Look for a piece on Duke football in an upcoming edition of the New York Times. The N&O's beat writer said that Viv Bernstein of the Times was with the rest of the media today talking to Coach Cutcliffe.
I don't want to go to West Texas becuase I'm afraid Javier Bardem would kill me.
Actually, I would like to see Big Bend NP.
Bowls are tough to get to becuase of family obligations during the holidays. So I'm rooting for Charlotte.
A movie is not about what it's about; it's about how it's about it.
---Roger Ebert
Some questions cannot be answered
Who’s gonna bury who
We need a love like Johnny, Johnny and June
---Over the Rhine
Am I the only one who would prefer to wait for that sixth win?
A vigil IS a wait.
There are a number of cold reality threads. Gotta dream somewhere. The fact that we are even having a lark like this is a great tribute to the players and coaches.
I do not think anyone is assuming it is a done deal, and you are right that no one should. But the flip side is, if you are a good team, you are already thinking of a bowl. If we are going to act like a real team, I do not have a problem with the fans starting to expect better than 0-7 from here on out.
So, I agree but I don't. Which is of course what lawyers do. ;-)
I did indeed.
I think regular readers of this board recognize that I've been a big proponent of the idea that Cutcliffe and his staff were major upgrades over their immediate predecessors and that Duke football was heading in the right direction.
And I will be very, very surprised (and hugely disappointed) if Duke doesn't get to six wins, likely more.
But going into the season, we knew that the most-likely wins were front-loaded on the schedule and that the presence of FSU and Clemson instead of BC and Maryland was a serious impediment to a break-out season.
Duke has done what it needed to do up to this point, which is put itself into position for 6+ wins. But Duke could play really, really good football the next four weeks and pull an 0-fer. I do think GT and Miami are quite beatable but I sure don't want to hit the bye week at 5-5.
It matters not one whit if the fan base gets overly giddy as long as the team remains grounded and focused. And I'm very much encouraged by the good news on the injury front. I very much want to see how good this team can be if he gets reasonably healthy.
But I don't think it unfair to note that the road gets much harder beginning Saturday afternoon. I try not to get too far ahead of myself and this seems like a good time to adhere to that mind-set.
Jim, I think you are exactly correct. Objectively. I take this thread as an Ozzie "optoemistic" special.
We're all on the same page I suspect. On the one hand, nothing counts until it is done. On the other hand, Cut has tried to raise expectations and the team has responded so it is time to start thinking differently than we have for the last two decades.
Win-win from where I sit.
If we go 1-3 over the next four, and 1-1 to finish, I would still call that a good year and we would be bowling. As Cut said, though -- I don't want them thinking of bowling, I want to think about winning the conference. I think this thread is in that light, understanding that such a result is both theoretically possible and beyond recent experience. Play well, fight hard, see what happens.
And I will be the first to recognize that you and I (among others) have been extremely supportive of Cut's efforts while at the same time understanding the challenges that face resurrecting the program. I always appreciate your insight and historical perspective. To believe in Duke football is to fly in the face of our results since 1962 +/-. Yet here we may be.
Last edited by OldPhiKap; 10-09-2012 at 11:33 PM.
We are on the same page, clearly.
Let me put a different perspective on the issue, understanding that I'll be damn glad to just reach bowl eligibility and to play in Butte, Montana in a blizzard. I live in SEC country these days, where at 5-1 or even 3-3 folks discuss the quality of the bowl they may reach. While on the one hand I think it is awfully pretentious to do that, on the other hand I recognize that REAL programs have those thoughts. For the first time since my years at Duke (when Spurrier was coaching) I think we are a REAL program. We need to make the jump from hoping we win another game this year, to expecting we will win several.
Again, of all folks I do not want to seem to be arguing with you. Your insight and reports have been extremely objective over the years and it is hard to think of a more insightful source on many of our sports. And I do not think we disagree. We as a fan base are at an inflection point between historical struggle and the swagger of expectations. Cautious optimism versus the audacity of hope. We all feel both at the same time.
If we get to a bowl, whatever and wherever it is, I'll buy the first round and you can get the second. If we fail to bowl, meet you at Satisfaction's and we can do the same. Either way, we're on the same path and in the same boat. Go Duke, Go Cut, Go K.
-- OPK
For me, one key point for this season thus far is that Duke won the games they should have won... which didn't always happen in previous years, and were competitive in the games they could be competitive in... and in fact, won those competitive games decisively. Stanford was a long shot, but maybe the beat-down was the calling card for this team.
And, as jimsummer said, "which" bowl is definitely premature... but getting that 6th win is really where the emphasis should be. For me, again, I don't care "which" bowl... just *a* bowl is triumph (I do understand, though, that the fan base can, and will, and probably should, be optimistic to "choose" the bowl they prefer). Coach Cut wants enthusiasm, support, expectations... well, here they are.
GO DUKE!!!!!
I'm with Cutcliffe on this one..It's fun for us to think about it, and for the team.
http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/10/...#storylink=cpyStill, only once in the past 17 years has Duke even been this close to bowl eligibility. There's no shielding the players from those bowl possibilities - so coach David Cutcliffe doesn't mind if they savor the situation a little.
"I told my wife, 'I don't want to spoil a good party,'" Cutcliffe said Tuesday. "That's not the only reason you're playing the game, but that's just human nature. How are you going to fool them?
"They're starving. Why wouldn't they feel that way? To ruin their party? I'm not going to do that. But I don't want to hear a bunch about it in the locker room before the ball game. Better start thinking about what you've got to do to win a game, period."
Q "Why do you like Duke, you didn't even go there." A "Because my art school didn't have a basketball team."