TURNAROUND: Duke Football, Nate Sheppard LOOK to BOUNCE BACK vs. UNC After Georgia Tech Heartbreak

SPEAKER_1 (0:01)

This is the Locked On Podcast Network, celebrating 10 years of your team every day.

Isaac Schade (0:11)

Anytime the Blue Devils and Tar Heels get together, it's going to be a good time, and we're in for another doozy this Saturday at Wallace Wade.

SPEAKER_3 (0:25)

You are Locked On College Crossover, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

Isaac Schade (0:36)

Hey there, what's up? Welcome into this crossover edition of the Locked On Podcast with Locked On Blue Devils, Locked On Tar Heels. He's the great host of Locked On Blue Devils, Mr. JJ Jackson. I'm Isaac Schade. We are elated to be here with you. Yes, it's almost basketball season. And yes, both our great programs have played an exhibition game, but we're still thick in the midst of football season. And that's why we're here today, is to get you ready for Saturday's game at Wallace Wade Stadium in the middle of the afternoon.

Here's where JJ and I are headed later on in the show. We're going to talk the biggest storylines in this game. We'll make predictions and all key matchups, things like that. Before that, though, we'll each take a turn in the hot seat, answering the thickest questions we got to get to ahead of this game, which, by the way, this episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Make this your most rewarding season ever with FanDuel Rewards Club. Every week, check the FanDuel app to see what's waiting for you.

JJ, let's start in on the Blue Devils here. And we were just talking about before we got going that it really felt like the Blue Devils were sitting on the precipice of being ranked this week. Had they just been able to take care of things against Georgia Tech last Saturday. And unfortunately, that's not how it turned out. What happened in that game for Duke that was previously undefeated?

JJ Jackson (1:57)

Yeah, talk about a bit of a gut punch, Isaac, that you fall to Georgia Tech. And Duke has a Georgia Tech problem, having lost six straight now against the Yellow Jackets.

Isaac Schade (2:07)

Carolina does too.

JJ Jackson (2:08)

On the football field. I don't know what it is, man. Getting down to Atlanta or them coming up to the research triangle area on our campuses. They have a lot of success. For Manny Diaz, he is now 22 and 10 as Duke Football's head coach. And three of those 10 losses have been against Georgia Tech. So yeah, has definitely had his number. Really interesting for Duke coming out of the early bye week. You know, they didn't play the week prior. And so you expected to have a heavy dose of Nate Sheppard because he's been so awesome. And we'll talk about him a lot throughout the course of our conversation today. But it took a little bit to get him going. And then Duke just couldn't capitalize on some uncharacteristic mistakes that they had on some crucial third downs trying to get off the field and penalties kind of bit them. And it was their second true road game of the season after an impressive win up at Illinois earlier in the year. But this one, yeah, just kind of ran away from Duke. And it's one that they really wish they could go back and kind of replay because what we've seen all season so far, Duke's a better football team than Georgia Tech. And it really stings that Georgia Tech walked away a winner. Yep. It really would have. It stings, yeah. Those yellow jackets buzz buzz.

Isaac Schade (3:22)

So JJ, this is a team that last year was the ACC champion. This is a team this year that was 4-0 to start the season. What kind of response do you expect from the Blue Devils on Saturday heading back home?

JJ Jackson (3:33)

Yeah, I love getting a chance to be there at Bobby Dodd and getting to ask the players directly. Danny Diaz himself, after the game, and it's already, you know, hey, we're on hate week. It's rivalry week. It's a Victory Bell that has been in our shade of blue the last couple of seasons. And so we're ready to go.

And that's reassuring to think about the messaging being ready. Nate Sheppard said as soon as the plane landed from Atlanta back into Durham, into the Raleigh-Durham, that they were going to be ready to go. They were already going to flip the script and be ready to lock in on North Carolina. And so that's the big storyline this week for me. And really, it's not as much of a throughout the week thing, Isaac. It's as soon as that ball kicks off on the field. It's like, all right, here you go. Here's the next chance to get right from the first loss you suffered a week ago. Are you ready to get the job done?