More than 150 days of wading through floodwaters brought many blessings to Noah, as the earth experienced unprecedented prosperity and growth when the waters finally receded. According to the story, the flood had washed evil from the world so humans could begin with a fresh start, a clean slate-a new attitude.
It is fitting, then, that on the last day of the nation's longest winning drought, the Pirates of East Carolina were sunk by a less ethereal sea of blue-that of a Duke team and student body vindicated from national mockery and internal pessimism.
When Duke received the opening kickoff, the Duke student section was sparsely populated at best. As the game wore on, however, Duke's student body gradually crept into Wallace Wade Stadium, hesitant to scare away a long-awaited victory from their peers. At the onset of the fourth quarter, just as Alex Wade was rumbling his way through, over, around, and even with East Carolina defenders, Duke students pulled out their cellphones telling friends scattered around West Campus to hightail it over to the stadium.
"Get over here-now. We're about to win. Yes, a football game. Turn off the TV and put down your beer. We're gonna go crazy!"
Don't mind if we do.
"It was great to see them excited," quarterback Chris Dapolito said. "We're not really used to that."
Duke's students surrounded a quarter of the field with nine seconds remaining, jumping up and down just waiting for their moment of glory. Or rather, the team's moment of glory. Or was it for the coaches? Or for Duke? Or for Durham?
"This was a great experience for everyone; for the team, for the coaches, for their families, for our families, for Duke, for the city of Durham, and for the ACC to finally not have a team that hasn't won a game," Wade said. "This was the greatest experience I've ever been a part of on the football field."
What ensued was a Rudy-like ending for a program that is accustomed to being carried off the field on stretchers, not shoulders. Wade led a stampede of his teammates toward the elated student body, which charged fearlessly towards the rejuvenated Blue Devils. They clashed at midfield, bodies flailing, fists pumping, and voices wailing.
Coach Franks was doused with Gatorade, a tradition usually reserved for national championships; football parents were crying in joy instead of frustration; the Dancing Devils and cheerleaders joined hands and pom-poms and screamed with ecstasy.
Both goal-posts were torn down, hoisted upon unfamiliar shoulders, and carried like sacred artifacts to the Chapel. The fans wedged the uprights in the Chapel doors and gathered together to chant, scream, and try to figure out what the hell just happened.
"We got into territory we hadn't been in before in a long time," head coach Carl Franks said. "It was gut-check time. I'm very proud of our guys and the way they bought into the program. They hung in there and fought hard."
Duke's fight may have been fueled by the frustration of bearing a two-year and 23 game onus comprised of losses, heartbreak, and disrespect. Unfortunately for East Carolina, they were the first recipients of Duke's wrath. The Pirate offense was swimming in confusion the entire game, as they only compiled 155 yards of offense-a measly 25 of which came on the ground. East Carolina fullback Art Brown coughed up a fumble on ECU's first drive of the game, and Pirate quarterback Paul Troth threw knuckleballs all night, including three interceptions.
"It was very disappointing losing that game," Troth said. "It stings a little bit. We got a lot of learning to do."
Among other things, the Pirates needed to learn how to adjust to a surprisingly quick and overpowering defense.
"The defense really helped us a lot and set us up with good field position," said Franks. "I'm really proud of the defensive coaches. They had a great game plan."
Although the Duke offensive scheme was far from extraordinary, they did a superb job of doing what they had to do to win. On a day that would've been inordinately rainy for Seattle, the Blue Devils gave up no turnovers and racked up 241 yards. Using a dual quarterback system, starter Adam Smith and Chris Dapolito combined for just 86 yards passing. It was their decision making and poise-fortified by a dominant offensive line and Wade's brute force-that helped seal Duke's victory.
"That [final scoring] drive was amazing," Wade said. "That really was the offensive line, the whole drive can be credited to them. We had great surges off the line. I wasn't getting hit until I was five yards down the field. At that point it makes my job easy, they were phenomenal."
So will Duke football prosper now that the cloud of a 23-game losing streak has cleared?
"We're going to enjoy tonight," Wade said. "But tomorrow we have to go back to work."
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