A movie theater. Bojangles. A Broadway show. Wallace Wade Stadium. What do all these things have in common? They're all places you can take your date this Saturday night.
For tomorrow's game at 7 p.m. in which the Blue Devils (2-3, 0-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) host the fourth-ranked Florida State Seminoles (4-0, 2-0), Duke students are being encouraged to bring a date, who will be able to enter the stadium free of charge. Tomorrow's matchup will be a treat for Duke fans as the Blue Devils are hosting FSU for the first time since 1993.
During this four-year lapse, Duke's home game against the Seminoles was played at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla. in '95, when Blue Devils were given a substantial payment for playing there. Duke is hoping that the coincidence of this year's game falling during the University's fall break will be overcome by the offer of bringing a friend free to the game.
"Essentially we've made a million dollar sacrifice to play this game in Durham, and I believe that it should be here for our students and our fans," Duke coach Fred Goldsmith said. "We'd sure like to get a good representation of the student body."
Duke faces the ominous task of trying to shut down a Seminole team that has continued its run among the nation's elite teams. The Blue Devils realize that this game will be a real test, but they're focusing on playing their game and not getting intimidated by the Seminoles talent.
"I think we have to do what's best to try to win," Goldsmith said. "I don't think that we can concede that this guy can beat us or this guy can beat us. I think we have to play our game the best we can and then it's up to them to get their execution. I think if we go into a shell saying we can't do this or we can't do that then we know we're not going to be successful."
Freshman Bobby Campbell is back in the lineup as the starting quarterback replacing the injured Spencer Romine, who is out with a pulled groin.
Campbell will be called upon to help jump start a Duke offense that was only able to score 10 points in their loss at Maryland last weekend. Both the running and passing attacks will have to be sharp as the Seminoles bring pressure from all sides of the ball.
"You've got to be precise in throwing the football," Goldsmith said. "Don't panic and just throw the ball when we're being under a rush. Have poise. If we have poise, we should be able to possess the ball without turning it over."
Boasting one of the nation's most talented squads on both sides of the ball, the Seminoles' defense has been a major contributing factor to Florida State's success at home and on the road. The Seminoles have the nation's best defense, allowing just 186.5 yards per game and only 20.3 yards on the ground.
"When you play great defense, like we have so far this year, you have so much confidence going into a ball game," FSU head coach Bobby Bowden said. "That is especially true on the road. Your defense tends to be more consistent than your offense. An offense can go into a different stadium with hostile fans and get thrown off a bit, but good defense is usually there."
Anchoring the Seminoles' defense are linebackers Daryl Bush and Sam Cowart, defensive end Andre Wadsworth and safety Shevin Smith, all of whom are among the college football's best at their position.
They not only help comprise the nation's best defense in total yards allowed, but they also are part of a defense that pressures opponent's offenses into giving up turnovers. Turnovers were a big part of FSU's win last week against the University of Miami, as they torched their Florida rival Hurricanes by a 47-0 margin.
Holding onto the ball will be a big key for the Duke offense as it hopes to avenge a 44-7 loss at Tallahassee last season. The Blue Devils relish the chance to prove their mettle against the highly-ranked Seminoles.
"We've got some guys, man, they see FSU on the schedule and they say, 'we lost,'" wide receiver Corey Thomas said. "Without a doubt, common sense would say you don't have a good chance. But I'm not going on the field with 10 other guys scared to play these guys. They put their pants on just like us. They're a little faster, but man, they're no more special than anybody else."
Duke's defense will have its hands full as it matches up against FSU's fast-break offense, which has averaged 329.2 yards per game in the air, good for first in the ACC. With an experienced FSU quarterback in Thad Busby at the helm, Duke will have to do a solid job mixing up its defensive coverages and pass rush combinations to keep FSU out of its offensive rhythm.
"I don't think they respect us at all," Thomas said. "They see us as something to improve their stats against and get through with them and go look for the Carolina' and Floridas. They don't think about us-that's what makes my skin crawl-I hate to be the type of player that people look past me to get to someone else."
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