Football coaches across the country are getting that feeling again.
They are preparing for battle, ready to begin a new season. They are getting that feeling that coaches live for and it's spreading rapidly.
Except at Duke.
In the football offices, Carl Franks sits at his desk and waits. Sure, he has plenty to do to keep himself busy, but above all, he's waiting. Franks has been waiting since he was hired last December and when the schedule was announced, he knew he'd have to wait a week longer than anyone else.
This past Saturday, as teams like Penn State, Arizona and Florida State opened their seasons, Franks was talking about the end of two-a-days.
"It seems funny that we're standing here talking when major college football games are going on," Franks said after his teams scrimmage Saturday afternoon.
Last week was for the early games. This week is for everyone else. Everyone else except for Duke, of course. The ACC football schedules are created by a computer program, and this time the program said that Duke's open week will be Week 1. That means that the Blue Devils
"It's really odd," defensive coordinator Bob Trott said. "I don't think I've ever started a season with an open date. I like open dates [in the middle of the year]; they give you a chance to regroup, and especially at a school like Duke, academically it helps us. It would help us physically too. But I think that's the nature of TV today. You don't have a lot of choices anymore."
NCAA rules allow every team to practice the same number of days, but because Duke starts games a week late, it started practice one week late. The Blue Devils were the last ACC team to take the field when two-a-days finally began Aug. 19. And while in the end preseason practice time will even itself out, for the coaches and players, it seemed as if they were a full week behind.
"With the open week, it seems like you lose a week of practice, even though you have the same number of practices as everyone else," Franks said. "You also have to play 11 straight games, and I don't prefer that."
Having an open week to start the season likely will not be the difference between a winning and a losing season, but it could play a role in Duke's opener next Saturday against East Carolina. The Pirates will have a game under their belts when they host the Blue Devils, but at the same time, the East Carolina coaching staff will not be able to scout Duke's new passing offense. This may prove to be an advantage for the Blue Devils considering that the Pirates defense have a new defensive coordinator.
"There are pluses and minuses to it," Trott said. "I won't know until next Saturday. We'll have to see how well we play. We do get to see them play, but they've got a game under their belt. It's like most things in life, there are tradeoffs."
And although the pros and cons of this scheduling quirk may not be known until the end of the season, there is one nice thing about the wait for Franks. Because his new house wasn't ready until this weekend, he plans to use the free Saturday to move in all of his belongings.
Instead of pacing up and down the sidelines, he can carry boxes up and down the stairs.
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