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View Full Version : Well, it happened once. Duke-Stanford, 1971



jimsumner
09-10-2011, 01:15 PM
FYI

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205269514&DB_OEM_ID=4200

Richard Berg
09-10-2011, 01:27 PM
+Like

Anything to shut up my Stanford friends.

Olympic Fan
09-10-2011, 01:37 PM
Great story, Jim.

It's worth noting that Stanford recovered from the Duke loss and returned to the Rose Bowl, winning it for a second straight year.

The '71 Devils are a heartbreaking team. They were so good early, but the injuries piled up so quickly -- the loss of Jones, maybe the best running back in modern Duke history, was devastating. But the week after the Stanford win, placekicker Dave Wright (who had kicked four field goals in a 12-7 win at Florida ... well, against Florida in Tampa) was hurt in practice. The next week, Duke lost 3-0 against Clemson in a game that saw Duke inside the Clemson 20 like five times. Over the course of the year, Newman, Clayton weren't the only guys to go both ways -- Searl started one game at quarterback and Jackson rushed for 141 yards as a tailback.

I will say that the '71 team had the best defensive backfield in Duke history. Jackson was a consensus first-team All-America CB (he and Clarkston Hines are Duke's only two consensus first-team picks sicne WWII). Searl was a three-time first-team All-ACC safety (and since freshmen couldn't play in those days, that means every one of his seasons). Bill Hannenberg was a two-time first-team All-ACC CB (and was the best run-support corner I've ever seen). Mike Davies, the other safety was a superb player.

SmartDevil
09-10-2011, 01:46 PM
Great article, Jim. Thanks for invigorating memories of that day and the marvelous outcome.

I was on the sidelines and well remember how psyched the whole team and staff were.