INSIDE SLANT

There won’t be a bowl game for Duke this season, and that was something that the Blue Devils coveted in order to validate their progress.

Duke has made progress nonetheless throughout the season. The Blue Devils won’t finish in last place in the Atlantic Division.

A .500 season remains possible, and that will have to be the goal for the final week of the season heading into a home game against Wake Forest. But that won’t be enough to push the Blue Devils into the bowl pool because their victory against intra-city opponent North Carolina Central didn’t count toward bowl eligibility because North Carolina Central doesn’t offer enough scholarships.

In the meantime, coach David Cutcliffe said it’s important to send out the seniors on a winning note at home, and that opportunity continues to exist.

Putting the offense back on track would be an appropriate gesture as well because there have been more shortcomings than successes in that category during the current three-game losing streak.

Duke needed two wins in its last four games to play in a bowl, and that won’t happen, extending the school’s streak of seasons without a bowl. The Blue Devils last made the postseason in 1994.

NOTES, QUOTES

• Duke’s receivers continue to be perhaps the most impressive group on the team. But some recent dropped passes are disturbing, and those have taken away from some of the season-long good vibes created by the receivers. Losing WR Johnny Williams to an injury has hurt the receiving corps, and WR Austin Kelly hasn’t produced at the level he did earlier in the season.

• Duke had been 8-0 in two seasons under coach David Cutcliffe when leading after three quarters before Saturday’s loss at Miami. The Blue Devils held a 16-13 edge entering the fourth quarter. “I’m still angry that we didn’t win the fourth quarter,” Cutcliffe said after his team was outscored 21-0 in the final 14 minutes.

Game Ball Goes To:   QB Thaddeus Lewis—He set the school’s career record for passing yards when he broke former quarterback Ben Bennett’s mark with a fourth-quarter pass play at Miami. Lewis has 9,678 passing yards with one game remaining in his career, ranking third all-time in ACC history.

Keep An Eye On:   S Matt Daniels—The sophomore recorded a career-high 13 tackles in the game at Miami. No other Duke player had more than seven tackles in the game. Butler’s total included 10 solo tackles. He had two games earlier this season when he had nine tackles, which had been his previous high mark. The Duke secondary is bound to busy in the finale against Wake Forest.

Quote To Note:   “I’m getting a lot more questions (from top-line scouts).”—Coach David Cutcliffe, on senior QB Thaddeus Lewis’ NFL prospects. Cutcliffe has a good history of nurturing future NFL quarterbacks, having been on college staffs for Peyton Manning and Eli Manning. Lewis has turned into a record-setting quarterback at Duke.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Looking Good:   Duke has forced at least one turnover in eight consecutive games after collecting two turnovers in the game at Miami. This marked the fifth game in which the Blue Devils have benefited from at least two turnovers by opponents.

Still Needs Work:   Duke’s secondary has had stretches in which it has played much better, but the Blue Devils seem to waste too many chances of making game-turning plays. That’s particularly frustrating because they might have put Miami in a decent-sized hole had they picked off some passes in the first half of Saturday’s game. Instead, the good defensive deeds haven’t been fully rewarded.

Roster Report:  

• WR Donovan Varner continues to show a big-play knack, with eight catches for 165 yards at Miami providing more evidence of that. He had a 64-yard reception, and his total for the season of plays going for 20 or more yards stands at 16.

• LB Abraham Kromah played for the first time since the ACC opener against Virginia Tech. Despite missing five full games with an injury, he was active enough to make four tackles. His reaction to some situations wasn’t back up to par and that hurt the Blue Devils a couple of times.

• DT Vince Oghobaase remained out of the lineup, increasing speculation that his college career might be prematurely finished with a leg injury. He hasn’t played the past couple of weeks, though the team hasn’t listed him as out permanently. Oghobaase took a chance in returning for his final season when he was considered a draftable player after his junior season.