Clifford Harris played his best game as a Blue Devil this past Saturday with two rushing touchdowns in Duke's 31-7 win over James Madison-and he owes some of the credit to a player who didn't even put on pads.
Before Saturday's contest, Harris and his teammates saw senior captain Re'quan Boyette in tears, upset over missing the opportunity to play as starting running back in his last opener due to a knee injury.
"[Seeing] that gave Clifford the edge to do well for himself, the team and Re'quan," quarterback Thaddeus Lewis said of Boyette's injury.
Harris used that edge to boost his production. In just four quarters, the senior had 25 more yards rushing than he did all of last year. His two touchdowns were also more than last year, when he had none.
The chip on his shoulder was most obvious on his two touchdown scores. On the first drive, Harris was stopped for no gain at the 1-yard line on first down. Head coach David Cutcliffe, however, kept faith in him and ran nearly the exact same play on second down. Harris pounded it in, and the Blue Devils led 7-0.
Later in the game, with the ball on James Madison's 4-yard line, Harris carried the ball straight up the middle three straight plays, scoring on the last one from one yard out.
"You'll see us make a commitment to running the ball," Cutcliffe said. "It was encouraging to see a decent start."
But that commitment was in doubt late in the preseason after Boyette went down with the injury. Even Cutcliffe said he wasn't sure if his team would have the ability to run the ball well. But Harris, who has been Boyette's roommate all four years at Duke, would have none of it.
"I was emotional [when Boyette was injured] because he was my best friend and I felt for him as a senior," Harris said. "But I had a role to fill in his shoes. After the game he told me how proud he was.... I dedicated that game to him because I became a better back by watching him."
Harris was far from the only back to produce. Converted cornerback Tony Jackson only had nine carries, but he made the most of them, using his blazing speed for 36 yards and picking up four first downs on a third- or fourth-down play. Freshman Jay Hollingsworth showed he could produce as well, racking up 49 yards on 15 carries, most of which came in the fourth quarter.
There's a reason Cutcliffe, however, labeled the running attack as "decent." Each running back fumbled once-and Harris' came during a 54-yard run, wasting what was Duke's most explosive play of the day on offense.
And with Northwestern coming up, which has proclaimed itself the best conditioned team in the country, it's essential that the Blue Devils' running game churns up yards to keep the Wildcat offense off the field.
"We were more physical than I thought we'd be, which made up for the lack of execution," Cutcliffe said. "We have got to run the ball not as well, but better this week."
And though Boyette won't be contributing on the field for a while-if ever again for Duke-his sideline support continues to drive the stable of backs on the field toward success, Harris said.
"I wish he could be out there playing, but things happen," Harris said. "We knew we had to step up to the challenge and I think we did pretty well."
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