Sean Renfree will lead the aerial attack against Memphis. Credit: CHRIS SEWARD

Duke vs. Memphis

When: 6 p.m.

Where: Wallace Wade Stadium, Durham

Line: Duke by 23.5

TV/Radio: ESPN3/ WDNC-620 AM, WKIX-102.9 FM

What they’re saying nationally about Duke:

ESPN’s Heather Dinich has Duke slated to play in the Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman on Dec. 28

CBS Sports’ Shawn Krest: They've crushed the opponents they needed to beat, and their loss to Stanford looks a little better after the Cardinal's upset of Southern Cal.

What they’re saying nationally about Memphis:

CBS Sports’ Sean Bielawski: Memphis has been one of the worst FBS teams in the country the last few years. The Tigers did keep it within single digits against Tennessee-Martin (20-17) and Arkansas State (33-28), but Duke should comfortably make it to 3-1 on the year.

Key Player for the opposition:

What would a fully healthy Duke squad look like? Good question. Credit: CHRIS SEWARD

The impact of injuries goes beyond just missed games.

In today's paper, I wrote a story looking at how Duke has coped with the loss of seven starters and, at one point, 14 scholarship players due to injuries. So far, so good for the Blue Devils, who have a chance to equal their best start ever under David Cutcliffe with a win over Memphis Saturday.

Yes, it's frustrating—how could it not be?—for the coaching staff to think about what this 2012 team could have been if it was fully healthy. But its another, often-forgotten side effect of all the injuries that irks Cutcliffe more. He used LB Kelby Brown as an example.

Some background on Kelby, who finished third in the voting for ACC defensive rookie of the year in 2010.  He has yet to play this season:

Kyler Brown (56) is set to return to the field after missing the past two games. Credit: CHRIS SEWARD

For the first time all year, there's good news for Duke on the injury front.

Kyler Brown,  Jordon Byas and Lucas Patrick have all been upgraded from their "out" status last week. Niether Patrick nor Byas has played this season, and Brown hasn't played since week one against FIU.

Cutcliffe also said that Kelby Brown, for the first time this year, has seen limited work at practice. 

Freshman safety Corbin McCarthy, who made an appearance at Cutcliffe's Tuesday radio show, will seek a medical redshirt after undergoing surgery to fix a labral tear in his left shoulder. McCarthy saw action in Duke's first two games, recording four total tackles. 

Check out tomorrow's paper for a more in-depth story on how Duke has coped with the numerous injuries so far this year.  

PROBABLE

LB Kyler Brown (upper body)

S Jordon Byas (leg)

S Walt Canty (shoulder)

WR Jamison Crowder (upper body)

Will Monday, who only has punted in three college games, is already among the best in the nation. Credit: CHRIS SEWARD

I spent a few minutes on Monday with Duke punter Will Monday, who ranks 10th in the nation with an average of 45.63 yards per punt. He is also the only freshman ranked in the top 40. More fun facts in the story here.

Anyway, at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds, Monday is a decent-sized guy. And when it comes to punters, size does matter, according to Jamie Kohl, a kicking coach that has worked with Monday since high school.

Lance Thomas settled his lawsuit with Manhattan-based Raefello & Co. In addition to the jewelry debt, he also owed rent money his senior year. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

4:05 p.m. update

Former Duke basketball player Lance Thomas has reached a settlement with the jeweler suing him for defaulting on his payment.

“We have reached a settlement,” Mike Bowers, the attorney for Raefello & Co. wrote in an email. “I cannot make further comment."

Thomas purchased $97,800 worth of custom jewelry on Dec. 21, 2009, while the team was on winter break in the middle of his senior year. He made a $30,000 down payment and signed a purchase agreement that said he would pay the remaining $67,800 within 15 days.

Raefello & Co. filed a lawsuit in January after repeated attempts to collect payment. Bowers confirmed to the News & Observer last week that his client had declined to speak with the NCAA about a possible extra benefits investigation.

If the NCAA wants to pursue an investigation, the task will be much tougher without input from the jeweler.

Ross Cockrell is both the statistical and vocal leader for Duke's defense. Credit: TAKAAKI IWABU 

Duke CB Ross Cockrell, who leads the nation is total passes defended and pass breakups, was named the ACC defensive back of the week Monday after his performance last week against NC Central.

Cockrell, a redshirt junior, added two pass breakups and two interceptions against the Eagles, giving him nine total passes defended for the season, which ties him with Stanford's Jordan Richards for the highest in the nation. His second interception, which he took 32 yards for a touchdown, marked the second time he has scored this season (he returned a blocked field goal for a score against FIU in week one).

"I do enjoy scoring touchdowns," Cockrell said after the 54-17 win over NC Central. "On the second interception, everyone got up and blocked. It was a team effort."

Duke head coach David Cutcliffe got a nearly ideal nonconference schedule this season Credit: TAKAAKI IWABU

As the Blue Devils prepare for their final nonconference game of the year, they have a chance to equal the 3-1 mark the team reached in 2008, David Cutcliffe’s first season. That’s partly due to the fact that Duke is better than it has been the past few years. And it’s party due to better scheduling.

“It's a great question, it's a great philosophical question, but there's a reality to it,” Cutcliffe said when asked last week about his ideal nonconference schedule.

Part of the reality for Duke is looking for programs in similar building modes, such as Tulane (2010) and this week’s opponent, Memphis (2011), Cutcliffe said in a story that ran Saturday looking at the nonconference schedules for all three Triangle schools.

Josh Snead rushes for a touchdown in the thrid quarter of Duke's 54-17 win. Credit: BERNARD THOMAS - AP/Herald-Sun

5:30 p.m. update

Welcome to this edition of Sunday morning quarterback. In case you missed it, here’s the story from the largest win of the David Cutcliffe era, a 54-17 rout of NC Central.

Also, here is the story of Blair Holliday’s return to Duke. Just about two months ago, on July 4, Holliday was pulled unconscious from the water, bleeding out of his mouth, after his jet ski collided with one driven by teammate Jamison Crowder. In the interim, Holliday has waken from his coma and relearned to walk and talk.

The initial plan was for Holliday to watch the game from the Yoh football building that overlooks Wallace Wade Stadium. But he wanted to stay on the sideline, so teammates, including fellow WR Conner Vernon, took turns standing guard to make sure he stayed out of harm’s way.

“From where he’s come as quickly as he’s come defies a lot of logic and defies a lot of medicine,” Cutcliffe said after the game. “A large person of that is the person that Blair Holliday is. He ‘s much tougher than anyone might imagine.”

No truer words were spoken Saturday night.

With that, a look back at Duke’s victory:

11:27 p.m update

DURHAM -- Throughout the week, Duke head coach David Cutcliffe said the only way Duke could truly put its loss at Stanford in the past was to get back to work.

Saturday night, the Blue Devils saw all their efforts during the week pay off, as they never trailed and rolled to a 54-17 win over N.C. Central. Duke also scored on offense, defense and special teams for the first time since 2004.

The 37-point victory over the Eagles, a second-year FCS program, was Duke’s largest victory of Cutcliffe’s five-year tenure, eclipsing the 35-point victory during previous meeting of the two teams in 2009.

“To get better was important,” Cutcliffe said. “We’re not where we want to be, our team has some personal changes and some things we need to correct, but we did get better.”

Duke's Blair Holliday (8) was an honorary captain. Credit: LAURA KEELEY 

DURHAM—Good evening from Wallace Wade Stadium. Duke has taken the field in all black, and in about a 45 minutes’ time the contest between the Blue Devils and the Eagles of NC Central will commence.

The action started around 5 pm, though, when Blair Holliday led Duke into the stadium. The fact that he could do so only two months removed from a July 4 jet ski accident that left him unconscious in the water is, truly, a miracle.

Duke will be looking to bring the pregame feel-good vibes onto the field. If you haven’t already, check out the game preview. And here are a few other things to watch for: