The football team does not want a winter break this year. After ending its season well in advance of exam week for the past nine years, the Blue Devils have for the first time in recent memory publicly stated their goal of a bowl berth for this holiday season.
With 22 returning starters--the most of any team in the nation--many analysts feel Duke, which went 2-10 last season, has a legitimate shot at owning a winning record, and thus earning a bowl bid.
"I feel as though we have the talent and that we've got enough older guys to have a really good chance of playing in a bowl game," senior wide receiver and All-ACC candidate Reggie Love said. "We've got to be smarter, more mentally tough, and we have to take better care of the ball."
Much of the optimism surrounding the normally atrocious Blue Devils comes from the plethora of individual talent playing this season. With stricter academic restrictions than most schools, Duke has always had a difficult time recruiting raw athletes. For 2003, diamonds have emerged from the rough.
Leading the offense is the running game, which includes the second most productive one-two punch in the ACC from a year ago: Alex Wade and Chris Douglas. Although Wade and Douglas were third and sixth in the ACC, respectively, in rushing yards in 2002, both were hampered by injuries.
Wade had a nagging shoulder problem that was not bad enough to prevent him from running for 979 yards, but effected his play in goal line situations. A power-back with that many yards would normally be a magnet to the endzone, but Wade only finished with four touchdowns a year ago, two of which came against lowly Navy.
Douglas' ankle problems slowed him for much of the season, forcing him to sit out against Florida State. The Sherills Ford, N.C, native showed moments of brilliance--his 126 rushing and 89 receiving yard performance against UVa, for example--but gained 200 less yards than in 2001, a year in which he was perfectly healthy.
Wade and Douglas both claim to be without ailments now, setting them up to wreak havoc on ACC defenses.
In addition to Douglas and Wade, redshirt sophomore running back Cedric Dargan should get some carries behind the talented Blue Devil offensive line. The line has shown extensive improvement since the arrival of offensive line coach Rich McGeorge, and are paced by All-ACC candidate Drew Strojny.
The passing game also looks to improve from a year ago, with quarterback Adam Smith no longer a novice. Wide receivers Love, Lance Johnson and Senterrio Landrum, in addition to All-American candidate tight-end Andy Roland, should give the California native plenty of options in 2003.
The defense is paced by its attack against the run, a skill in which Duke finished first in the ACC. Linebacker Ryan Fowler can become the first ACC player to lead his team in tackles for four seasons, and senior defensive tackle Matt Zielinski is the strongest weight lifter on the team.
"The strength of our team has been the defensive line," head coach Carl Franks said.
Special teams and the secondary were weaknesses in 2002, but Franks and the team feel they have improved in both areas.
"[The players in the secondary] worked hard this summer and in the spring and in the preseason," senior safety Terrell Smith said. "Our goal during the season is for people to be like, 'They aren't the weak link, they're the strong link.'"
Duke faces a difficult schedule in 2003, knocking heads with five teams included in the AP preseason top 25, including a trip to former rival, Tennessee.
But with teams such as Western Carolina and Rice on the calendar, seven wins are not unfathomable.
"Getting in a close game and winning will give us a lot of confidence and probably will be worth a bunch more wins," Franks said.
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