There's something in the air at Wally Wade-and it's not just the Carolina humidity, the residual smoke from those gratuitous postgame fireworks or even drifting dust from the Few Quad construction.
No, it's something thicker than that. Something harder, better, faster, stronger.
Even I could feel it Saturday, despite being confined to a sterile, soundproof press box and observing the Blue Devils getting amped up on the sidelines from afar.
At first, I couldn't quite identify this foreign atmospheric presence. But after some reflection upon the first loss of the highly touted David Cutcliffe Era, the postgame analysis from Duke's players and even the coach himself, I think I've finally pinpointed this mysterious "it."
Attitude is in the air at Wally Wade-and the Blue Devils have been breathing it in like swimmers finally emerging for oxygen after being caught in an undertow for 14 years.
I know, I know. Last week in this very space, I satirized change and hope. But, to be honest, change and hope are like sugar-and-spice-and-everything-nice when it comes to football. They can only take you so far.
Attitude, my friends, is everything.
And Duke revealed a lot more about its newfound attitude in Saturday's disappointing 24-20 loss to Northwestern than it ever could have in last week's win over Division I-AA James Madison.
Don't get me wrong, there is no such thing as a moral victory in football: You play to win the game (thanks, Herm Edwards). But there's also something to be said for not putting up a demoralizing defeat (thanks, Ted Roof). Ultimately, it doesn't matter that the Blue Devils beat Northwestern in total offensive yards, first downs and time of possession. They didn't beat Northwestern.
But Saturday night's loss felt different than the record number of losses I've witnessed in my time at Duke. For nearly 60 minutes, Duke acted like a team playing to win a game and not lose one. And for the time that followed, the players and their head coach spoke with a confident candor that channeled the attitude they had taken on the field.
After the game, Cutcliffe was passionately frustrated. He was proud of his players, but angry at the game's outcome-even at himself-and acknowledged flatly that he thought his Blue Devils were the better team.
If you watch the video of the postgame press conference, Cutcliffe's performance seems worthy of SportsCenter-that is to say that the man had the gravitas of a big-time college coach.
"I told [my players] this is certainly not a time to hang your head," Cutcliffe told reporters with a raised and authoritative voice. "This is not typical of Duke losses in recent times. But it's daggum time to be frustrated.... I have been doing this a long time. You don't lose games you should win. That is my job to see that happens. We have no excuses."
On an impassioned press conference scale from one to 10, with one being President Richard Brodhead and 10 being Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy, I'd say it was a solid six.
Cutcliffe was disappointed, and he wasn't going to hide it.
Neither was quarterback Thaddeus Lewis or middle linebacker Michael Tauiliili, whose emotions both fell in line with their coach's.
The losing outcome was old hat for the Duke players. Their reactions, however, were refreshingly different.
In trying to process the Blue Devils' emotions on the field and later in front of the cameras, I couldn't help but think of a brief encounter I had before kickoff.
I was on an elevator on my way to the press room. The doors opened. But instead of an empty hallway in front of me, there was Coach K. We exchanged a couple words. He was off to the VIP box-where I bet the food is fantastic-and I, to my place with the rest of the plebeian folk we call the media. In recalling that moment, though, I was reminded of something the basketball coach said recently in a press conference upon his return to Durham from Beijing.
I had asked Krzyzewski then if his USA Basketball experience had tired him.
"We all get tired," he said. "But there's a good tired and a bad tired. A bad tired is when you're tired doing something you don't love. A good tired is doing something that you love with all that you can."
After Saturday night's game, Cutcliffe and his players all talked about disappointment.
We all get disappointed.
But Saturday's was a good disappointment-the disappointment that comes when a team actually believes it was the better one on the field, that it gave all it could in a system that everyone involved with the program loves. It wasn't the bad disappointment of a team resigned to mediocrity, at best, and failure, at worst.
It's been a long time since Duke Football has had good disappointment.
Something must be in the air.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.