Just five games into the first year of head coach David Cutcliffe's tenure, the 3-2 Blue Devils need one win to match their victory total from the past four years combined.
And of all the changes that have prompted the swift revival of a downtrodden program-lofty conditioning goals, a winning attidue and an aggressive marketing campaign to boost attendance-the one that rules them all is the change at the top of the program.
Cutcliffe, the former head coach at Mississippi and long-time offensive coordinator at Tennessee, took over in December after former head coach Ted Roof was fired in the wake of four and a half seasons of extended futility. Cutcliffe, in turn, brought in an entirely new staff.
Like his predecessor, Cutcliffe preached change. Perhaps unlike his precedessor, people believed him-including his players.
The departure from past ways was most evident in Duke's season opener against James Madison Aug. 30. For once, the newly formed student section behind the Blue Devil bench was jammed despite a 91-minute lightning delay. Cutcliffe himself trotted onto the field about 30 minutes into the delay, ran across the turf to the student section and pumped his fist three times to fire up the crowd.
He must have done something equally as inspiring in the locker room, as the Blue Devils trounced the No. 1 team in Division I-AA 31-7.
But the public got a better sense of the team's new attitude the next week after its first loss of the season, a 24-20 defeat to Northwestern in which the Blue Devils thoroughly dominated the box score.
Once again, the motif of change came from Cutcliffe himself. He strutted into his post-game press conference and offered a confident proclomation, a hearty morsel of a sound bite for every reporter in the room.
"It's not time to hang your head, but it is time to be frustrated. That was a frustrating loss," Cutcliffe said. "[Northwestern is] a solid, good football team. I think we are a better football team.
The Blue Devils proved it the next week in Wallace Wade Stadium when the offense shined in a 41-31 win over Navy, a team that went on to beat ACC power Wake Forest.
The dynamic combination of quarterback Thaddeus Lewis and wide receiver Eron Riley emerged as one of the best in the conference against the Midshipmen. The two combined for three touchdowns and became the most productive scoring duo in Duke history. On the day, Lewis threw for 317 yards and three touchdowns, while Riley hauled in eight catches for 137 yards and the trio of scores.
"I love Eron," Lewis said after the game. "It definitely makes things a lot easier when you throw a 10-yard dig and he turns it into a 50-yard touchdown. It makes life a lot easier for me."
And things were just as easy after a bye week. Duke earned its first ACC win since 2004 on Sept. 27 against Virginia by routing the Cavaliers in the second half en route to a 31-3 final. It was the first time Duke started its conference slate with a win since 1994-the last time the Blue Devils went to a bowl-and the first time the defense did not allow a touchdown to a Division I-A opponent since 1989-the last time the Blue Devils won the league.
"The streak being over is great," nose guard Clifford Respress said. "What's even better is the streak starting."
It was snapped the following week in Atlanta when Georgia Tech shut out the suddenly anemic Blue Devil offense in a 27-0 decision.
Losing in the ACC was not necessarily a change given Duke's paltry conference record from the Roof years.
What is different, however, is the pervading optimism that still surrounds the Blue Devils, even after losing, even after playing five games, even on the opening day of the basketball season.
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