Top storylines for Duke-Georgia Tech

Duke hosts Georgia Tech in its homecoming game at Wallace Wade Stadium on Saturday afternoon at 12:30. The Blue Devils have won seven of their last eight homecoming games, including the last two. It’s only the third time in the last decade that Duke has played an ACC opponent on homecoming.

Here are the top storylines for the game with the Yellow Jackets.

Back to basics: Coming off of a 45-10 win at Virginia Tech, Duke’s coaches decided to add several new twists to the offense. It turned out to be a disastrous overreach, as the Blue Devils couldn’t move the ball at all against Pitt the following week.

“I think as a coach some of the tendencies are to get carried away with what you see and the looks,” Cutcliffe said. “And you know, you sit and you add and you add and you know Quentin is a fifth-year player. He's a brilliant quarterback. But you know, he's still growing.”

Late in the third quarter, Cutcliffe realized the offense was overwhelmed by the new material and decided to simplify, while on the headset with his offensive coordinator.

“I said, 'I'll take full credit for what has happened. We're not handling the new, let's start the conversation now. When I get off the phone and go back over to the defense I want the conversation to be about getting back to our roots and what we need to do.' And we'll be fine if we take it back there,” Cutcliffe said. “And there's an old saying that do what we do. And that's what you have to do. You have to do what you do well. And you can wrinkle things, but you can't just wholesale put a bunch of new things in. I know that. And I had to relearn that lesson, that's not very good.”

The Blue Devils ended up wiping out a 23-point deficit to take the lead late before losing in the final minute.

Running low: With running back Brittain Brown out for the season, all the carries—and hits—fall on Deon Jackson and Mataeo Durant.

“They're going to be fine, but you've got to take care of them,” Cutcliffe said. “And then we need to really get (freshmen) and in a position to be able to play at a high level. When, and I'm going to say when we need them, not really if, we need them. If you had six, that wouldn't be enough. But we don't have six. We're right now with those four guys that we're riding and counting on.”

Transition time: Georgia Tech is transitioning to a new offense, after more than a decade in Paul Johnson’s triple option. But the process of moving to a pro-style passing attack is going slowly. Most of the roster was recruited for Johnson’s run-oriented attack, and new coach Geoff Collins isn’t forcing the move to a more modern passing game.

Still, Tech has completed 14 passes in two different games this season, which are the most for the Jackets in a game since 2014 and third-most since 2008.

The transition continues as Tobias Oliver, who started at quarterback last season and at the start of this year, moved to wide receiver. Redshirt freshman James Graham is the new starter.

Getting thin: The offensive transition will be slowed even further by the rash of injuries Tech has suffered. The Yellow Jackets have lost their starting center and left tackle for the year and down to 10 offensive linemen, including three former walk-ons. Wide receiver Jalen Camp is also lost for the year. That leaves the Yellow Jackets with just eight scholarship seniors, the second-fewest in the nation behind Texas A&M.

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