8/24/03 - Opportunistic

They’re talking bowl game on the Duke campus (no, that is not a typo) and they’re serious. Virginia’s season-opening opponent will bring 20 returning starters with them to Scott Stadium on Saturday night with the intent of showing the college football world they’re for real.
The Blue Devils have already gotten Al Groh’s attention. A couple of weeks ago, the UVa coach had an interesting observation about Duke.
“The team we’re playing in the first game is us a year ago,” Groh said. “They’re a team that played well but didn’t win very much ... no stars but they have a resolve. They’re talking about winning.”
Heading into last season, no one really knew what to expect of Virginia. The Cavaliers were coming off a mediocre campaign after Groh’s first year on the job. But they were talking about winning and we all know what happened.

Is Duke for real?

Yes, this is the same Duke that is 5-40 overall under Coach Carl Franks. They’re 3-29 in the ACC during that same period, including a league record 25 straight game losing streak in the conference. They’re 2-20 in their own stadium.
Before you read too much into those numbers, consider the facts about last year’s 2-10 record. The Devils lost five games by a collective 17 points.
They lost 27-22 to Virginia after leading most of the game. Groh’s Cavs came back with a 14-9 rally in the fourth quarter, but Duke owned the football for 35:59, had 24 first downs to UVa’s 17 and had 414 yards of total offense to the Wahoos’ 317.
Consider that Clemson had to score 24 points in the fourth quarter to beat Duke 34-31. Also consider that Carolina’s Dan Orner had to kick a 47-yard field goal as time expired for the Tar Heels to beat Duke 23-21. N.C. State beat the Devils 24-22 and Northwestern edged the Dookies 26-21.

Welcome back party.

Got your attention yet?
How about all 11 offensive starters return. Or that nine starters are back on a defense that finished first in the ACC in run defense a year ago (120.5).
There’s another factor that must be a motivating force behind Duke football this season. Franks, a personable coach who most everyone is pulling for, knows that his job is squarely on the line this season.
His future as the Devils’ head coach may rely on whether he wins an ACC game. Many, including Duke athletic director Joe Alleva believe that if everything goes right, the Devils could reach the school’s third bowl game since 1961.
“Let’s face the facts - I think he has to win an ACC game,” Alleva told the Raleigh News & Observer. “I don’t think that’s out of the question. It’s a very reasonable expectation.”
Alleva pointed to last year’s close league losses and mentioned that Franks is going to have to win some of those close games.
“I think there’s a chance to win six games,” Alleva said.
Nothing would get the Blue Devils going better than an upset over Virginia right out of the blocks. Duke almost always plays the Cavaliers a good football game. For years, it was because there was bad blood between the programs, originated during the Steve Spurrier vs. George Welsh years.
Most of today’s players don’t have any recollection of that. But Duke still seems to come at Virginia harder. The Cavaliers, at least in recent years, seem to be disinterested until they wake up and realize they’re in a ball game.
Groh doesn’t want that to happen this time around. Virginia could be on the verge of something special and can’t afford an upset, particularly at home.
While Franks hasn’t won a lot of football games, he has worked hard to improve the facilities in Durham. He has also worked hard to let Duke alumni know that he was recruiting under a handicap for several years.
It seems Mike Krzyzewski was getting some exceptions for basketball recruits that Franks wasn’t getting for football until Franks, a Duke graduate, became vocal about the issue. You have to admire his fight.
No wonder Alleva decided to give Franks another year to prove himself.
“I gave him an extension because when I evaluated the program last year, I thought he deserved another chance,” the Duke AD said. “I thought this year would be a year he had a really good chance to win. I didn’t think it would be fair to bring in another coach to inherit this team and not give Carl a chance to win with it.”
Meanwhile, Franks goes on about his business of trying to win games.
“I don’t walk around going, ‘Gee, if we don’t do very well, I’m going to get fired,” Franks told the N&O. “I don’t think of it that way. That’s not the way I live or coach. This team has an opportunity to have one of the best years we’ve had in a long time.”
He believes his defense can stop the run against just about anybody. What he wants now is to be good against the pass.
As mentioned, Duke was No. 1 in the league against the run last season, but dead-last against the pass. That’s something that brilliant defensive coordinator Ted Roof must fix.
One of the reasons Duke was last in pass defense was due to the fact they dedicated so much energy into shutting down the running game.
Offensively, Franks has called his own plays for the past four years. The coach has been a little touchy when approached about whether he will continue to call ‘em or will that duty fall to promoted offensive coordinator Jim Pry. Ben Bennett, one of the ACC’s most productive quarterbacks while at Duke, grew frustrated over not being allowed to call the plays and resigned.
“We need to be able to stop people in the Red Zone and we need to score in the Red Zone,” Franks said. “We need to get in a close game and win it.”
Groh wants to make sure that Saturday night doesn’t fit into Franks’ wish list.

Fans will get wish to see Hokies, Cavs on TV