#dukefootball #ddmf #dukebluedevils #duke #goduke #uconn #huskies #cfb

Last year, we had Graham Chamberlain come on to update us on UCONN and preview the game. This year, we decided to do a joint episode for both our podcasts, so the setup is a little different from what you're used to. That said, it's a pretty darned good episode with a lot of information.

Graham brings us up to speed on a UCONN team dealing with some injuries and a lot of unknowns after playing an FCS team and then Maryland. I do my best to give fair and honest takes about the struggles we've seen offensively from Duke and how the recent injuries may affect the team on Saturday. While the defense is solid, the kicking teams have had some issues and the offense hasn't run the ball consistently yet. Oh, and I also learn that the kickoff time wasn't at 1pm like I thought. Glad I learned that before the game. Overall, I like what we've seen from the Blue Devils, but I remained concerned about the struggles in the running game. It's just too hard to win by just passing.

As far as a score prediction, while we both think Duke will win, I am not predicting a blowout. Until the Blue Devils kick the offense up a notch and get more balanced, I'm expecting close, or relatively close, games. We also have to see what the team can do when it's shorthanded at RB and at TE.

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

#duke #dukefootball #dukebluedevils #ddmf #northwestern #nwfootball #northwesternfootball #cfb

Our old friend Louie Vaccher returned to the podcast to bring us up to speed on the Wildcats. Both Duke and Northwestern are coming off slow starts in Week One. What will this mean for the Blue Devils on the road? Can they steal one on the road in Chicago? We'll have to wait and see. If Duke can get a win, this will be a big, big victory for Manny Diaz. Getting to 2-0 after the all the turnover and transfers would be a statement that Coach Diaz has the Blue Devils moving in the right direction.

We also spend a few minutes talking about Chris Collins and the great things he's been doing with the Wildcats.

Before the interview starts, we listen to a few voicemails and a text message. Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

#ddmf #duke #dukefootball #dukebluedevils #mannydiaz #theacc #acc #cfb

Duke legend Lee Rodio returns to the podcast and provides us with his win-loss prediction for the Blue Devils this season. We go through each game and tell you who we think will win and why. We also check in with Richlandia to get an update on the status of the OG Optimistic Duke Football fan. You'll like all our predictions as we're very optimistic about what the Blue Devils can do this season.

One thing you'll notice as we go through Duke's schedule is how much time we spend discussing the differing degree of schedule difficulty the Blue Devils' opponents have. This is one of the unfortunate side effects of conference restructuring - unbalanced schedules providing easier paths to a conference championship game. Sorry for an old man rant here, but there really is an upside to small conferences.

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

#duke #flip #dukeinthenba #dukefootball #mannydiaz #goduke #bluedevils #theacc #acc

Our old friend Steve Wiseman stopped by the podcast to cover a few different topics. We start off by dissecting what all happened to Flip's draft stock and discuss the strange family dynamic that may have played a role in him falling as far as he did. After a brief detour from there to The ACC's fight for survival, we do a deep dive on what to expect from Duke this season. While the Blue Devils have some unknowns, there is a lot to be excited about. Steve brings us up to speed on the QB situation, talks about our four-game murder's row stretch and tells us why we should be cautiously optimistic about this season. The offense is going to be a Power Spread and will apparently involve the TEs. How can you not be excited about that?!?!

Trigger warning - we discuss Duke's recent history of underutilizing its TEs. Noah Gray is mentioned. Consider yourself forewarned. And it turns out that David Feeley is pretty darned important. Who knew? (That's sarcasm, we all know it.)

We also take a few minutes to cover the upgrades at Wallace Wade and ask I why the official Blue Devils' Twitter account isn't following me on Twitter. Come on, folks, make it happen.

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Post, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

#theacc #unc #duke #dukefootball #mackbrown #cfb

As you know, Bull City Coordinators is part of the College Huddle Network. As part of that, and as an attempt to try and bring our country together in these trying times, I reached out to my colleagues The Heel Brothers and asked them to come on and talk about the upcoming season for the Heels. You can follow them (if you want to) here.

Sorry for the audio not being normalized. I'm not sure what happened, but we had issues from the very start.

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Post, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

#ancientgreece #classicalantiquity #theolympics #theacc #acclegends #antiquity

WE GOT A BULL CITY COORDINATORS-CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY SIDEQUEST CROSSOVER!

Dr. Amy Pistone from basketball powerhouse Gonzaga stopped by to talk about sports in Ancient Greece. Before we delve into Antiquity, we cover Dr. Pistone's background, her ties to new ACC member Cal, her career as a football and basketball official and her experience running marathons. As you might guess, we take a number of sidequests including one about The Aeneid. If you're bothered by our detours, remember that the name of the podcast includes "SIDEQUEST", so, let me just say, "Sorry, not sorry." In all seriousness, this was a lot of fun.

In regard to Ancient Greek sports specifically, we cover how ancient Greeks competed in the Olympics in the nude and learn that women weren't allowed to participate in the Olympic Games with the exception of owning horses in carriage races. Women did have separate games they could participate in, however. The Greeks also had a form of MMA.

Given Dr. Pistone's connections The ACC, I'm cross-posting this on the Bull City Coordinators podcast. So, let me just say, as always, Go Duke!

Returning to Classical Antiquity, if you want to learn more about Dr. Pistone's work, check out her website which includes links to a lot of other podcasts she's been on. Those are very informative and I recommend them to you.

On the opening theme music, for now it’s from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/folk-round
License code: SHTJJRTVTRXQAID1

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode. Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments or on Twitter.

And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.

#dukebasketball #dukembb #dukebluedevils #bluedevils #goduke

Our good friend Robert Brickey stopped by the podcast to recap Year Two of the Scheyer Era. In addition to the Elite Eight run, we discuss the changing landscape of college athletics, what Duke did during the portal this offseason and what to expect from the Blue Devils next season. We also cover how well Coach Scheyer managed injuries and a roster that was missing a few key pieces. Our conclusion? Duke fans should be excited about the program under Coach Scheyer.

If that weren't enough, you get to hear me talk about my son's high school lacrosse team! They came up just short in the state championship game and while we all would've loved to see the guys win, this was a great season all the way around. So, great season, son!

This is yet another fun talk with a Blue Devil legend. I know you’ll enjoy it.

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Post, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

#duke #dukebluedevils #dukefootball #wakeforest #wake #demondeacons #accfootball #theacc

NOTE - The day after we recorded this, Mike Wright committed to Northwestern. Two days afterwards, Sion James committed to Duke. Just ignore those parts of the podcast. Be super attentive to everything else, though.

Our old friend Conor O'Neill stopped by to give us his thoughts on Wake Forest and Duke as the programs head into 2024. Conor covers both programs for Rivals. He's got a good thing going over at Devils Illustrated - sign up, folks!

Before talking football, we took a few minutes to discuss the legacy of one of the greatest recording engineers (also known as a record producer) in music history, Steve Albini, who, sadly, passed away recently. He was a member of influential industrial rock bands like Big Black and Shellac. Albini's career as prominent independent musician gave him an opportunity to start recording for other bands and he made the most of it. During his legendary career, Albini worked with a wide variety of bands including the Pixies, Nirvana, The Breeders, The Jesus Lizard, PJ Harvey and Man or Astro-man?. The story behind the initial recording of Nirvana's In Utero is worth the time to read about. I enjoyed Albini's sound as a young kid living in a fairly boring town. RIP, man. RIP.

After discussing what the Deacs can expect, we spend some time talking the Duke QB battle and how we shouldn't overlook what Grayson Loftis might be able to do if he gets a shot. While we're both high on Maalik Murphy, it's hard not to think that Loftis might be able to make a name for himself in Durham. Oh, and Murphy has a canon for an arm and will showcase it as the Blue Devils will run a variation of the Air Raid. All right, all right, all right!

Conor and I also discuss the portal, NIL and how the NCAA needs to let schools employ athletes. And we get into a little basketball, too!

This is another good talk with a guy who is close to the program. I know you'll enjoy it.

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Post, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

#theacc #accfootball

Our old friend Matthew from All Sports Discussion stopped by to recap the 2023 ACC football season and give his thoughts on the upcoming season. During our 50 plus minute talk, we cover the disappointments of 2023 (beyond The Snub, we mention UNC and Miami), the bright side of last season (looking at you, Virginia Tech) and what to expect from our beloved conference this year. While the Hoos could be looking at hiring a new coach if things don't go well in Charlottesville, the Hokies look primed to be this year's Louisville as a result of winning the schedule lottery. All things considered, this could be a fun year for The ACC (while it still exists).

Oh, and we talk Conference Restructuring for a little bit because of course we did. Also, my audio was a little off. I got a new set of headphones and apparently didn't select the input properly. It happens.

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Post, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

News & Observer columnist Luke DeCock stopped by the pod to talk about the problems facing The ACC. Looking at you, former Big East teams and FSU. We also discuss the "legally interesting" (which is a kind way of saying "dubious") lawsuit filed by FSU against The ACC. Having read FSU's most recent Complaint, I don't think very highly of it. I had initially planned on doing a more detailed discussion of it, but that would be a waste of time. Which is pretty much what that lawsuit looks like to me. But I've been wrong before and I'll be wrong again.

Luke also discussed the future of The ACC and how we got into this mess. This involves a hopefully interesting discussion about the pros and cons of Notre Dame's involvement with the conference. We also both comment on how we don't see an exit strategy for FSU. If another conference wanted the Noles, the TV overlords would've moved the school by now. Also, and this should be obvious, the TV partners running college football want a strong Grant of Rights. They don't want GoRs to be found unenforceable. The TV deals just won't work if member schools can invalidate them. Just sayin'!

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Post, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!