put extra importance last week on coming out in the second half and putting up a bunch of points on the board, just to show the team we were not gonna give up. We were gonna fight to the end, no matter what happens. We’re a really prideful team, in general. We’re proud of that.”

Duke struggled on offense early in recent weeks, but not against Tech.

“First drives are always important to set the tempo and show the defense we came here to play.”

Wohlabaugh said the line enjoys running the triple option.

“It’s fun,” he said, “kind of putting two hands down in the dirt and getting after them. It’s a lot less thinking, which can be fun at times. A lot of old school football.”

The offense is not a welcome sight to defenders.

“There’s been some weeks where defensive linemen shrug and say, ‘Oh, come on. I don’t want you to run this.’ You can hear them say that under their breath, and you think, ‘Okay, maybe this is working.’”