What Duke’s Defense Must Do to Stop UConn

It proved that the Blue Devils are capable of winning a shootout, but that cannot become the norm for this defense.

With that being said, here are a couple of keys and factors that will play a major role in Duke's defensive success against Connecticut.

Force Turnovers

The Huskies may have three losses on the season, but the offense is not going to provide opportunities for the opposing defense to take the ball away.

Head coach Manny Diaz mentioned this point during his press conference on Monday.

• "The easy thing to think is, you're out of conference now against Connecticut," Diaz said. "You put the film on Connecticut; they jump off the tape. You look at the numbers for Connecticut, and it jumps off the sheet."

• "You talk about a team that has turned the ball over one time all season and is undefeated at home. They only have one loss at home over the last two years and are already bowl eligible. They have not lost a game in regulation this year and have beaten an ACC team (Boston College)."

When those opportunities arise for the Blue Devils, they must take advantage because those will come far and few between with a veteran quarterback, who does everything right with the football.

Everything Starts at the Line of Scrimmage

Connecticut's offense is a well-oiled operation, as the running and passing games complement each other perfectly. The ability to build the passing attack off the establishment of running the football is the main reason the Huskies have only turned over the ball once this season. Keeping opposing defenses on their heels does not allow cornerbacks and safeties to jump passing lanes.

Defensive coordinator Jonathan Patke pointed this out during his press conference earlier this week.

• "Kudos to their head coach and their staff. Obviously, they preach the same as our program with the football," Patke said. "They take care of the ball, they run the ball really well, they can control the game with their run game. The thing that they are doing at a high level is throwing the ball. It's one of the best offenses that we will see this year, statistically speaking."

Duke's defense has struggled during the last two games - specifically in the second half - to limit production on the ground. If the Huskies are able to lean on the run game, the passing game is going to become that much harder to defend.

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