Duke's 48-30 victory against Miami Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium was more than the team's sixth win in a row. It was more than the victory that elevated the Blue Devils into the AP top 25. It was even more than the team's second win against a ranked opponent this season, something Duke has not done since 1971.
It was the perfect sendoff for the Blue Devils' senior class.
"Very special seniors," head coach David Cutcliffe said. "I couldn't be happier for a group of players and their families that were able to celebrate their last game in Wallace Wade.... A great tribute to what those guys—fourth and fifth and our sixth year senior—have done in their careers."
Boasting a young squad, Duke has just 11 scholarship seniors this season. But despite lacking strength in numbers, the most experienced Blue Devils each played a role in Saturday's victory.
Holding Miami to three field goals on its four trips inside the red zone, Duke's defensive front featured fifth-year seniors Justin Foxx and Sydney Sarmiento and sixth-year senior Kenny Anunike, who was a member of Cutcliffe's first recruiting class back in 2008.
Redshirt senior cornerback Ross Cockrell had five pass breakups despite playing through an ankle injury that has hobbled him in the second half of this season. He started alongside his classmate, Garett Patterson, who registered two tackles.
Juwan Thompson, recently promoted to team captain by Cutcliffe, recorded two tackles on special teams, and fifth-year seniors Dave Harding and Perry Simmons led the Blue Devil offensive line that anchored a 358-yard rushing performance.
"I'm proud of those guys," said redshirt junior running back Josh Snead, who ran for a career-high 138 yards on the evening. "They've been together for about three years now, so they have a lot of experience working with each other. They just said, 'Trust in us, we're going to get the job done up front.'"
Whether they had been here for four, five or six years, Duke's seniors have had front-row seats to the resurrection of this football program. They had all seen one—if not two—3-9 seasons. Last year, this group played a crucial role in the Blue Devils' first bowl trip since 1994. Now Duke's senior leaders are in the midst of the ultimate victory lap for a team that is ranked 25th in the nation and has already matched its win total from its last winning season, which also occurred in 1994.
With two regular-season games to play, the Blue Devils can cement a trip to the ACC Championship game with back-to-back wins, which would give Duke its first 10-win season in program history. But that hasn't stopped players like Cockrell from remembering this team's humble beginnings. The experienced leaders on his first Duke squad had seen winless seasons and were part of a program that notched just eight victories in eight years.
"It is the culmination of a lot of hard work from guys like Matt Daniels, Abraham Kromah, Chris Rwabukamba—guys that came before me and kind of led the way and got the ball rolling," Cockrell said. "For me, I'm fortunate to be here right now."
Duke's last win on Senior Day came all the way back on Nov. 8, 2003. As the Blue Devils limped toward the finish of a 4-8 season, just 12,976 people were in the stands at Wallace Wade Stadium that day.
Saturday's contest was attended by more than 30,000 strong, and when the clock struck zero Duke students stormed the field to celebrate their team controlling its own destiny in the ACC's Coastal Division race.
"It's a great win to send us off. Another win over a top 25 opponents, and then well on our way with our sights set on Charlotte," Harding said. "It's just exciting and it's great to see the fruits of our labor. It just speaks to what Coach Cut has been able to do here. It's building a program, and it's great to see the steps forward that we're making."
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