Preview: Duke (5-3, 2-2) hosts Wake Forest (4-4, 1-4) in Thursday night clash

Following a red hot start that saw the team win its opening four games, Duke Football has dropped three of its past four games to sit at 5-3 overall and 2-2 in ACC play.

The struggles of the last month are the result of several factors, not the least of which is the lack of health among key players. From starting quarterback Riley Leonard to the team's two most experienced and effective offensive lineman, Graham Barton and Jacob Monk, to the team's top cover cornerback Myles Jones, the Blue Devils have not been able to avoid losses of key players at key times this season.

Now, throw in the strength of schedule that included four straight games against Notre Dame, NC State, Florida State, and Louisville, and it's easy to understand how tough it's been for head coach Mike Elko and his team. Of course, it's also worth noting that Duke has been extremely competitive during this stretch....aside from the last five quarters of play. In that 75 minutes of football, Duke has been out-scored 44-0, including a 23-0 shutout loss to the Cardinals last weekend in a performance Elko called "totally dysfunctional".

Despite the trend, Thursday night represents a chance for Duke to begin regaining momentum by driving toward the post season. A win against Wake Forest would qualify the Blue Devils for the post season for the second consecutive time under Elko's two-year leadership. That's big picture perspective is what the team is hanging its hat on this week according to the head coach.

"When you look at the short scope of it, and we're competitors and want to win every game, we're in a two-game losing streak and there's a little bit of disappointment," said Elko on Tuesday. "If you look at it, you can't lose sight of the big picture of this thing, right? We've still played four ranked teams. We played two ranked teams in a row on the road. I don't know that anybody around here feels as though the bottom is falling out of anything."

Facing the Demon Deacons also provides Duke's defense a chance to once again set the tone as Wake Forest enters the game ranked last in the league in scoring (22.3 points per game) while the Blue Devils rank first in points allowed (15).

Last week against Florida State, Wake Forest fell behind 34-7 at halftime and averaged just 2.6 yards per carry on the ground. Quarterback Mitch Griffis completed 6-of-16 passes for 82 yards and was sacked five times to finish the afternoon with a QBR of 14.8. Outside of a Justice Ellison 51 yard breakaway run, the Deacons' offense mustered just 159 yards on 64 plays.

Defensively things weren't much better as Florida State rolled to 510 yards while playing the second and third team during the fourth quarter. On the season, however, Wake Forest ranks inside the Top 50 against the run, but 110th against the pass.

That's not necessarily good news for a Duke team that relies almost exclusively on the ground game as Leonard continues to work himself back to health. Last week Leonard only completed nine of his 23 pass attempts for 151 yards and an interceptions against the Cardinals.

PREDICTION: Look for the Blue Devils to attempt a return to what made them successful early in the season with Leonard hopefully healthy enough to see his number called on designed runs. Duke will also need to avoid penalties which have plagued the team in recent weeks - many times as the offensive line erred on the side of holding with Leonard's mobility so limited. It's a short turnaround for both teams and Duke has played far better throughout the season, so we'll lean into the season long trends which suggests the Blue Devils will be able to rely on their defense to slow down a struggling opposing offense while slowing bringing along a balanced offensive attack that will allow them to pull away. And so the pick...