Douglas, seniors aim at final Wade win vs. Ga. Tech

 Before Duke won its last ACC game in November of 1999, Chris Douglas and the rest of the current fifth-year seniors stood on the sidelines of Wallace Wade as redshirt freshmen. They watched as their eldest teammates were honored on Senior Day, and they watched as Duke defeated Wake Forest.

 After nearly four years, two coaches and 30 ACC games--not to mention a team-record 5,311 total yards by Douglas and an NCAA title in basketball--the Blue Devils have yet to win another conference matchup. Saturday's game against Georgia Tech will be their last chance to do it in Wade Stadium this season.

 "I would love to win as a gift to the University and everyone that's supported us for four years," Douglas said. "We could end the streak and put all of that behind us, but that's not my main focus. It's more about winning a game than any type of game."

 Despite losing the first two games in the Ted Roof era, the Blue Devils delivered strong performances, making a win a reasonable expectation--even against a Yellow Jacket team riding a four-game win streak after an impressive victory over a good Maryland team.

 Though Roof will be competing against his alma mater for the first time as a head coach and coaching against players he helped develop as an assistant at Georgia Tech, he insists that it will be nothing but business until the game is over.

 "We're preparing for an opponent that happens to be my alma mater," Roof said. "After the game we'll hug each other, but during the game it's about competing."

 The Blue Devils will have their hands full; the Yellow Jackets boast significant talent both on offense and defense. The offense includes P.J. Daniels, the ACC's leading rusher, and wide receiver Jonathan Smith, second in the ACC in total yards. Tech's quarterback, Reggie Ball, is a leading candidate for ACC Rookie of the Year.

 The defense features the ACC leaders in tackles (Keyaron Fox), sacks (Eric Henderson) and interceptions (Thorpe Award semi-finalist James Butler). The ACC's top-ranked run defense may pose a problem for Duke's ground game, which has been stopped in short yardage situations in each of the last two games.

 "We just need to execute better in short yardage situations," Roof said. "We just have to get positive yardage and eliminate negative yardage plays and penalties."

 Though Roof feels that fixing the execution would be the best remedy for Duke's goal-line issues, he has made some alterations to the game plan and practice routine.

 Chris Dapolito has gotten more playing time at quarterback and has injected leadership and versatility into the offense. Music is played at practice, a tradition started before the Tennessee game. The offense and the defense no longer sit on opposite sides of the room during team meetings, and players from both sides of the ball have been encouraged to bond with each other.

 "In order to trust each other and play for each other you have to know each other," Roof said. "We don't have a margin for error, so we have to play with one heartbeat."

 According to his players, Roof's methods of unifying the team are working.

 "There's less singling out," reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Week Matt Zielinski said. "Everybody's equal and it helps us to play together. Winning is on everybody's shoulders now."

 For one day however, winning might be just a little more important to Duke's 13 seniors in their last game at Wallace Wade Stadium.

 "Honestly I don't know how I'm going to feel," Douglas said. "It's one of those emotions that will come at the time and I'll have to take it in stride. I'm going to play my heart out, though."