Not unlike the mentality that most had for the Duke Football program most of this season, there aren’t many willing to give the Blue Devils much of a chance in their Chick-fil-A Bowl matchup with Texas A&M.
To most Duke is a good story, they’ve been a surprise, but they still are Duke and when it comes to football they aren’t really worth
Duke head coach David Cutcliffe has helped resurrect the Blue Devils.
their time. Critics site the lopsided loss to Florida State in the ACC Championship game as Exhibit A. They also site the recent loss of offensive coordinator Kurt Roper who took the same position at Florida as another reason while Duke just isn’t a program that can sustain success.
Those people though tend to focus on the big picture and haven’t been paying very close attention to the little things Duke has been doing and what they mean to that big picture. The fact is Duke’s big picture has been through a gradual progression and change. It has taken time but now the results are starting to be seen on the field.
Rome was not built in a day and Duke’s recent success on the gridiron hasn’t come overnight although it may seem like it. No, this success has been the result of six years of building; six years of tough lessons, and six years of resurrecting a program long sense forgotten. It is easy to overlook this program and this team because Duke has been insignificant for so long. But here we are; Duke sits at 10-3, ACC Coastal Division Champions, are nationally ranked and people still act as if they probably don’t belong in this game.
During the bowl selection many thought that the Chick-fil-A Bowl might skip over the Blue Devils for a more recognizable program name. To their credit they didn’t because they believed and felt that Duke was the best representative from the ACC. Other options like Virginia Tech and Miami could have been considered but the Blue Devils beat both of those teams.
Duke didn’t fall into the ACC Title game or the Chick-fil-A Bowl, they earned their way there on the field. The result wasn’t what they wanted but they proved themselves the best team in the Coastal Division on the field. The lopsided loss to Florida State would have likely happened to anyone in the conference and doesn’t take anything away from what the Blue Devils accomplished this year.
The fact is though that there were no ties, this was not a fluke Duke earned everything they got and were rewarded with a solid bowl game, their best since the early 1970s.
David Cutcliffe has been working since the day he arrived in Durham to make the Blue Devils a team that could compete for titles not just be satisfied with winning a couple more games each year. He is convinced and has convinced me that this isn’t a program that is a flash in the pan. The university and its coaching staff has made strides to make this a consistent winning program that can compete for titles.
Recruiting has picked up drastically in the last couple of seasons. The results will surely start showing on the field soon enough. They’ve already started actually. Duke’s become a breeding ground for young assistants to propel themselves into high profile assistant or head coaching positions. This may have doomed Duke in the past (see Fred Goldsmith’s tenure) but Cutcliffe has been a master at replacing each staff member and they have not only maintained success but improved upon that of their predecessor.
He replaced Mike MacIntyre who left for San Jose State and is now the head coach at Colorado. Matt Luke left for a position at Ole Miss, Matt Lubick left to go to powerhouse Oregon and now Roper is going to Florida as the offensive coordinator. All of these departures have done nothing to hurt Duke’s development. While it is still too soon to tell with Roper, each departure has spurned continued if not more success for the program.
A lot of that credit goes to the mastermind of the program, Cutcliffe who has taken the program from nothing to nationally ranked. The University has committed money and support like no time in modern history. It is hard to see success not following, not now.
When Duke takes on Texas A&M on New Years Eve, most will not see all the small details it has taken for the Blue Devils to get there. They will see the Aggies and star quarterback Johnny Manziel and a team from the SEC going against a normally down-trodden ACC school and think easy win.
The Blue Devils may not win but they will surely make Texas A&M aware that they played. Duke is a good and physical football team and they will hold their own.
Duke is still fighting for respect and for many the only way for them to get it is to take it. A victory over A&M would do just that, but it isn’t necessary, however, because if you’ve paid attention at all to Duke Football these last six years the respect should have already been earned.
