1-3 has never looked so good.
And for the 0-3 Blue Devils all it will take is one measly victory over the nation's top-ranked team.
Granted, they're the ACC's one-team answer to league parity, but it's only one win.
Simple, right?
After all, Duke has the underdog motivation, Duke has the "home field" advantage, and where there's Airborne, there must be touchdowns.
"Only one team in the country gets to play the number one team each week," coach Carl Franks said. "It's something that you enjoy as an athlete, that makes the game fun for you."
Sounds like a team gearing up for its biggest game of the season, no?
Maybe not.
Three weeks into what is a disappointing start even for the mediocrity-marked Blue Devils, the sputtering pass-centric offense heads to Jacksonville's Alltel Stadium to host the No. 1 Florida State Seminoles (4-0, 2-0 in the ACC) at noon tomorrow, and it's doing so with all the excitement of an Al Gore press conference.
Of course, even if the Blue Devils were 3-0 at this point and playing in Wallace Wade instead of Alltel Stadium (the result of the January sale of the game), the odds of a Duke victory would still be somewhere around the chances of Bobby Bowden being named Miss Teen USA. But at least like last year, when the 2-0 Blue Devils traveled to Tallahassee, it might be intriguing.
Somebody somewhere might be excited.
Yet the battle
However, distancing themselves from last year's game might be just what the Blue Devils need.
Last year's showdown, Spaghetti Bowl I, saw a pre-game meal give food poisoning to a slew of Duke players, who, like defensive tackle Chris Combs spent much of their time sick on the sideline as Florida State walloped the Blue Devils, 62-13.
The pasta might change, but the bad news for Franks and defensive coordinator Bob Trott is that the Florida State offense won't.
Ninety-four percent of the total offense last season was produced by players returning for the 1999 season-just 274 of the Seminoles 4,816 yards left with the departing members of last season's team.
"They're a very explosive team, both offensively and defensively," Franks said. "We've got to take care of the football, or they will run away from you. [Their offense] will hit the endzone in a hurry."
It happened a week ago, when the Seminoles pounced on top of UNC 28-0 midway through the first quarter.
The Blue Devils noticed.
"I got up to go to the bathroom during the first quarter," Combs said. "When I got back, Florida State was already up 28-0."
Give most of that credit to Peter Warrick. The synonym for ACC player of the year burned North Carolina for a 75-yard punt return touchdown and 104 receiving yards. Last season against Duke, the All-American scored twice.
"He's one of the best receivers I've ever played," newly reinstated cornerback Lamar Grant said. "He ranks right up there with [all-time ACC receiving yardage leader] Torry Holt."
The rest of the offense only gets more interesting. Chris Weinke is back at the helm after missing the final three games of last season with a neck injury, and three-year quarterback-turned-fullback Dan Kendra is now starting in the backfield.
All in all, it means that Florida State, who with Warrick has three legitimate quarterbacks in the starting lineup, is more explosive than a Kendra chemistry experiment.
"When they go out there they expect things to happen," Franks said. "They create situations for things to happen."
Not to be outdone for backfield plot lines, Duke's quarterback roulette wheel has stopped on Bobby Campbell this week. He last started two weeks ago against Northwestern before being replaced by Kevin Thompson.
Week 1 starter Spencer Romine, who suffered a separated shoulder in the ECU opener, is back in practice, but is doubtful for tomorrow's game.
"Bobby seems to do pretty good coming off the bench," Franks said, "and I'd like to continue that, but he's earned the chance to start."
And for a change, the pressure to break into the win column will be off.
For a week, at least.
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