DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Manny Diaz wasn't sure how quickly his new Duke team would take to his defensive scheme when he took over in Durham.
The Blue Devils coach immediately got a pleasant surprise , notably when it comes to getting after quarterbacks and putting offenses behind the chains. It's the biggest reason why the Blue Devils are headed into late October within reach of the Atlantic Coast Conference lead entering Saturday's visit from No. 22 SMU.
“In my experience, having installed this defense in a lot of different places now, we've never gotten the turnaround in terms of the chaos plays in the first six games like we have this year," said Diaz, the former Miami coach who spent the past two seasons at Penn State's defensive coordinator. "It normally clicks right around this time of the season. And I still believe we have another level defensively we can go to.
” So far, anyway, just keeping things going at this rate might be good enough for the Blue Devils (6-1, 2-1). Duke ranks in the top 25 of the Bowl Subdivision ranks in total defense (22nd, 306.7) and scoring defense (17th, 17.
3), but it's those “chaos” plays that stand out. Duke is seventh nationally in sacks per game (3.43) and leads the country in tackles for loss at 9.
9 per game, which have created an average of 37.7 lost yards per game for opponents. It started with a season-opening romp against Elon, with Duke tallying eight sacks and 16 tackles for loss — the latter figure being the most for the p.