Tag: Duke football

‘We will represent this university with pride’ Everything new Texas A&M HC Mike Elko had to say during his Introductory Press Conference

Texas A&M officially names Mike Elko as the new head football coach at the Ford Hall of Champions

The Ford Hall of Champions was the venue selected to introduce the 30th head coach of the Texas A&M Football team. A&M President Mark Welsh and Athletic Director Ross Bjork gave the new head coach a glowing introduction before Elko took the podium.

The theme of the introductory press conference was blue-collar work ethic and offensive innovation. Coach Elko knows a thing or two about hard work, from growing up in a trailer park in New Jersey to winning an Ivy League championship as a player at the University of Pennsylvania.

Elko will bring accountability and culture to a program that seemed to be lacking these characteristics over the last few years. Holding on to Elijah Robinson would be a great first step at keeping some of the positive attributes he brings to the team.

Lastly, while it might not be the “headline” hire some might have wanted, it is now the correct hire for this team. We look forward to watching Coach Elko build his staff and getting the program in the position to take the next step forward.

Breaking: Texas A&M is set to hire Mike Elko as the next football head coach

According to multiple sources, Duke head coach Mike Elko is in line to become the 30th head coach For Texas A&M Football.

After Saturday night’s chaotic ending following the botched hiring of Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops, Texas A&M’s search for the next head football coach after the firing of Jimbo Fisher has finally reached its conclusion, as, according to multiple sources, Duke head coach and former Texas A&M defensive coordinator Mike Elko has been named Fisher’s immediate successor.

On Sunday afternoon, TexAgs’ Billy Liucci officially confirmed the news that the A&M Board of Regents made the decision late Saturday night, just hours after the Stoops debacle, as the longtime favorite to succeed Fisher at the helm potentially has finally reached the mountain-top.

While Fisher’s $76.8 million buyout will likely remain a record for quite some time, Elko’s reported buyout from Duke sits at around $5 million, making this a win-win from a financial standpoint.

Ending his Duke career with a 16-9 record, Elko has guided the Blue Devils to consecutive bowl appearances, as his first head coaching stint was impressive, to say the least.

Elko’s four seasons in College Station were built on consistent progress. The Aggies’ defense continued to improve yearly, including his ninth-ranked unit during the 9-1 2020 season, the most successful campaign under Jimbo Fisher during his Aggie career.

Regarding relationships, Elko is close with several of A&M’s coaching staff members, including interim head coach Elijah Robinson, who will likely stay with the program, so stay tuned for any updates.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty.

UNC football defensive keys to the game vs Duke

Taking a look at the defensive keys to the game for the UNC football program against the Duke Blue Devils.

The highly anticipated game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils is set to take place this weekend with more than the victory bell up for grabs.

Both programs were having their best season in years, with this matchup potentially being between two undefeated teams before they had their meltdowns. UNC stunningly dropped two games while their name flirted with the college football playoff race. Meanwhile, Duke lost momentum after the Notre Dame loss, to get blown out by Louisville and barely squeezed by Wake Forest.

Duke only sits one game behind UNC in the rankings, making this matchup critical. If the Tar Heels want to punch their ACC championship ticket, they need to finish the season strong with a win against Duke.

To leave Saturday with the victory bell and record intact, there are a few things UNC will need to accomplish. Here’s a look at the defensive keys for Saturday’s game against Duke.

What’s the likelihood of UNC finishing undefeated? Let’s see what ESPN has to say

A 5-0 start has UNC in the conversation for an ACC title. ESPN predicts the likelihood of Carolina winning its remaining matchups.

UNC is just a basketball school, right?

If you’ve been watching college football this year, you’ll realize the Tar Heels are making the case to also be considered as a football school.

Carolina’s 5-0 start, its best since 1997, is fueled by a resurgent Drake Maye, a suddenly-deep and talented wide receiver room, Omarion Hampton’s breakout Sophomore campaign, plus the defense.

The defense? Yes, you read that right. Nine sacks against South Carolina Week 1, 13 second half points between Weeks 1, 3, 4 and 5, much-improved pressure against opposing quarterbacks and a slew of transfers, highlighted by Alijah Huzzie and Amari Gainer.

UNC downed the Gamecocks, App State (close call), Minnesota, Pitt and Syracuse en route to being one of the ACC’s three undefeated teams (Florida State, Louisville). The Tar Heels are in the thick of contending for the conference crown, with their next task Miami on Saturday night (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC).

UNC will host UVA for its third straight home game next weekend, then hit the road for a date with its kryptonite, Georgia Tech, on Saturday, Oct. 28. Carolina will host Campbell (Nov. 4) and archrival Duke (Nov. 11) to close out its home slate, then travel to Clemson (Nov. 18) and rival N.C. State (Nov. 25) to end its regular season.

It’s always fun predicting the final scores of each matchup. We’re not going to do that today, but let’s take a look instead at UNC’s likelihood of winning each game, according to ESPN:

5 stars: The best and worst of Notre Dame’s comeback win at Duke

That was fun but things went well and some didn’t for Notre Dame

[autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] is riding the roller coaster that we all love, college football.For the second week in a row, the Irish were in a 60 minute battle, but this time on the road against [autotag]Duke[/autotag], Notre Dame found a way to win.

Quarterback [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag], with his 6 years of experience found a way to drive the Irish 95-yards for the game winning drive.Running back [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag] put the exclamation point on the win with his 30-yard touchdown run, to provide the go-ahead score.

Like always, there was good, 5-stars, and not so good, 1-star, performances for the Irish tonight. Find out below what went well and didn’t in Notre Dame’s 21-14 road win over Duke.

Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman classily waited for Duke QB Riley Leonard to exit medical tent after late injury

The epitome of sportsmanship.

No. 11 Notre Dame topped No. 17 Duke, 21-14, on the road in Durham, North Carolina on Saturday night in a tense game that came down to the wire.

Fighting Irish running back Auric Estime gave his team the lead with a 30-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter, and with quarterback Sam Hartman leading a good two-point conversion, Notre Dame took a seven-point lead. Duke had just 31 seconds to try to make something happen, and unfortunately, it was an awful ending for the Blue Devils.

On second-and-five from their own 30-yard line, Duke quarterback Riley Leonard was sacked and fumbled the ball, which Notre Dame recovered and effectively ended the game. But Leonard went down extremely awkwardly and looked to be in horrible pain on the ground afterward.

Leonard was in Duke’s medical tent when the game ended, and Hartman waited to celebrate and hung around for him to exit. Eventually, Leonard came out on crutches, seemingly not putting any weight on his right ankle, and the two quarterbacks shared a brief moment together.

A classy moment and the epitome of sportsmanship.

A Duke fan tried a field goal to win $1M on College GameDay. He hilariously drilled a camera instead.

Just a bit outside.

Look, placekicking is hard. We see it every week in college football and the NFL.

Last week, we had the Clemson kicker missing a game-winner against Florida State. Two weeks ago, Harrison Mevis of Missouri set an SEC record for the longest made field goal, but he’s also missed an extra point this year. Finding a good, consistent kicker can be extremely difficult – Virginia turned to a 34-year-old for his services on kickoffs this year.

Pat McAfee and ESPN’s College GameDay are trying to do their part to inform fans how difficult kicking a field goal is. Each week, McAfee – who kicked and punted for West Virginia and the Indianapolis Colts – has been pulling a fan out of the crowd and putting up some of his own cash. If the fan makes the kick, they get to keep the cash.

In Durham, N.C. on Saturday, a Duke fan missed the uprights – which would have won him $1 million – but did not miss the camera that someone was holding in the crowd.

It should be noted that this was this student’s second attempt. The first one also missed by a wide margin.

Better luck next time.

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ESPN College GameDay picks Notre Dame at Duke plus more Week 5 games

Do you agree with GameDay’s picks for this weekend?

For the second week in a row, [autotag]ESPN College GameDay[/autotag] was on location for a [autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] contest.

Although the Irish are on the road for this one, it still shouldn’t dull down the fact that the game against Duke is one of the biggest contest of the weekend.

The crew of [autotag]Desmond Howard[/autotag], [autotag]Pat McAfee[/autotag], [autotag]Lee Corso[/autotag] and [autotag]Kirk Herbstreit[/autotag] were joined by actor, comedian, doctor and former Duke alum [autotag]Ken Jeong[/autotag] as the guest picker for Week 5’s action.

Find out below who each of them picked to win this weekend’s biggest games and if you agree with the panel.

Duke’s Mike Elko gives a thumbs down to Michigan State job opening on College GameDay

It’s a no on Michigan State from Duke’s Mike Elko.

It’s not even October, but silly season for college football has already begun with two head coach openings in the Big Ten at Northwestern and Michigan State.

One name that has not only been floating around, but quickly rising to the top on wishlists is second-year Duke head coach Mike Elko. And for good reason. The Blue Devils went 9-4 last season in Elko’s first year at the helm – marking just the seventh time in program history that Duke had won at least nine games in a single season. This year, Duke is off to a 4-0 start, ranked 17th in the AP Top 25 Poll – its highest ranking since 1994 – and is hosting ESPN’s College GameDay for the first time ever Saturday ahead of the Blue Devils’ matchup with Notre Dame.

With that, the head coach of the team that hosts GameDay typically appears on the show. And since Michigan State made its firing of Mel Tucker official this week, the GameDay crew hypothesized about who should be the next coach to lead the Spartans.

During this discussion, Elko was standing slightly out of frame, but Pat McAfee guided a camera toward him, begging for a response.

Elko simply shook his head and gave a thumbs down.

Elko, 46, did just sign an extension with Duke this past offseason and, in a short time, is taking the program to heights it has only seen a handful of times before.

If the Blue Devils keep winning, McAfee’s fake offer for him to take over at Michigan State won’t be the only one he may have to consider turning down.

Questions Notre Dame needs to answer to defeat Duke

What questions do you want to see the Irish answer against Duke?

[autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] can get back on track this Saturday evening on the road against [autotag]Duke[/autotag], but it won’t be easy.

The Blue Devils are undefeated, have a very solid win against Clemson on their resume and ESPN College GameDay is in Durham, North Carolina. The game is being played in prime time. The Irish need to show up.

There are some questions that Notre Dame will need to answer in order to get a ranked road victory on Saturday night. Here are five of those that if Notre Dame is able to answer, they should return to South Bend with a win.