Avenging an earlier loss can often be the highlight of a football season. This Saturday night at 7 p.m. in Wallace Wade Stadium, Duke would get double the pleasure out of that idea with a victory over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
A win would not only show the rest of the country that the Blue Devils can still put together a successful season, despite the 70-26 drubbing they suffered at the hands of Florida State last Saturday, but it would also be sweet revenge over a Rutgers team that beat Duke 39-38 two years ago in East Rutherford, N.J.
That game typified the frustrating struggles of Duke football in recent years. Despite having a 38-22 lead with just over 10 minutes to play, the Blue Devils gave up 17 straight points, including a field goal with 1:01 to play to lose 39-38. In addition, senior Tom Cochran missed a 43-yard field goal with four seconds left to seal the win for Rutgers.
Things have changed from that season which saw the Blue Devils lose eight games including many in the fourth quarter. The Fred Goldsmith era has brought around a remarkable change, making many players believe that there is no way that the same thing would happen again. Free safety Ray Farmer believes that the problem with the game two years ago was the prevent defense the team fell into.
"There is a saying that all a prevent defense does is prevent you from winning," Farmer said.
Farmer is just one part of a defense that will have to be more aggressive this year, especially against the run. Rutgers hopes that its talented backfield of senior Bruce Presley and junior Terrell Willis can follow the example of Florida State and exploit Duke's defense with its speed. Nicknamed Thunder and Lightning for their one-two punch, Presley and Willis is considered one of the best backfield tandems in the nation.
Willis, the more highly touted of the two runners, is coming of a season in which he gained over 1,000 yards for the second consecutive season and was named a first-team all-Big East running back and a second-team all-Big East return specialist. Despite playing at Rutgers for only two years, Willis is already in third place on the school's all-time rushing list at Rutgers, only 595 yards away from the top spot.
The biggest problem with having both of these players ready to come out of the backfield is the fact that a defense can not put all of their attention on them. The Scarlet Knights have a true triple-threat combination in three-year starting quarterback Ray Lucas. Lucas won the starting job at the end of the 1992 season and has started all but four games since then. He is one of the top returning quarterbacks in the Big East, but he may have some kinks to work out after going through shoulder surgery on his throwing arm at the end of last season.
"I see some similarities with the Rutgers offense to the Florida State offense," Goldsmith said. "The thing that strikes you about them is how well-balanced they are on offense. Lucas is a three-year starter at quarterback, Willis and Presley are great runners, and Funderburk and Battaglia are dangerous receiving threats."
One advantage that Duke has is that most of its juniors and seniors are familiar with all of these players from the game two years ago. The Blue Devils kept Lucas in check then, allowing him to throw for only 102 yards in an 11-for-20 performance, while also grabbing three interceptions. Duke, however, had no success with the running game as Willis gained 99 yards in 11 carries and Presley had a career-high 149 yards in 25 attempts.
Goldsmith has spent some time concentrating on the Scarlet Knights, and many of his players have faced them. But the big question for the Blue Devils is whether they can bounce back from the devastating loss to Florida State.
"Obviously our defense played very, very poorly versus Florida State," Goldsmith said. "In the first half, it was a total disaster. It was a very, very bad outing versus a very good football team. We just have to get our minds off of it as quickly as possible and concentrate on Rutgers. We spent 10 days this summer working on Rutgers."
Rutgers head coach Doug Graber realizes that the Blue Devils were overrun in their game last week, but he is worried about how they might bounce back against his team which has yet to see any action this season.
"Anytime you get whipped like that, you obviously try to correct the mistakes, but you have to put it aside," Graber said. "You just have to draw some positives and move on. We've had trouble here dealing with big wins and big losses. To be honest, I'd rather have a game where you get whipped than a real tough, close one."
When looking at Duke, Rutgers may feel like it is looking in the mirror. While the Scarlet Knights have a potent offense, their defense has been week, especially in the secondary. Four times last year the Rutgers offense scored 21 points or more, only to lose to teams which scored at least 37 points. Last year the Scarlet Knights defense was ranked last in the Big East in passing defense and sixth in rushing and scoring defense.
Duke's offensive unit has had a week of real competition, and it performed well against one of the nation's top teams. Rutgers will have loads of trouble stopping a Duke offense featuring three-year starting quarterback Spence Fischer and the equally impressive sophomore Laymarr Marshall at running back.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.