A week off is almost always a good thing for a football team. And that's mostly the case for Duke, who received a much-needed opportunity to heal several key injuries as it prepares for a noon home game against Maryland this Saturday.
But losses like the one the Blue Devils suffered 10 days ago against Vanderbilt aren't exactly easy to sit on. Had a few plays gone differently, a 5-4 Duke team would have had two weeks to rest up for its final bowl push against the Terrapins and North Carolina.
Instead, a 36-33 double-overtime loss to Vanderbilt has forced the Blue Devils to regroup as the season winds down.
"We're trying to put that one behind us," coach Fred Goldsmith said. "It was so disappointing because we knew our offense was going to be challenged, and they responded to that challenge."
The challenge shouldn't be as great this week. Goldsmith gave his players the weekend off and returned yesterday with a more healthy lineup. Richmond Flowers was back in practice last week, and Scottie Montgomery, who dislocated his shoulder against the Commodores, returned to practice yesterday.
That leaves Todd DeLamielleure as the only player whose status is in question. The freshman inside linebacker severely sprained his ankle last Saturday, and Goldsmith said he is doubtful for this week's game.
With or without DeLamielleure, Duke still has much to play for, especially when a program that has only one winning season this decade can finish the year at 6-5.
"You work hard to be a winner," Goldsmith said. "We needed to improve this year; obviously we have. I think that's a given. Now we have the chance to be a winner.
"I'm going to tell [the players], they're coming back fresh and rested, 'If somebody had told you in August, you've got eight practices and two games and you've got to do your best for two weeks. This Duke team that you played on was 2-9 last year and some of you played on one worse than that the year before. You have the chance to be a winner.' To me, that motivates me. I go back to what I said a few weeks ago. We have something to play for late in the season. That's why I think this game's so important."
In addition, Goldsmith sees one more area that he would like to have perform as it did two-and-a-half weeks ago.
"We'd love to see the same kind of crowd that we had for Clemson," he said.
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