Head football coach Fred Goldsmith won't easily forget last year's Duke-Florida State game. At the time, both teams were undefeated in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and the game was being billed as the ACC championship. The Blue Devils started off well, holding the Seminoles to just six points in the first quarter.
Then came the onslaught. Fifteen minutes later, Duke was down 32 points, eventually losing 59-20.
But that was last year. The Blue Devils are now a year wiser and are more than ready to face the No. 1 team in the country in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla.
"I look at the films, and obviously they executed a lot of things well against us last year," Goldsmith said. "I felt like there were a lot of things--if we could have kept our poise better in the second quarter--that we could have done to play much better ourselves.
"That's one thing I feel we've worked hard on an awful lot--the poise of our football team. I'm very hopeful that we don't make a lot of mistakes that we did a year ago and that we do a better job coaching for this game."
Last year's game still lingers in the minds of the players, but not in a negative sense. Senior free safety Ray Farmer said that last year, the Blue Devils realized they could play with the Seminoles, they just needed to put forth a full effort the entire game.
"The Florida State game will show everybody exactly where we stand," Farmer said. "And I think that right now, we have a good shot at making some things happen. Everybody is up and ready to play."
Goldsmith has been telling everyone the exact same thing, that the Blue Devils can actually play at the Seminoles' level.
"As a football coach, you can take two approaches to a game like this," he said. "One, you say, `We're going to stall them. We're going to work the clock out. We're going to hold them.'
"I don't believe in approaching a football game that way. I really believe that we have the talent on this football team that, if we play our very best, that we can beat anybody at any time. I think you have to believe that. I think you're selling your football players short if you don't approach the game with the type of game plan where you do all the things to win."
The Blue Devils are going to have to do two key things in order to make Goldsmith a prophet. First, they will have to force the Seminoles into committing turnovers. The 1994 Blue Devils forced opponents to make 27 turnovers, including three against the Seminoles. Duke must have a repeat of that performance and take advantage of the field position to put as many points up on the scoreboard as possible.
"Anytime you see an upset, it means the underdog plays their best," Goldsmith said. "It means you have to be aggressive and hope that you've done the things to force them not to play their best. I'm not naive to think that beating them, they are not going to have to help a little bit."
The other thing the Blue Devils will have to do is stop the Seminoles potent offense, which Seminole assistant coaches say is better than last years. The main weapon in that offense is junior tailback Warrick Dunn. Dunn was named first-team All-ACC last season after rushing over 1,000 yards.
"I think Warrick Dunn may be the most underrated tailback in the country," Goldsmith said. "I don't see talk of him for the Heisman. I think he's very, very special. He's not a very big guy, but he runs strong. You can see his heart when he runs.
"And as we've all seen over the past two years, he is an extremely dangerous pass receiver. He made some big plays out of the backfield against us last year. I really, really respect that guy."
It will be very easy to motivate the Blue Devils to play the top-ranked team in the country. The same thing might not be able to be said for the Seminoles. Before last year's game, a Bowden tongue lashing, caused by a poor performance against the Clemson Tigers, motivated the Seminoles. It might not be quite so easy this time.
"I know we are going to have the right mental edge for this ballgame," Goldsmith said. "Bobby is going to have to push those guys hard to take us seriously after last year. Anybody who played in that second quarter last year is probably going to have a hard time taking us seriously.
"I think that's a bigger problem for them--whether they think they can take us seriously than whether our guys think we can win. Our guys are athletes, they're competitors. I know about our player's heart. They are the kind of guys, that part of the reason they are playing Division I football is to get chances like this. This is one of the things you look forward to."
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