While the papers have produced harsh assessments of Duke's football playing ability, the people surrounding the Duke team seem to be in denial.All summer long, Cutcliffe maintained he thought this team had the capability to become bowl eligible, and though he was disappointed with the outcome in the season opener, Cutcliffe said he still thinks the Blue Devils could be a bowl-bound team.
Cutcliffe's Duke squad was so unprepared for Richmond you have to wonder what they were doing all offseason. They clearly didn't study 2007 Michigan/Appalachian St.
“I don’t change that evaluation,” Cutcliffe said. “We should be a bowl team, we can be one. We’re good enough to be one, and we are. But you can’t play like we played."
More Cutcliffe:
"We realized Richmond was good, but in their mind, James Madison (a 31-7 victim to open the 2008 season) was somewhat easy last year, so I just don't think we really understood what it was going to take."and from the same Herald-Sun article:
Duke's kicking game struggled unlike it did at any point in 2008, essentially with the same personnel, and the defense appeared to wear down in the game's late stages. On offense, Duke managed to net just 19 rushing yards, a number that could have been less than zero had quarterback Thad Lewis not somehow absorbed just one sack on a night when he was constantly on the run.
You can expect the Blue Devils to come to West Point with something to prove, but the question remains, can they execute? Army knows this is a chance to make a statement of their own in their 120th home opener.
The same game notes for Army/Duke here (pdf).
Sal Interdonato takes a look at Army's future schedule... something I would advise the Black Knights not to do.
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