Battle of losing streaks as Syracuse travels to Duke
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) » Duke needs a few more wins to extend its postseason streak. Syracuse is looking for its first ACC win.
The Blue Devils play host to the Orange on Saturday in a cross-division matchup of desperate teams stumbling down the stretch.
“We’re all in a little bit of the same boat — there’s a little bit of a fine line,” coach David Cutcliffe said. “I know they’re having a tough year. We’re having a tough year.”
Duke (4-5, 2-3 Atlantic
Coast Conference) must win two of its final three games to qualify for its third straight bowl game, yet still has a mathematical shot at winning the chaotic Coastal Division.
And with Syracuse as the ACC’s only team winless in
league play, this shapes up as a must-win for the Blue Devils, who visit Wake Forest next week before playing host to resurgent Miami in the regular-season finale.
Defensive end Tre Hornbuckle said it “wasn’t fun watching other teams play in a bowl game” during his freshman season in 2016 — the last time Duke missed the postseason — but Cutcliffe doesn’t want his players thinking too far ahead.
“Anybody that’s worried about a bowl game won’t be in our locker room,” Cutcliffe said.
The Orange (3-6, 0-5) seemingly view slumping Duke as its best chance to avoid becoming the second Atlantic Division team in two years to go without a victory in conference play, joining last year’s Louisville team. Syracuse — which has not beaten a team from a power conference — finishes the year at Louisville and at home against Wake Forest.
Since Oct. 18, the Blue Devils and Orange have combined to go 0-6 while being outscored 226-102.
I think the biggest thing is that we need to get better,” coach Dino Babers said. “We need to be able to find improvement in certain areas and we’re striving to do that.”