Duke Rises Up to Down Wake Forest, David Cutcliffe Has Blue Devils at 4-1
By Kyle Kensing
Sep 29, 2012; Winston Salem, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach David Clutcliffe watches on during the third quarter in the game against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at BB
Duke last played in a bowl game at the 1995 season’s conclusion, but Saturday’s road win at Wake Forest moved the Blue Devils closer to one than they’ve been in a long time. David Cutcliffe’s team sits at 4-1, needing only to finish 2-5 in its next season to snap one of the nation’s most dubious streaks.
The squeak of sneakers on basketball courts is still over a month away, but Durham has something to cheer for in the interim. Saturday’s win was as much a statement as any the gridiron Blue Devils have made in a long time, needing to gut it out and rise up in the fourth quarter. Wake Forest battled back from down 20-10 in the second half to tie it up 20-all heading into the final stanza.
Past Duke teams have stared down success in such moments and withered. This year’s version shut down Tanner Price and the Demon Deacon offense for over 14 of the final 15 minutes, while tacking on two crucial scores on the opposite side. Perhaps most impressive was that both were rushing scores.
Duke was among the nation’s worst running teams a season ago. Cutcliffe’s track record for developing quarterbacks shone through in Sean Renfree, but today he went scoreless. That’s right — the two fourth quarter scores via the ground were the third and fourth of the day. Renfree had an efficient 22-28 day to set up the Blue Devils in the red zone, and the front line opened holes for the ball carriers.
A road win against a conference foe that came in 3-1 could be the catalyst for so much more, and possibly serve as a microcosm of everything Duke needs to do that deviates from the program’s sad history.
Cutcliffe’s 2009 team was 5-3 after beating Virginia 28-17 on Halloween. The trick was on the Devils though, because that was Duke’s final win. It lost four straight to end the season the same way it had every campaign for a decade-and-a-half.
This Duke bunch gets four opportunities at Wallace Wade Stadium to secure those two elusive victories. Should those wins come, they will say more about Cutcliffe’s legacy than anything preceding it — even anything involving a Manning brother.