11/10/2009 - Michael Tomko, GoDuke.com

DURHAM, N.C. - It has been 38 games since the Blue Devils (5-4, 3-2) have defeated an opponent ranked in the Associated Press national poll at the time of the game.

Duke will need a win over at least one of its two remaining ranked opponents, Georgia Tech (No. 7) or Miami (No. 12), in the coming weeks to have a shot to become bowl eligible when Wake Forest visits on Nov. 28.

Duke's first shot is this weekend against the Yellow Jackets (9-1, 6-1) from Wallace Wade Stadium with kickoff scheduled for 12 noon (espn2).

"They are coming in with some momentum, but we are going to come in and give it all we got just like every week," safety Catron Gainey said. "We are going to try to meet their momentum with some force of our own and come out with a win."

In Duke's first meeting with Georgia Tech, under head coach David Cutcliffe, the Blue Devils held close with the Yellow Jackets in the first half, entering the locker room trailing 3-0. Duke though would fail to score in the game and Georgia Tech would score 24 second-half points to top Duke 27-0.

"A year ago, we played well against them for an extended period of time defensively, but we just couldn't generate much offense," Cutcliffe said.

The Duke offense failed to generate much offense against North Carolina over the weekend as Cutcliffe, quarterback Thaddeus Lewis and the rest of the team look to generate more production this weekend.

Responding to adversity is something Cutcliffe preaches to his squad on a regular basis.

"Coach Cut talks about it all the time," Gainey said. "He calls it surge. It is just about going out there and getting better every day and moving forward despite our setbacks and our drawbacks."

While the offense looks to get back on track, the defense will have to continue its strong play against the Yellow Jackets explosive option offense.

"It is a completely different offense than what North Carolina did to us," linebacker Damien Thornton said. "For us it will be about role playing. You got to do your job and be in the right place at the right time and not get caught up in everything else that is going on."

The role of the safeties will be crucial in stopping the run as well as keeping an eye on the receivers moving down the field.

"Whenever you are playing an option offense, the safeties really are like extra linebackers because their passing is their changeup," Gainey said. "I am kind of going to be in a linebacker mentality mode whenever you play the option, just because of the help you have to give on the run on a constant basis."

Duke will need a total team effort to succeed in their goal Saturday. And as Cutcliffe said during his Tuesday press conference, it won't just be the Duke defense going against the Georgia Tech offense.

"When you're playing a team that possesses the ball as well as Georgia Tech does, the best way to prevent them from dominating the ball is to try and stay on the field yourself," Cutcliffe said. "Your offense is not just playing their defense, your offense is playing their offense. You don't want to put your defense right back on the field after they just put together a 12 or 14-play drive, so those things are critical."