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DIFFERENT CHALLENGE

In the past, Duke football teams had to learn how to cope with defeats. Now the Blue Devils have to learn how to handle a victory.

While players were celebrating after defeating James Madison 31-7 in Saturday night's season-opener, coach David Cutcliffe knows how to keep teams grounded, grinding and focused.

"The way we coach, that [win] will be behind them real quickly,'' said Cutcliffe. "It was a good beginning, but that's what it was: a beginning."

The performance against JMU wasn't perfect, but it produced more pluses than minuses in Cutcliffe's inaugural game as Duke's head coach.

HIGH MARKS

Cutcliffe reveled in the Devils' energy, conditioning, and the physicality of the offense, which achieved its weekly goal of scoring at least 30 points.

That hard-nosed approach also resulted in a 218-yard rushing attack, far above last year's average of 64 yards per game.

The defense did its job as well, limiting the Dukes to 239 total yards, 47 of which came on one play: a touchdown sprint by JMU quarterback Rodney Landers.

"We tackled pretty well, gang tackled, were chasing the ball unbelievably,'' Cutcliffe said.

The coach also got a kick out of his kickers -- Nick Maggio (four extra points, one field goal) and punter Kevin Jones (53.5 average).

NEEDS WORK

Though the offense produced, it turned the ball over three times. "We can't waste a play," Cutcliffe stressed.

The Blue Devils will work on tightening their kickoff coverage and polish the passing game. Quarterback Thaddeus Lewis completed 17 of 28 passes but could have had a higher percentage, except for a couple of drops by receivers and a few wild-high throws to open targets.

DELAY GAME

The kickoff was pushed back 88 minutes because of storms.

During that down time Cutcliffe tried to "deflate" his revved-up players, keep them hydrated, and keep them relaxed by playing soft music.

"It was a strange feeling,'' he admitted.

THE ATMOSPHERE

The crowd (32,571) and overall fanfare exceeded the coach's expectations, from the pre-game "Devils Walk" to the sea of blue-clad students.

"When we got off the bus for the Walk, there was so much energy,'' Cutcliffe said. "The students were off the charts."

NEXT UP

Big Ten opponent Northwestern, which visits Wallace Wade Stadium on Saturday night. The Wildcats whipped Syracuse 30-10 behind the running of star back Tyrell Sutton (144 yards rushing) and throwing of quarterback C.J. Bacher (three TD passes.)

"The quarterback can beat you with his arm and running, and [Sutton] might be the best running back in the Big Ten," said Cutcliffe, who is hoping for another big crowd -- and big win.