Second-year head football coach Fred Goldsmith was called a miracle worker when he turned the Rice football program around.
Last season may have seemed like a miracle for those Duke fans who suffered through endless, close-but-not-quite seasons for the past few years. The 1994 campaign marked just the second time in over three decades that the Blue Devils recorded an eight-win season.
Yet that success seems to bring only questions for Goldsmith and this year's team. Were the Blue Devils a one-year fluke? Can the team prove skeptics wrong--again--and show that Duke is a football team that should be taken seriously?
That won't be as easy as it was last year. In 1994, the Blue Devils opened their season at home against Maryland, followed by a string of non-conference opponents. Before anyone could notice, Duke was 7-0 heading into Tallahassee, Fla., for a game that was billed as the game for the Atlantic Coast Conference championship.
After a 59-20 routing by the Seminoles, the Blue Devils came back down to earth, finishing out the season at 8-4 with a 34-20 loss to Wisconsin in the Hall of Fame bowl.
But even though the Blue Devils have to open against the Seminoles, again a preseason No. 1, the team feels better about its situation this year.
"I look at our team and say, `Where were we at this time last year?"' Goldsmith said. "We had a bigger question at running back than we do now. Our quarterback had never competed in this offense and also had not put up the numbers in a winning situation.
"Our line on offense is better than it was at this time last year. We had no proven wide receivers at this time last year. Overall, I see the potential."
Yet the pressure will inevitably remain until Duke can post the numbers and wins like it did last year.
"If we don't have a good season, then everybody's going to be saying, `Well, Duke really is a fluke--they can't win football there,"' senior offensive tackle Jon Merrill said. "The pressure's really on everybody else. The media's saying the exact same thing they did last year, that we're not going to be a very good team, we're not going to win many ballgames. We proved them wrong last year, we've got to go out and [do that again]."
A key factor in proving those skeptics wrong is senior quarterback Spence Fischer. As a third-year starter, the Atlanta native brings valuable experience to the team. Although running back and ACC Player of the Year Robert Baldwin has graduated, Fischer doesn't expect too many changes in this year's offense.
"I feel a lot more confident this year," Fischer said. "This whole offense is just geared to the quarterback making the right reads--it's a progression-type offense. I know the system pretty well."
In the backfield, sophomore Laymarr Marshall has stepped up and will snag quality time at running back. Fischer also has a host of receivers to choose from downfield, ranging from senior tight end Bill Khayat, who was the Blue Devils' leading receiver in 1994 with 49 catches for 562 yards, to sophomore split end Corey Thomas, who recorded eight touchdowns for Duke in his freshman campaign.
Merrill leads the offensive line, along with senior center Jeroen Egge, who was an All-ACC performer last year. The biggest loss on the offensive line was All-American Matt Williams, but junior Phillip Chappell should be a key in filling that void.
The Duke defense also returns a host of starters, including All-American safety Ray Farmer and outside linebackers John Zuanich and James Kirkland. Junior inside linebacker Billy Granville also returns after leading Duke in tackles last year with 115.
"I think James Kirkland should be an all-conference candidate at defensive end," Goldsmith said. "He had a heck of a year last year. He's very quick. Farmer is way ahead of where he was this time last year."
Another big asset for Duke this season is its special teams. Farmer brought the Blue Devils a 19-13 victory over Clemson when he blocked a punt with 3:37 left, then fell on the ball in the end zone to put Duke ahead for good. After off-season shoulder surgery, Farmer is in good condition, and should continue menacing opponents' kickers.
Senior Tom Cochran will again charge the Blue Devils' kicking unit, while junior John Krueger looks to improve upon his 41.9 yards per punt, which ranked him second in the ACC last year.
Although the Duke team returns 13 starters, the questions remain. A preseason ACC poll placed Duke at No. 6 in the conference, while some college football guides have placed the Blue Devils even further down in the ACC.
These rankings after a successful eight-win season might seem low, yet Fischer doesn't mind them.
"I like being the underdog," Fischer said. "It's always nice not to have the pressure. If you look at the players we have returning--I don't think almost being 10-1 is a fluke for anybody. If you beat five or six teams in the ACC, you're not a fluke. I find it hard for us to be picked in the lower brackets."
One of the reason's for Duke's winning season last year was that injuries remained sparse among the players. On Aug. 15, sophomore LeVance McQueen and freshman Lyle Burdine, both linebackers, were injured within 15 minutes of each other in practice. McQueen had earned a starting role in spring practice and is expected to miss four weeks.
"Unfortunately we are missing McQueen, who we had counted on to be a big fixture in our defense again this year," Goldsmith said. "So we've got to make do without him, but that's part of the game. Burdine is probably going to miss the FSU game. But other than that, we're in very good shape coming off two-a-days."
And the Blue Devils will need to stay in shape if they plan to prove the skeptics wrong once and for all.
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