By Matt Osborne
SouthernPigskin.com

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Duke is out to extend its bowl streak to five seasons this fall. Here is a look at three keys for the Blue Devils if they want to make that dream a reality.

After going nearly 20 years without being included in postseason competition, the Duke Blue Devils currently have an active four-year bowl streak under head coach David Cutcliffe.

While such an accomplishment is certainly an outstanding achievement for a program that just recently was an afterthought in the ACC, the Blue Devils are not content with resting upon the laurels of what they have accomplished over the past four seasons.

Duke is out to extend its bowl streak to five seasons this fall. Here is a look at three keys for the Blue Devils if they want to make that dream a reality.

1. A Healthy Thomas Sirk

The Blue Devils received potentially devastating in February when they learned that starting quarterback had torn the Achilles tendon in his left foot. At that time, it looked like there was a very slim chance that Sirk would be ready to go for the start of the season, and there was even some concern over whether or not he would be back in the action in the first half of the campaign.

Fortunately for the Duke coaching staff, though, Sirks rehabilitation has been going even better than expected. There is now a very real chance that he could be ready to play in the Blue Devils season opener against North Carolina Central. If not, it certainly appears that he will be ready to go shortly thereafter.

While the news of Sirks rehab is positive, it still remains to be seen whether Sirk will be the same player when he returns to the gridiron. Known as one of the leagues best dual-threat quarterbacks, Sirk threw for 3,625 yards and rushed for an additional 803 yards in his first season as the full-time starter. His running ability is a critical part of what makes him so good as a signal caller, so it is imperative that he retain his mobility whenever he runs onto the field for the first time.

If there is some sort of setback over the next couple of months, Duke will be forced to turn to Parker Boehme to replace Sirk. Boehme attempted 78 passes in a backup role last fall, but he obviously does not have as much experience as Sirk.

2. Defensive Line Improvement

Dukes deficiencies along the defensive front have at least partially covered up the last two seasons by the outstanding play of hybrid linebacker/safety Jeremy Cash, last years ACC defensive Player of the Year.

But with Cash now having moved on to the NFL, the Blue Devils must get significantly better up front on defense if they wish to avoid finishing near the bottom of the league in total defense. Cash led the team in sacks each of the last two years, and the teams leading returner in the category is sophomore Marquies Price, who had just 1.5 sacks last fall.

Senior A.J. Wolf is a solid player at tackle, but he is the lone starter returning for the Blue Devils along the defensive line. There are a number of returning players who have experience, but none of them has, as of yet, displayed that they can be consistently productive.

The back seven of Dukes defense should be solid, but the Blue Devils will need a number of players to emerge as contributors if they hope to traverse through the most difficult schedule the team has had in recent seasons.

3. Marquee Victories a Must

As was just mentioned, Dukes schedule is going to get significantly more difficult in 2016 than it has been in quite some time.

While there is no denying the fact that the Duke program has taken massive steps forward during its current bowl streak, there is also denying the fact that the Blue Devils have caught favorable scheduling breaks the last few seasons. The last three non-conference slates have been particularly weak, while Duke has also drawn favorable matchups in cross-divisional play.

Neither of those scenarios will be the case this fall, however. Duke will be forced to travel to Notre Dame and Northwestern in conference play. Both teams finished the 2015 season ranked inside the top 25 and should be very competitive again this year.

In conference play, the Blue Devils rotating Atlantic Division opponent this year will be Louisville, whom Duke must also play on the road.

The Blue Devils were easily able to get to six wins simply by just winning the games in which they were heavy favorites the last three years, but that will now be the case this fall. Duke will very likely need to pull at least one upset in order to extend its postseason streak.