EVANSTON, Ill. -- Sitting alone in my hotel room, having just returned from Northwestern's 26-21 win over Duke, I flipped on the television to find my hometown favorite Ohio State Buckeyes in a grudge match with Washington State. At the time I started watching, OSU was losing by the modest deficit of 7-6. Soon, however, freshman Maurice Clarett took over the game, running by and with defenders en route to a 230-yard performance and a 25-7 victory.
Following the game, I begrudgingly watched postgame analysis from the best trio of commentators in college sports--Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, and Chris Fowler. They analyzed the minutia of each Big Ten game that day, extrapolating and interpreting the strength of the conference by the performances of the member schools. OSU-Washington State was of course reported, as was another game with BCS implications, Michigan-Notre Dame. The triumvirate then breezed through statistics and highlights from Wisconsin-Northern Illinois, Illinois-Arkansas State, and Minnesota-Toledo.
There was a notable exception, however.
Where the hell was Northwestern-Duke? Are the Wildcats not one of the charter members of the Big Ten? Didn't they play Saturday? Could it be that a Big Ten-ACC matchup was more frivolous than that of a game between the Big Ten and--laughter please--the Sun Belt Conference?
Apparently.
The truth of the matter is, the sports world cared little about
In a game pitting two of major college football's most despondent programs, there were no BCS bowl hopes in danger nor Heisman Trophy chances dashed. Why, then, did a fan site for Northwestern claim that this contest was one of the most significant in Wildcat history?
Besides the natural correlation between the two schools because of academic prowess, Northwestern and Duke will forever be linked because of two unforgettable streaks of losing. Northwestern, of course, holds the NCAA record for the longest losing streak at 34 games, set more than a decade before any current players were playing Nerf football. Duke, as you recall, was recently streaking towards the record. It ceased at 23, along with a lower standard for the football team's success.
Saturday it showed. The Blue Devils played knowing that they were the better team. That attitude was evident in their early dominance, buoyed by offensive and defensive line play that was nothing short of stellar. Sophomore quarterback Adam Smith was, for a time, excellent. Head coach Carl Franks was crafty, utilizing team speed and clever offensive stunts to confuse Northwestern's defense. Fullback Alex Wade plowed through Northwestern's defense like a Sherman tank.
But, as Wade pointed out following the game, a land attack is only as useful as its versatility and aerial complements.
"We need Chris healthy to make some big plays," Wade said. "I'm not fast like he is, we need his speed."
Smith fell apart when his team needed him the most. This is probably more attributable to his youth and inexperience then his obvious capabilities as a Division I quarterback, but his inconsistency and poor decisions in the fourth quarter were detrimental nonetheless.
"I didn't put some balls where they needed to be," he said.
Perhaps this game was a bildungsroman for Smith and the Blue Devils. After being asked how important making "big plays" was to Duke's offense, Smith calmly responded with a resolve and wisdom not customary of players starting just their third college game.
"What we need to do is make the small plays in between," he said.
Franks sees the improvement in Smith, as well. This is evidenced by Franks' decision to not only start Smith, but to play him in the entire second half. He still concedes, however, that Smith still has a long way to go.
"He was playing pretty good," he said. "We left him in because he was playing the best. Adam's still learning how to play right now."
So as I watch Sportscenter for the third and fourth times in the waning hours of Sunday morning, I'm solaced by more than the quips of Kenny Mayne. Duke football is, indeed, on the rise, despite a disappointing loss to Northwestern yesterday. And soon, if all goes well, my psychologists at ESPN will nary forget to cover Duke games.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.