Tag Archives: Zack Asack

Monday Musings, 11/24

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Exceeding expectations, one game at a time

I grew up a Michigan State basketball fan, and one thing that has always been said of head coach Tom Izzo is his uncanny ability to get the most out of his team come NCAA tournament time.  After leading his team to two consecutive Elite Eights, heights thought unreachable prior to the tourney, perhaps the same consideration should be given to Duke women’s soccer head coach Robbie Church.

His Blue Devils went into Charlottesville, Va. to face a tough, second-seeded Virginia squad, which outshot Duke 21-6 in a 0-0 overtime tie earlier in the regular season, and executed when they needed to for a 2-0 victory. All week, Church said Duke would likely face a similar imbalance in the box score, so the team would have to convert the few chances afforded it in order to win. Well, the Blue Devils made the most of their four shots, scoring twice, and played smart, sound defense for a trip to Los Angeles for a matchup with UCLA.

The Bruins are the top-seeded team in Duke’s bracket and have a intimidating 21-0-2 record on the year. It will obviously be tough for the Blue Devils to advance to the Final Four, but given what they’ve been able to achieve so far this postseason, don’t put it past them. Continue reading →

LIVE BLOG: Virginia Tech 14, Duke 3 (FINAL)

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Virginia Tech 14, Duke 3; 1:23: That will do it. Asack’s first pass of the drive was intercepted by Virginia Tech cornerback “Macho” Harris, who returned it 23 yards for a game-sealing pick six. Duke’s bowl hopes are now officially dead and it can only hope to end a four-game losing streak next weekend against rival North Carolina (who also lost today against N.C. State). That’ll do it for us, as we head down to the postgame press conferences for Cutcliffe’s thoughts on the contest.

Virginia Tech 7, Duke 3; 1:45: Aye-Darko just kept Duke’s slim hopes alive. Virginia Tech ran the same running play it had run so effectively all day—out of the shotgun, Glennon rolled left, then handed off to Evans, who cut back right into usually open space. This time, however, Aye-Dark stopped him short of the first down and the Blue Devils will have one more shot, albeit an incredibly slim one.

Virginia Tech 7, Duke 3; 1:52: So far, so good. Duke’s stopped two consecutive runs by Darren Evans and will have to do so one more time if it wants any hope for a victory.

Virginia Tech 7, Duke 3; 2:05: Virginia Tech just took a timeout to avoid getting a delay of game penalty, and it’s now up to the Duke defense to stop the Hokies one more time and set up a miraculous comeback. Since Virginia Tech has 1st-and-10, the Blue Devils would likely have about 1:40 left if they stop the Hokies on three straight plays and call timeout after each one.

Virginia Tech 7, Duke 3; 3:23: And that might just do it. Asack went deep to receiver Johnny Williams, but the freshman was double-covered and Stephan Virgil picked it off for the Hokies. Virginia Tech will try to kill the clock, but Duke does have all three timeouts remaining.

Virginia Tech 7, Duke 3; 4:30 4th quarter: A good start for Duke as Tielor Robinson runs up the gut for 15 yards. The ball is at the Blue Devils’ 35-yard line.

Virginia Tech 7, Duke 3; 5:04 4th quarter: Virginia Tech must really want Duke to stay bowl eligible. It’s the only explanation for what just happened. Glennon dropped back on 3rd-and-9 but had no one open. He scrambled right for yards and was in a foot race for the first down with safety Adrian Aye-Darko. Darko nailed Glennon out-of-bounds a yard short, but tight end Andre Smith left the Hokies with only one choice on fourth down as he committed a dead-ball, unnecessary roughness penalty. This is probably Duke’s last chance to win this game when it gets the ball back after the punt.

Virginia Tech 7, Duke 3; 8:56 4th quarter: Hold everything. We have our first completed pass of the day from Duke’s offense as Asack connects with tight end Brett Huffman for four yards.. But, alas, it’s short of the first down. Duke punts and Virginia Tech will take over at its own 33-yard line.

Virginia Tech 7, Duke 3; 10:48 4th quarter: Duke’s defense continues to come up with crucial drive-stopping plays, forcing Glennon into an intentional grounding on a third down. Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, the Hokies still had good enough field position to punt the ball into the end zone for a touchback. Asking this offense to establish an 80-yard drive may well be asking the impossible, but with Asack’s speed, anything is certainly possible. Continue reading →

Talking Football: Duke-Virginia Tech Preview

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Can Duke bounce back from a three-game losing slide? Will the Blue Devils be able to succeed if they don’t have starting quarterback Thaddeus Lewis running the offense? Does anyone care about football now that basketball season has started? We answer those questions and more in this week’s edition of Talking Football to preview the Blue Devils’ Saturday matchup at Virginia Tech. Offer your responses in the comments section below, and enjoy!

[audio:http://chronicleblogs.s3.amazonaws.com/sports/2008/11/dukevatech.mp3]

Renfree Will Remain Redshirted

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Sean Renfree came to Duke this summer as the most highly touted recruit of David Cutcliffe’s initial recruiting haul. A four-star prospect and the No. 10 quarterback in his class, Renfree was hailed as a pro-style signal caller, but he was stuck behind Thaddeus Lewis and Zack Asack in a quarterback logjam.

Even though Lewis went down with a sprained ankle Saturday and Asack will start against Virginia Tech if Lewis can’t, Renfree won’t see any time this season, as head coach David Cutcliffe said Tuesday that he won’t remove the redshirt off his prized recruit. Instead, redshirt freshman Mike Cappetto, who traditionally calls plays from the sidelines, will serve as Asack’s backup if Lewis is unable to play.

Renfree has managed to fly under the radar this year despite the attention he earned when he spurned more traditional football programs to play for Cutcliffe, who has been billed as a quarterback guru. Few Duke players in recent memory have entered college with the hype afforded to Renfree and then sat on the bench for an entire year, but the redshirt will almost undoubtedly work in the Blue Devils’ favor. Having practiced and observed for a year, Renfree will still be a freshman next year, and when Lewis and Asack leaves, he’ll be a sophomore with two years of experience under Cutcliffe.

The 6-foot-3, 210-pound quarterback can run as well as he can pass, and Cutcliffe said his practicing with the receivers has been good for the wideouts because Renfree can “really throw it.” Cutcliffe even compared Renfree to two of his former proteges, Tee Martin and Heath Shuler.

“Redshirting can be very complacent for certain kids,” Cutcliffe said. “He’s been 100 percent he other way. He’s been very much into what he’s doing…. People don’t know, he can really run, and I like guys like that. I want them to be big, see the field, command the ball and be accurate. If they can run, that’s a bonus.”

And it’s one that Duke could cash in on for years to come.

Monday Musings, 11/17

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You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone

In the Blue Devils’ first drive of Saturday’s contest against Clemson, quarterback Thaddeus Lewis went 3-for-3 for 24 yards, leading Duke to two first downs before a Tiger sack forced Duke to punt. On the next series, Lewis was hit as he threw on third down, straining his foot enough to sideline him for the rest of the game. Up to that point, the score was knotted at zero, and the two teams appeared fairly balanced and ready for an exhilarating back-and-forth game.

But then backup Zack Asack came in and the Duke offense stalled, failing to convert another first down until the third quarter and running only six plays in Clemson territory all afternoon. Now, in no way can a 31-7 loss be placed all on the shoulders of the backup quarterback—period, end of story, can’t be done. It did create a tremendously difficult uphill battle for the Blue Devils, though, and, once the game started getting away from them, their problems snowballed exponentially.

As Asack worked to shake off the rust, the Blue Devils turned in three-and-outs on four straight drives to close out the first half. The placed the defense in a tough spot, remaining on the field for more than 20 minutes before the break as the Tigers worked up an insurmountable 17-0 lead.

It’s way too early to tell if this offense can produce behind Asack—he has been successful in the past—but the importance of Lewis to this offense was made remarkably evident Saturday. We’ve known all along this season he was special, but his name was sometimes overshadowed by the likes of star wideout Eron Riley and up-and-comers Johnny Williams and Jay Hollingsworth. Now we see that, without the conductor at the helm, even the most well-oiled machine can break down. Continue reading →

LIVE BLOG: Clemson 31, Duke 7 (FINAL)

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FOURTH QUARTER 10:20: Clemson 31- Duke 0 – Even though there are still 11 minutes left, we’ll be signing off from Memorial Stadium as Clemson continues to hold onto its commanding lead.  Duke moves to 4-6 with two games left against Virginia Tech and North Carolina. Check back later for the final and perhaps some postgame thoughts.

FOURTH QUARTER 14:46: Clemson 31- Duke 0 – In what is easily Duke’s worst game of the season, the impact and talent of Thaddeus Lewis has been sorely missed. He only played in the contest’s first two drives, but helped lead the Blue Devils to their only two first downs on the first half. With Asack in, Duke only called QB draws, runs, and short throws. His deepest throw was almost a full ten yards short of a sprinting Eron Riley. Duke’s defense, which admittedly had a strong first half considering it was on the field for two-thirds of it, has since evaporated into a unit apt to arm tackle and slide off ballcarriers. Right now, Clemson has a commanding 451-84 total yard advantage.

THIRD QUARTER 9:28: Clemson 31- Duke 0 – Jabari Marshall has a great return past the Duke 40, and again Duke calls for an Asack draw play on first down — the sixth time out of seven Asack-led first downs. On third down, Asack goes to the air over the middle, trying to thread it into a very narrow alley and is intercepted. Just more than a minute after their big, 83-yard score all but ended this game, the Tigers are on the move again, looking at a first-and-goal from inside the five-yard line after several big pass plays highlighted by more missed tackles. On second down, James Davis runs right up the gut and into the endzone. This game is out of hand, and Duke’s bowl hopes are all but dashed, while the Tigers are on their way to an uplifting homecoming victory. There are still almost 25 minutes to play. 4 plays, 47 yards.

THIRD QUARTER 11:19: Clemson 24 – Duke 0 - In what has quickly become the biggest rout of the season, the Tigers continue to pile it on with another screen pass. Harper feigns left, then throws right to Spiller, who cuts up the middle of the Blue Devil defense, outrunning everyone and going untouched all the way to the house. 2 plays, 83 yards.

THIRD QUARTER 11:39 : Clemson 17- Duke 0 – The Tigers dominated every statistical category in the first half, including a 21 minutes: 9 minutes time-of-possession ratio. With the second half underway, Duke has now seen five first downs with Asack at the helm, and each time Cutcliffe has called for a QB draw. Although it worked to some degree on the opening play of the second half, and set up the Blue Devils’ first first down since the opening drive and Asack’s first completion, Clemson is starting to get a beat on it. The coaching staff is trying to establish a rhythm for Asack, though, calling all short passes and screens to move Duke into Clemson territory. After freshman wideout Johnny Williams went down with a back injury, the Blue Devils line up for a third-and-four from midfield. Asack has Riley on an out route to the left side, but throws too far behind him and Duke is forced to punt after the incompletion.

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