Inside Slant

The Sports Xchange

November 06, 2018 at 10:26 pm.

Blue Devils withstand lineup changes

Duke has pieced together six victories this season, with almost a revolving list of key contributors.

The Blue Devils have done this even with some of the veterans they’re counting missing crucial playing time because of injuries.

But the thing Duke has gone for it this season that often was missing is that there are capable replacements.

“We know this is the deepest team we’ve had,” coach David Cutcliffe said.

Duke pinned a 20-12 upset loss on host Miami on Saturday night. So the Blue Devils showed they could make it through some difficult circumstances.

They finished the game without standout linebacker Joe Giles-Harris on the field. He has a knee injury and it’s unclear about his status when the Blue Devils (6-2, 2-3) take on visiting North Carolina (1-7, 1-5) on Saturday afternoon.

“Our young people have got to not be young people right now,” Cutcliffe said. “We got a lot of them playing that we didn’t think we would be playing with, but we are playing with them. … My job is to have them ready.”

On the flip side, senior linebacker Ben Humphreys returned and played a key role in the Miami game. He had been for all except a few snaps of the previous 1 1/2 games with an ailment, so his return and fiery emotions seemed to give the Blue Devils a boost.

Duke is bowl eligible for the sixth time in a seven-year stretch. Last season, it took winning the final two regular-season games in order to become bowl eligible, so the Blue Devils have avoided that type of November stress.

The Duke-North Carolina winner holds possession of the Victory Bell until the teams meet in 2019. Duke has won the past two meetings so the Victory Bell has found a home in Durham.

Duke’s defense had gone two full games without forcing a turnover before the Miami game.

It marked the first time in six games that the Blue Devils won the turnover battle. Now, Duke has 55 points off turnovers this season after posting 56 points off turnovers for the entire 2017 season.

The Blue Devils will face a North Carolina team that hasn’t won since September. But the Tar Heels have been in position late in games to win three of their past four games.