Only two weeks ago, following Duke's 10-7 upset over Vanderbilt, The Chronicle introduced a segment to its Sports Blog's weekly video preview called "Bowl Talk."
Especially since games were coming up against increasingly vulnerable Wake Forest and supposedly weak N.C. State squads, it seemed like the Blue Devils might actually lock up bowl eligibility as early as mid-November. We even discussed rushing the field and tearing down goalposts.
But after dropping both games in disappointing fashion, Duke is 4-5 with three contests left against three talented squads, and there isn't so much as a whisper about a bowl game anywhere outside the program.
That might explain head coach David Cutcliffe's interesting discovery in regards to this weekend's matchup against Clemson-an underachieving, but highly physical team with plenty of talent.
"I looked up Webster's definition of a challenge, [and] I'm here to educate you today," he said. "It said, 'an act or statement of defiance, a demand for explanation or justification [and] a century's call to an unknown party for proper identification.'
"The last one said, 'Taking a team to Death Valley to play Clemson.'"
Cutcliffe may have a sense of humor, but he's also completely right.
The Tigers' fans are no doubt dissatisfied with their team's product this season, but that won't stop them from showing up in droves this Saturday in what has become one of the fiercest environments in college football. In fact, it's so hostile Cutcliffe was wary of déjà vu from his time as Ole Miss' head coach, when Louisiana State's caged tiger growled viciously at him in the visiting team's tunnel.
It turns out Clemson doesn't keep any live tigers at its stadium, but there won't be any shortage of scary athletes on the field.
The Tigers-despite falling inexplicably short of their preseason title hopes, firing their coach and staring down the possibility of a losing season-will still have some of the conference's strongest and swiftest players suiting up Saturday. That's why oddsmakers pegged Clemson as a 12-point favorite even though it only has two wins over Division I-A opponents.
In fact, Duke even has a significant advantage in several key categories, including third-down conversions and turnover margin-Clemson ranks dead-last in the conference in both categories.
Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, though, playing the numbers game almost never gets you anywhere. It will most certainly come down to which Duke team comes to play-the one which leaves points on the field like against Northwestern and Wake Forest, or the one which closes out games as seen against Virginia and Vanderbilt.
Cutcliffe, who stressed that execution will be the difference in Saturday's contest, said he was encouraged by what he called the team's crispest Tuesday practice of the season.
"There is no guarantee that you're not ever going to drop the ball or have some kind of error," Cutcliffe said. "But the better and more consistent you practice, you minimize the chances of those things rising up at the worst time."
After this weekend, the Blue Devils face Coastal Division co-leaders Virginia Tech and North Carolina, meaning Clemson is arguably Duke's easiest matchup left on the ledger. Although the Tigers' coaching shuffle has taken its toll, their pure talent is still capable of turning even the slightest Blue Devil mistake into a big play the other way, underscoring Duke's emphasis on steady play throughout the game.
"We've got to play four quarters of really solid football," Cutcliffe said. "We've been good, but we've been consistently inconsistent as of late in all phases. We're going to have to throw one of those games together where we're consistently good throughout the 60 minutes of play."
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