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Duke football coach Manny Diaz referenced Penn State as he discussed the Blue Devils’ blowout loss to Ole Miss in the Gator Bowl on Thursday in Florida.
Following Duke’s 52-20 loss to the 14th-ranked Rebels in Jacksonville, Diaz highlighted how the Nittany Lions bounced back from a double-digit loss to Ole Miss last season to become a squad that has a chance to compete for a national championship as part of the College Football Playoff.
“This is the exact game that we needed. We needed to be able to play in a setting like this against an opponent like this on an occasion like this. … It’s what we needed. It’s the lesson that we needed,” Diaz said after the final game of his debut season with the Blue Devils (9-4).
“I told the team in the locker room that Ole Miss team beat the heck out of Penn State in the Peach Bowl last year and Penn State is two wins away from winning a national championship. So, this will provide tremendous fuel for us in our offseason program.”
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Quarterback Jaxson Dart and Ole Miss scored double-digit points in all four quarters and nearly reached 600 yards of offense against the Blue Devils, but Diaz didn’t want one bad showing to overshadow what was accomplished by the Blue Devils this season.
“I am immensely proud of this football team, immensely proud of what they’ve accomplished. … I think the exciting thing is it’ll fuel us to push beyond. I think our players do believe there’s a beyond; this is not as good as it gets,” Diaz said.
“I think that’s the most important takeaway from what we’ve done this season. They’re really proud of where they’ve been, but they do know what they saw (against Ole Miss), it gets better. They believe they can be a part of that.”
How Manny…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/manny-diaz-says-duke-football-090624042.html
Author : The Fayetteville Observer
Publish date : 2025-01-03 09:06:00
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