Posted by ESPN.com's Heather Dinich
In a team meeting on Sunday, one day after snapping a 25-game losing streak against ACC opponents, Duke coach David Cutcliffe warned his players, "this stuff can go as fast as it comes."
And it has indeed come quickly for the Blue Devils.
Duke and Georgia Tech have played each other every year since 1933, but rarely has it had any bearing on the ACC standings. This year, under savvy new coaches with talented rosters, both programs enter Saturday's noon game in Atlanta with 3-1 records and are seemingly ahead of schedule to compete for the Coastal Division title.
"I think it is a big game for the league because we're in the same division, Duke is undefeated, they're 1-0 and we're sitting 1-1," Georgia Tech coachPaul Johnson said. "I'd be surprised if anybody wins our division with two losses, other than maybe Virginia Tech because they're going to hold all the tiebreakers, so we can't afford to have another loss. It is a big game for both teams."
The Yellow Jackets, with their loss to Virginia Tech, have more at stake in this game but boast the better defense. The Blue Devils, though, have finally realized what it feels like to win, and have confidence in the fact they have already beaten Johnson's former team, Navy, which still uses his offense. They also have one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the conference -- if not the country -- in Thaddeus Lewis.
Still, it's Duke, a program that has had one winning season in the past 18, its last being 1994.
"With us, we're at a point now in the development of our program we're just really trying to make football fun again at Duke," Cutcliffe said. "It's been a long time since it's been fun."
Duke has not played a road game yet, and Cutcliffe isn't quite sure how his team measures up against the rest of the league after its 31-3 romp over a sinking Virginia team.
"It's hard to tell where we stand," Cutcliffe said. "For me, evaluating our team, we've got a long way to go to get even close to where we want to be. That's going to be an ongoing challenge for us, but what we're trying to do is just at least get to where we can be competitive, and feel like we've played well when the game is over regardless of score. That's where our focus is, we just want to try to play well."
Cutcliffe has changed the attitude toward Duke football from the inside-out, and Johnson has brought outsiders into his offensive philosophy. Both have already established themselves as early Coach of the Year candidates.
"I think David has done a great job at Duke, but I'll be honest with you, I felt that Duke had some pretty good players, having played them the last few years," said Johnson. "If you'll think back, this was the year Ted [Roof] kept saying this was going to be their year. ... It wasn't like the cupboard was bare here, either."
It's what they've managed to do, though, with the talent that was left behind that has been the most impressive. Johnson implemented a whole new offense and taught a roster comprised of 75 freshmen and sophomores how to execute it. He also brought in a new defensive coordinator that has allowed a veteran defensive line to showcase its NFL talent.
Cutcliffe got Duke to look like a football team this past winter and he and his staff convinced the players to buy into their philosophies quickly.
"We're a good football team right now," Cutcliffe said. "I wouldn't say we're a really good football team, or even near a great football team, but we have a good team, which means you could go either way for us every week. We've got to play our best to have a chance to win, but it's going to be a lot of fun."
And this time, it's going to mean something.
