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(11/23/08 3:35am)
Virginia Tech 14, Duke 3; 1:23: That will do it. Asack's first pass of the drive was intercepted by Virginia Tech cornerback "Macho" Harris, who returned it 23 yards for a game-sealing pick six. Duke's bowl hopes are now officially dead and it can only hope to end a four-game losing streak next weekend against rival North Carolina (who also lost today against N.C. State). That'll do it for us, as we head down to the postgame press conferences for Cutcliffe's thoughts on the contest.
(11/09/08 2:28am)
POSTGAME: You never would know from the postgame interviews that you were looking at a team who just blew its best chance to become bowl eligible (because let's face it: Winning two of the next three games against Clemson, Viriginia Tech or UNC doesn't really seem possible). Adrian Aye-Darko, Thaddeus Lewis, Michael Tauiliili and David Cutcliffe all emphasized that there is nothing wrong with this team's psyche and everyone is excited to get to work on next week's opponent tomorrow night. Cutcliffe said that Duke's "head was in the right place" and that it is "very excited about the opportunity in front of them."
(04/27/10 8:00am)
Last summer, I sat in the chilly offices of the (Raleigh) News & Observer, listening to former Duke women’s soccer player Christie McDonald tell me about her life plans.
(04/02/10 8:00am)
I was convinced when I left campus last May after my junior year that Duke had missed its best opportunity to make a Final Four.
(02/11/10 10:00am)
CHAPEL HILL — Given North Carolina’s talent and length in the post, there was absolutely no way that Duke could have won Wednesday night’s game playing primarily in the paint.
(02/11/10 10:00am)
CHAPEL HILL — Duke’s victory Wednesday came from a grinding defense and timely shots by its three offensive leaders.
(12/07/09 10:00am)
I admit that in this space, I have been pretty harsh on Duke Football.
(11/23/09 10:00am)
MIAMI — Duke seemingly had it all going for three quarters—a quick-strike offense, a defense that forced mistakes and a significant coaching advantage.
(11/18/09 10:00am)
At Tuesday’s weekly press conference, head coach David Cutcliffe fielded a pointed, but fair, question about getting ready for the Miami Hurricanes.
“How do you get [the players] over Georgia Tech and over the injury situation against a team where you’d already be giving away athleticism even if you were healthy,” the reporter asked, “and sell them on a belief that they can go down [to Miami] and keep the stated goal of a bowl game alive?”
Without hesitation, Cutcliffe told the throng of reporters to get the man a crown since he had asked the best question of the day. While the crowd got a good chuckle out of it, there’s no ignoring just how significant the question is.
The simple reality is that at nearly every position—except quarterback, where the two teams are probably equal—the Hurricanes have a distinct talent and athletic advantage. Georgia Tech had tremendous athletes, but Miami has even better ones (which showed in the teams’ early-season matchup, when the Yellow Jackets suffered their only loss, 33-17). And as seen on the deep passes Georgia Tech completed Saturday, Duke’s athletic disadvantage is pretty glaring.
Last year, the Hurricanes were an average team with good talent that struggled with consistency. The Blue Devils fell badly to that team on Homecoming weekend, 49-31, in a game Cutcliffe felt his team quit on before the fourth quarter.
And as stated before, Miami is infinitely better this year (though not necessarily more consistent, which is one thing Duke has an advantage in). So, Cutcliffe, how are you going to talk to your team?
“I can give you 5,000 reasons why we won’t win,” Cutcliffe said. “But if I give you 5,000 reasons why we won’t win, I’ve got to give you 5,000 things we’re going to do about it.”
Cutcliffe then explained that the one thing Duke has going for it in this contest is its brainpower and cunning. He used an analogy that brought images of gladiator battles to the forefront.
“Human beings wouldn’t rule the earth if we didn’t have our minds,” Cutcliffe said. “If you put all of us out there on a field and have an equal number of lions and tigers, the only damn chance we’ve got is to use our minds!”
The power of Cutcliffe’s mind has definitely shown in games that Duke had no business being competitive in. Consider, for example, last year’s contest against Virginia Tech.
The Blue Devils took on the eventual Orange Bowl champions at Lane Stadium, in freezing, snowy conditions and without starting quarterback Thaddeus Lewis.
Then-quarterback Zack Asack couldn’t throw, and Duke’s running backs could never find any openings. Yet somehow, thanks to a suffocating defense and opportunistic scrambles by Asack, the Blue Devils only trailed 7-3 with just over two minutes remaining in the game.
Duke eventually lost that contest 14-3, but the fact that the Blue Devils even had a chance to win in the fourth speaks volumes about Cutcliffe’s coaching and motivational abilities. But in this upcoming contest, it’s not him who will motivate the team, but the players themselves, he said.
“When I get on that plane, I want to believe we’re going to play not with hopes of winning but knowing we’re going to win—and it’s exactly what my conversation with them was Sunday night,” Cutcliffe said. “I can’t answer [how to get that mindset] for them, nor do that for them.”
Instead, the players will need to use their minds and figure out their how to win their own individual battles. How does Vincent Rey effectively keep track of running backs Graig Cooper and Damien Berry? How does Lewis manage to keep track of the Hurricanes’ linebackers? How will the offensive line plan for their counterparts tendencies on pass rushes?
To do that, they will need a work ethic that Cutcliffe summed up in four words: total, focused, sincere and intense. If any single one is missing, the thought going onto the plane is not, “we will win,” but “we could win.”
And against a team that has such a physical advantage, a mental edge is probably Duke’s only shot at keeping its slimming bowl dreams alive.
(11/04/09 10:00am)
As of right now, Duke’s record stands at 5-3, 3-1 in the ACC with just two wins needed to become bowl-eligible.
(10/30/09 8:00am)
Thaddeus Lewis called this weekend’s matchup against Virginia at Scott Stadium a clash of the titans.
(10/21/09 8:00am)
Last year, David Cutcliffe never let his team forget November would define its season, despite a 3-1 start.
(09/21/09 8:00am)
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Duke head coach David Cutcliffe knew his team needed a few big plays to defeat No. 22 Kansas, listing that objective as an essential element needed to defeat a ranked team at his media press conference Tuesday.
(09/16/09 8:00am)
If there’s ever been a time for Duke to play like David Cutcliffe says it practices, it’s got to be this weekend against No. 22 Kansas.
(09/07/09 8:00am)
All it took was one special teams mistake to turn what was supposed to be Duke’s first step toward bowl eligibility into a nightmarish sense of déjà vu.
(09/02/09 8:00am)
I never thought I would hear the words “hype” and “Duke Football” put together seriously in the same sentence.
(08/28/09 7:00am)
David Cutcliffe finally did something this summer he'd wanted to do for nearly a year but couldn't his first year at the helm.
(05/28/09 7:00am)
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The third trip to the Final Four was not the charm for No. 3 Duke.
(04/27/09 7:00am)
CHAPEL HILL - At no point Sunday did head coach John Danowski think it was going to be easy for Duke to win the ACC championship.
(04/22/09 7:00am)
The usual suspects showed up against then-No. 1 Virginia in Duke's 15-10 victory April 11, as Ned Crotty tallied six assists and Max Quinzani scored four goals.
