#47 R.P.I. Duke @ #12 R.P.I. Virginia Tech:
Today’s word of the day is…Plucky
pluck·y (pl
k
)
adj. pluck·i·er, pluck·i·est
- Having or showing courage and spirit in trying circumstances. See Synonyms at brave.
- the ’13 Duke football team, no really!
i·ly adv.pluck
i·ness n.Duk’i-e n. (coach Cuttcliffe’s now punchy brand of football)
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/116911151″ width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
Game Lines:
VT is a 13.5 point fave
Over/Under=47.5 points
$-Line: bet $5.50 on VT to win $1, or bet $1 on Duke to win $4.25
Defense: (starters back=7)
Dukies who could start at VT:
- Cb Ross Cockrell (Sr. gets the nod)
- Lb Kelby Brown is rather useful as well, he at least merits some P.T.
(video courtesy and thanks to The A.c.c. Digital Network!)
Offense: (returning starters=7)
Dukies who could start at VT:
- #3 Wr, Jamison Crowder (hands-down, pun intended), keep an eye on #3!
- Qb Anthony Boone might just compete.
- Dave Harding, G, Junior, might just be our best oLineman the moment he sets foot on campus. This kid might be a sleeper Sunday pick.
- Braxton Deaver at Te who is second in receiving for Duke. As a real chain moving possession guy with just enough speed to make the difference.
Duke Special Teams: (2 return)
Potential all-acc candidates, at: place-kicker, Punter, and return specialist. Yah; I’d say that counts. 8th in net punting, 12 in punt returns suggest a real field position tug of war, at best. Susceptible to trickeration on film and other than that; pretty dang solid; maybe even rock thereof… (Duke Special Teams letter-grade: A—, just a moderate lack of explosion is all)
X–factor(s):
This football game kinda has a Yawning Festival or cooler autumn day element to it to me folks. As this was a very beat-up and need of some O&M R&R Virginia Tech football team coming into last weeks OPEN date. Duke is Duke, and make no matter their 2013 improvements; that reputation is adhesive and therefore tough to shake. Or in other words, we are our very own X-factor here men. Are we locked, cocked and ready to rock vs. a non-revenge factor opponent (like UNC and Pitt)? Are we up like we were for a short-week and an always dicey visit to Georgia Tech?
Methinks not; as there is just not that much textbook or so-called “threat-power” or “coercive-power” in play here in pure applied sports-psych terms vs. mere Duke. Or in other words, as Japanese Admiral Nagumo once said during the ill-fated Battle of Midway “…he (Commander Genda) senses danger out there, as do I.’ And do be fully awears; that even with that much in-coming motive; we won those three games by nine points on average; or by about 1.5 plays.
UPSET index: (29% chance that Duke catches VT asleep at the wheel in this one)
Loading ...Illation, conclusion(s) and OPT digits:
I suppose as I already have picked Virginia Tech to win out; that I have to pick Virginia Tech to win this football game as well you say. “Not so fast my friends!” And at the expense of kowtowing Will and Chris’ picks, I do actually see this as a closer football game than the signature TSL.com savants do. As picking Virginia Tech to beat Duke in football is like watching fish practice swimming.
Why you say?
My X-factor has already nominated one rationale up above; so I’ll give you two more reasons right now. A cool brisk looking mid-fall day with an underwhelming opponent off of a 2-day work week is the enemy of enthusiasm and the ally of a rusty performance. And then there is the Virginia Tech offense itself. This will go exactly as far as LT3 can wing it and/or carry it until we suffer -or rather enjoy- a skill-position infusion of fast-twitch caliber players in future Loeffler savvy recruiting classes.
That’s a troika of hum-drum, ho-hum and outright blasé kinda reasons why this one will be closer than most expect; and here you half expected me to muck things up and pick Duke to win. That I can not do in clear coconscious, and yet the real reason why … was the Boone kid in film-study. Yes, there were objective improvements there; and yet there was still something very subtlety rough-around-the-edges to this Qb’s game. Even though our hurting Secondary narrows this one even further; methinks that Bud Stout knows how to smooth this plucky looking kid right on out; all other sluggish reasoning aside.
Virginia Tech=22 Duke=3
PICKS:
- VT-47o, K.State-485, D.Wild under-4oo, OR.ducks-24oo,
- VT/Duke 1stQ over on 10 @+115, with DW under-4oo.
- VT-33o 1H, with DW over-4oo.
1u each.
“LETS GO!“
“HOKIES!“
bourbonstreet**
