Taking The Next Step
By Ryne Hancock
SouthernPigskin.com
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Football excitement has them talking bowl game at Duke during March Madness. Duke in a bowl?
When a person thinks of Duke football, the first thing that comes to their mind is Steve Spurrier.
Yes, that Steve Spurrier.
Before he was the Ol’ Ball Coach at Florida and led the South Carolina Gamecocks to the SEC Championship last season, Spurrier’s first head coaching job in college football was at Duke University, where he led the Blue Devils to their last ACC crown, sharing the title with Virginia in 1989.
In the 22 autumns since that ACC championship season, the stats for Duke football has been the following:
• 1 bowl appearance (1995 Hall of Fame Bowl)
• 0 bowl wins
• 4 winless seasons
• 1-20 record against North Carolina, including 13 straight losses from 1990 to 2002
• 5 head coaches
The ineptness of football in Durham got so bad that in 2008, a judge ruled in favor of the school after they pulled out of a four-game contract with the University of Louisville.
After hiring former Ole Miss coach David Cutcliffe in 2008, Duke came within two victories of receiving a bowl bid in 2009, going 5-7 and beating ACC opponents back-to-back for the first time since 1994.
But after a regressed 2010 that saw the Blue Devils go 3-9, there is some talk that Duke, which hasn’t won a bowl game since 1961 when they beat Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl, could go bowling in 2011.
If you are spitting out coffee as you read this column, feel free to do so after seeing the words Duke and bowling in the same paragraph.
There is no question that Duke had one of the best passing attacks in the ACC last season, finishing 22nd in the country in passing offense.
But the downfall of last season was the poor running attack and the defense’s inability to stop anyone, resulting in a defensive unit that finished 109th in the country in points allowed.
While an aerial pass attack will put fans in the seat, the one thing that will bring them back to Wallace Wade Stadium is a good product on the field, which needs to happen in 2011.
Winning creates excitement and build fan morale.
Passing attacks don’t.
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