The Chronicle

Issue date: 9/17/08 Section: Column
Last update: 9/17/08 at 7:06 AM EST

Media Credit: Zachary Tracer There are still plenty of questions for David Cutcliffe's squad as it heads into its first bye week.

Media Credit: Max Masnick After readily handling Navy in Saturday's win, the Blue Devil defense could be better-equipped to handle Georgia Tech's triple-option offense Oct. 4.

Since last February, when Duke's 2008 football schedule was released, I have been discussing the Blue Devils' potential record with anyone who would listen.

And now, the number of people who want to talk to me about Duke Football is as refreshing as Duke's play itself.

Do you think we can make a bowl?

Can we handle Georgia Tech's triple-option offense now that we've seen Navy's?

Is David Cutcliffe the new messiah?

I don't know all the answers.

But I do know that for the first time since 2003, Duke has a winning record after three weeks.

That year, the Blue Devils proceeded to slip, finishing 4-8 and replacing head coach Carl Franks with assistant coach Ted Roof. We all know what happened next.

Granted, I wasn't here then to experience the sentiment on campus, but I imagine this season feels different. Franks had already gone 5-40 in his four previous seasons, and the two early wins in 2003 came against Western Carolina and Rice.

In head coach David Cutcliffe's first three weeks, with essentially the same players that finished 1-11 last season, Duke has seemed like a team destined to climb even higher. After all, Duke could easily be 3-0 after dominating Northwestern in every facet of the game except the score two weeks ago. And the last time the Blue Devils started 3-0 was when they went 8-4 and were ranked as high as No. 16 in 1994.

But that brings me back to what some other people have been saying about Duke Football this year.

It was only James Madison and Navy.

We have no shot against Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Clemson.

Don't get ahead of yourself.

I'm not. Just like the players and coaches have stressed all along, I'm taking this season one game at a time. But not because I expect this team to implode or revert to its old ways.

No, I'm being realistic.

Take Duke's next two opponents as examples of winnable games. Virginia, which lost its two games against Division I-A schools by a combined 80 points, is terrible this year. And Georgia Tech runs the exact same offense as Navy, albeit with better athletes, essentially giving Duke two weeks of preparation for the most unique offense in college football.

The important term here is winnable.

How many winnable games remain on Duke's schedule? In order to answer that, you have to realize that the definition has changed dramatically since last year. The Blue Devils, under Roof, were in position to win games, but hardly ever had the discipline or finishing strength to do so.

This year, they do.

Oh, so Duke's going to run the table?

Duke's going to compete for the ACC title?

Get real.

Cutcliffe needs at least a few more years of recruiting to do that.

Probably. But when was the last time anybody has been able to say something like that with a straight face?

Think about where Duke was last year at this time, and you will remember that even if Duke musters two or three more wins out of this season, it's still a huge success.

It says something about how far Cutcliffe has already elevated the program that a Blue Devil fan could legitimately gripe about not being 3-0 right now. Because, at this point, who wouldn't love to say, "Damn it, if we had just beaten Northwestern, we would be bowl-eligible."

After everything Duke fans have endured over the last several seasons, it would be greedy to ask for anything more.

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