My Take: Duke’s identity is clear

DURHAM – You know the explosiveness exists.

And for the first part of Saturday’s 38-14 thrashing of Northwestern, Duke’s offense allowed itself to stretch the field.

Riley Leonard got the ball to Jalon Calhoun and Jordan Moore in space and it looked like the Blue Devils’ offense would open things up for, essentially, the first time all season. You’d finally get to see Leonard make the throws that make him an enticing prospect for the NFL.

That’s not who they are, though.

“What we’re taught is play our brand of football,” offensive lineman Jacob Monk said. “If they can match it, that’s good, we’ll win in the fourth quarter. If not, then it’ll get out of hand.”

This is what a confident and physically imposing football team looks like.

If there can be a brand attached to a program that’s one season and three games into a coach’s tenure, that’s it. The Mike Elko-coached Blue Devils are unanimous in believing their preparation level — both in summer workouts and game planning — and physicality gives them a chance to beat anyone in the country.

Will they go 15-0? Who knows. Probably not.

It’s the belief that counts through the first three games; that’s what has mattered since Elko’s introduction as Duke’s coach, when he made clear that he didn’t see his first head coaching job as some sort of reclamation project that would take years to build a strong foundation.

No. 21 Duke pounded Northwestern for 268 rushing yards and made a Big Ten team look like it was on the same level as last weekend’s Patriot League foe. This was without one of Duke’s top six offensive linemen, as Justin Pickett was out with an elbow injury, and without a battering ram of a running back in Jaylen Coleman, who hasn’t played this season.

“We wanted to establish our physical identity,” Elko said. “Any time you play a Big Ten team, that’s really, really important.”

And from the player's perspective:

"It's just a mindset," Monk said. "It's a direct correlation to how much work we put in. It's a direct correlation to knowing that no one has outworked us.

"When you know that from the first play that you put your hands on somebody, you know that you're stronger than them. And you know that if you're not stronger than them now, you're going to be stronger than them in the fourth quarter."

It’s nothing new.

Duke has rushed for 728 yards this season. The only thing keeping Duke from having rushed for at least 200 yards in all three games were the three kneel-downs at the end of the Clemson game, taking Duke’s total from 204 to 199.

Leonard runs through more arm tackles than he throws passes 20 yards downfield — and that’s bound to remain the case as long as Duke is winning.

“Playing a Big Ten team that’s known for their physicality, it means a lot to come out and run the ball like we did,” Monk said. “But people like Jordan Waters, Riley Leonard and Jaquez Moore make it really easy for us.”

Duke’s defense certainly plays physically, too. The hardest hitters on the team are two of the smallest players on the two-deep in nickel Brandon Johnson and safety Jaylen Stinson.

In allowing 104 rushing yards against Northwestern, Duke has allowed 443 rushing yards on 103 carries (4.3 yards/carry) this season. Almost half of those yards came against a Clemson team that couldn’t push the ball downfield against the Blue Devils.

Tougher tests are coming. Duke goes on the road for the first time next weekend. And the final non-conference game is the one that could be another top-10 team coming to Wallace Wade Stadium in the form of No. 9 Notre Dame on Sept. 30 (though the Irish plays No. 6 Ohio State next weekend).

Until proven otherwise, it’s best to assume Duke will be the more physical team in every game.