CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Duke coach David Cutcliffe is uniquely aware of the challenge his team faces against Alabama in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game. The 12th-year Blue Devils coach is inexorably linked to the Crimson Tide program.
A Birmingham native and 1976 alum of the university, Cutcliffe has coached against his alma mater in two stops at Tennessee (1982-98, 2006-07), Ole Miss (1998-2004) and Duke (2010) — the last of which was a 62-13 blowout loss in Wallace Wade Stadium.
“I know that history,” Cutcliffe said at ACC Kickoff on Thursday. “What Nick (Saban) has done there is phenomenal.”
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Alabama is a five-time national champion under Saban. It’s coming off its fifth straight College Football Playoff appearance, and returns a bevy of future NFL talent on both sides of the ball, from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and wide receiver Jerry Jeudy on offense to defensive lineman Raekwon Davis and linebacker Dylan Moses on defense.
Oh, and the Crimson Tide’s last game was a humiliating 44-16 defeat against fellow ACC team Clemson in the national championship.
Playing Alabama under any circumstances is already tough enough for opponents. That’s compounded for Duke, in that it must open the season against Alabama; the Tide are undefeated under Saban in such games since he took over in 2007, beating 12 opponents by an average score of 28.8 points per game.
Cutcliffe understands how difficult this game will be. But he also embraces the opportunity it provides — and the progress it signifies in his team.
“We have worked extremely hard as a program to put ourselves in a position to be in a game like this,” Cutcliffe said. “Really hard.
“I would use the term ‘expectation to win’ at Duke,” he added. “There's not a player that signs with us that doesn't sign expecting to win. Our fan base expects us to win. That's what you do to put yourself in position to play big football games.”
Cutcliffe’s players at media days echoed that sentiment.
Said senior linebacker Koby Quansah: “I think it’s a great opportunity for our team to take our step to the next level. They’re one of the best, so us being able to compete against them means that we can take a step to be one of the best as well, too.”
Said fifth-year senior quarterback Quentin Harris: I think it’s great for us. We’ve worked really hard as a program to get here and to get this invitation to the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game. We’re very proud of our work and humbled by the opportunity to play Alabama.”
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Before Cutcliffe, such that “expectation to win” wasn’t much more than a pipe dream. Upon his arrival in Durham in 2008, Duke hadn’t enjoyed a winning season since an 8-4 campaign in 1984 — and wouldn’t for another five years, when Cutcliffe led the team to a 10-4 record in 2013. Three years later, Duke won its first bowl game since 1960 with a 44-41 over Indiana in the Pinstripe Bowl.
Now, the Blue Devils are ready to take on a potentially program-defining game. Quansah said he has been watching tape on Alabama’s offense since the season ended — including that blowout loss to Clemson. Harris, who replaces first-round pick Daniel Jones, has been studying the Tide’s defense as well.
All of that is well and good, but the challenge the Blue Devils must face before they even set foot on the field is to not make Alabama bigger than it already is.
“I think that’s been our mindset the entire time,” Harris said. “We’ve known about this game for awhile. We know the history behind them and the kind of success that they’ve had. But we don’t necessarily put them on a pedestal, I would say. Obviously they’re just another team.”
Well, not just another team.
But it’s that mindset, coupled with the winning culture Cutcliffe has instilled in the program, that has the Blue Devils ready to rise to the Alabama challenge.
“Yeah, huge challenge,” Cutcliffe said. “Huge opportunity for our program to take another step.”