Cutcliffe has Duke thinking positively

DURHAM -- In years past, Duke's football team would not have defeated Navy on Saturday in Wallace Wade Stadium.

Instead of a 41-31 Duke win, here's what would have happened:

* Navy would have forced a couple of turnovers late.

* The Blue Devils defense would have gone into a surrender posture during the fourth quarter.

* What few fans in the stadium at kickoff would have found relief from the steamy heat at halftime, never to return.

* The little things would have gone the other way -- the Navy way -- and Duke would have gladly settled for the consolation of a competitive loss.

But Duke is no longer the Duke of old, and certainly not the Duke football program of the past several years. Such is the influence of first-year coach David Cutcliffe, who quickly has convinced one of the country's most downtrodden programs that there can be no real comfort in defeat.

"We're a different team," star receiver Eron Riley said. "Last year, when we played them, we lost [46-43], but we thought we were the better team. It's about how you close the deal. We didn't do that then. Now, we can."

So different are the Blue Devils that they now will take a 2-1 record into this week's open date.

The one loss -- 24-20 against Northwestern -- hardly was the sort of embarrassment that Duke fans have come to expect, and accept, and there's not strong reason to think the Blue Devils can't move on to 3-1 and 1-0 in the ACC when they face Virginia here on Sept. 27.

Heck, Cutcliffe is probably no more than three or four more wins away from wrapping up ACC Coach of the Year, and he's doing it without Sarah Palin serving as an assistant or with a single pit bull wearing lipstick on the defensive line.

"They're getting it done; give them credit," said Navy's first-year coach Ken Niumatalolo. "Coach Cutcliffe has done a great job of getting them to believe in what they're doing."

What Cutcliffe is doing isn't all that exotic. Yes, he has opened up the passing game more than was the case under previous coach Ted Roof, but Duke quarterback Thaddeus Lewis is still a ball-control passer who looks first to Riley (three touchdown receptions against the Middies) and then to various other short-route receivers.

The Duke ground game still doesn't scare anyone, but it is productive enough to keep opponents honest.

Defensively, there's still a world of work ahead. Navy rushed for 207 yards, and while using two quarterbacks they completed 8 of 10 passes for another 150 yards and two touchdowns.

Such loose defensive execution surely will get the Devils in deep trouble against several ACC foes.

Even so, Cutcliffe already is well ahead of the traditional Duke football curve. Only three games into his challenge, he has instilled in these players a sense of hope and purpose that Duke players haven't consistently displayed for decades.

The Blue Devils are not a great team and may never become one. That goal may still be beyond Duke's reach in football, regardless of Cutcliffe's coaching talents. But something very important has changed. No longer are the Devils the worst football team in the country. And they know it.