It's tough to find true class in top-level football programs these days. One has only to look as far as reigning national champion Nebraska to find players who have spent time out due to suspensions, ineligibility and even jail. The search for an uncorrupted program, laden with student-athletes and devoid of scandals, becomes more difficult. To find not one but two such teams, playing each other on one football field, is truly a rarity.
Perhaps this is what makes this Saturday's game at Wallace Wade Stadium so special; not the fact that Northwestern won the Big 10 championship last year, or that Duke went to the Hall of Fame Bowl two years ago. It is an interesting game because those feats were accomplished without the scandals of free shoes or imprisoned players.
For each, their success was regarded as a Cinderella story. The idea that a low-ranked but clean-cut program could come into a season and hold its own appealed to reporters and the public. The Blue Devils and the Wildcats both did this, ranking among the top in their conference, and the nation. Duke and Northwestern faithful were not the only ones celebrating these successes, either. Fans of good, clean college football in general praised head coaches Fred Goldsmith and Gary Barnett for their accomplishments.
One of the most outstanding aspects of this matchup is the strength of the two schools' academic reputations. The recently released U.S. News and World Report rankings placed both schools within the top 10 universities in the country.
Duke holds the No. 4 position while Northwestern rose to a tie for ninth place. Those high levels of academics will be well represented by the teams that take the field on Saturday. Four Wildcat starters are currently pursuing their masters' degrees, and the Blue Devil football program has been the NCAA leader in graduation rates a eight times, an NCAA record. 1996 was the fourth year in a row that Due has held this honor.
Goldsmith noted the two schools' reputations for academic excellence and clean programs during a press conference on Monday.
"[Duke and Northwestern] are two teams that stand for everything right," Goldsmith said.
He also added that, although both schools vie for top academic and athletic recruits, the difference in location holds direct recruiting competition to a minimum.
A point that could cause greater contention, among Duke players and fans in particular, is the fact that Northwestern's outstanding 1995 campaign caused many people to forget Duke's similar 1994 season. Duke's starting inside linebacker Chike Egbuniwe, however, refuses to hold a grudge against Northwestern for any loss of limelight that Duke suffered.
"They deserved every bit of attention, a school known academically like that," Egbuniwe said. "Every bit of attention was well earned."
In a game like this one, the glory of past seasons matter little. Duke has won all six previous meetings between the two teams, but this statistic means little, as their last meeting was six years ago at Northwestern.
Last year, while the Wildcats were on top of the world, Duke suffered through a disappointing 3-8 season. But this season things may be different.
Both teams opened their season last weekend Northwestern lost to Wake Forest, and Duke was defeated by Florida State. These losses will surely cause some demoralizing effects, and Duke's home-field advantage could make the difference in the game. Goldsmith pointed out the high level of play seen recently in Wallace Wade.
"We've played 11 home games at Wallace Wade since I've been here, 10 of them were good games," Goldsmith said.
The game this Saturday should be similarly exciting. An improved Duke defense will be challenged by Northwestern's passing attack and the explosive running of Heisman hopeful Darnell Autry. Even without these highlights, however, fans should turn out in droves to see one of the few wholly clean, All-American games of the 1996 college football season.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.