2008 Duke Blue Devils College Football Predictions Courtesy of Alex Smart, A Professional College Football Handicapper featured on Touthouse.com. If you are betting college football this season be sure to buy Alex’s Expert NCAA picks.

Duke Blue Devils (1-11, 0-8 in 2007, 6th place in ACC Coastal)
As soon as the calendar turns to August, most college campuses around the country are firing up their tailgating gear for football season. Recently in Durham, the only question on the minds of the students is, “When does basketball season start?” Things may soon change in the town they call “Krzyzewskiville,” as David Cutcliffe has taken over the reigns as the head coach. He brings promise to a program that’s only won two games since 2005 and hasn’t beaten an FBS team (I-A) at home since 2004.

2007 Highlight: When you only win one game on the season, it’s easy to pick a highlight. QB Thaddeus Lewis tossed three touchdown passes to lead the Blue Devils to a 20-14 victory over the Northwestern Wildcats. The ‘W’ broke a losing streak of 22 games that dated back to the beginning of 2005.

2007 Lowlight: On the contrary, when you lose 11 games, it’s difficult to just pin down one lowlight. Down Tobacco Road in Chapel Hill, the Dookies had a chance to knock off the North Carolina Tar Heels for the first time since 2003. They led 14-7 late in the 4th, but a touchdown run by Carolina RB Greg Little with 7:09 to play knotted the game at 14-14. A second TD scamper by Little on UNC’s possession in overtime sealed the game for the Tar Heels by a 20-14 final count.

Offensive Outlook: Cutcliffe can only help an offense that failed to score more than 14-points in eight games in 2007. Lewis returns for his junior season, hoping to improve upon his 21 touchdowns a year ago. The best bet for an All-ACC member of the offense is WR Eron Riley, who averaged a whopping 20.8 yards per catch last year. The offensive line gave up 44 sacks a year ago, and doesn’t appear to have improved much this past off-season.

Defensive Outlook: The good news for the Blue Devils is that 10 players return from last year’s stop unit. The bad news is that the unit was torched for 32.9 PPG in ’07. Vincent Rey is a tackling machine at linebacker. All-ACC DT Vince Oghobaase is a nice plug in the middle of the defensive line to stop the run, as well as providing pressure up the middle in the pass rush. Unless the unit drastically improved in the off-season, it could be another year where the opposition lights up the scoreboard.

2008 Preview: Unlike years past, the Duke schedule actually has a few winnable games on it. They open with three straight very winnable games (James Madison, Northwestern, and Navy) before heading into conference play. A trip to Vanderbilt is also a possible victory. Bowl eligibility is out of the question, but a few wins may not be totally unreasonable.

2008 will be a success if… Cutcliffe can turn the mentality of the team around. It’s hard to create a winning atmosphere with a program that’s only won two games in three seasons, but if Duke can just get that feeling that they can compete, it will be the first step towards making the Blue Devils football program respectable.

There’s nowhere to go but up for Duke, but don’t look for Cutcliffe to work magic in his first year in Durham. That being said, if he can win three or four games with this squad, it will be a minor miracle.

Prediction: 2-10, 6th place in ACC Coastal