Thomas Sirk finds groove as Duke’s QB

As a team, Duke returns three starters – Rebecca Greenwell, Amber Henson and Azurá Stevens – along with five other letterwinners as head coach Joanne P. McCallie enters her ninth year with the Blue Devils. The team still has the ACC Coastal Division title in mind and beating Duke would be a crucial step in that direction.

Late on Thursday night, Miami Herald writer Susan Miller Degnan reported that Brad Kaaya will not travel this week to Duke. “We can overcome anything if we stay together. And I think this group will”.

Miami is 4-3 overall and 1-2 in the ACC after losing 58-0 to Clemson last week, a defeat that resulted in the firing of head coach Al Golden.

It’s an exciting time for many who follow the Hurricanes.

The Canes are coming off one of the most tumultuous weeks in recent program history, but they still have football to play. Our No. 1 thing right now is we support our players and we support Artie and his family. He completed 7 of 22 passes for 42 yards with two interceptions against Clemson after replacing Kaaya.

SIRK WORKS: Sirk leads the ACC in total offense, averaging 280.6 total yards, and is one of five major-conference QBs to lead his team in both rushing and passing.

“For me to be starting because he’s hurt, it’s awkward”, Rosier said.

In fact, Sirk’s last game against the Hokies was by far his best game as a passer – at least against ACC-level competition – and it may have been a crucial turning point for the Duke QB.

Call it a crisis of confidence, offensive coordinator Scottie Montgomery said. “In practice itself, we have to make plays for him so he knows we have his back no matter what”.

This is how you do it. You build off the spectacular win Duke claimed in quadruple overtime at Virginia Tech and you just keep building.

Freshmen Luke Kennard and Derryck Thornton also figure to see plenty of time in the Duke backcourt Friday as the Blue Devils look to move on from the departures of Quinn Cook and Tyus Jones. “He’s been an extremely great leader, and the guys are rallying around him”. Coach David Cutcliffe expects all those struggles to galvanize a Hurricanes team that, for its shortcomings, still seems to be overflowing with talent.

“He was going through his reads fine, but we thought at certain times he wasn’t going down the field because he was trying to take care of the football”.

Head coach Linc Darner led Florida Southern to eight consecutive NCAA DII tournament appearances, but made the leap to Division I and the Horizon League in the offseason, landing at Wisconsin-Green Bay.

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