Close but no cigar: Duke gave Northwestern all it had, but mistakes caught up with the Devils as they lost, 24-20. But there's a considerable silver lining.
Coach David Cutcliffe said last spring that he needed a more fit team, and they clearly are: last year, Duke faded after the third quarter. They've been strong to the end in both games. And while they made some costly mistakes, they kept coming: this team isn't giving up on itself.
There's a lot of good news: Duke dominated time of possession and had twice as many first downs - 28 to Northwestern's 14. They just didn't score enough.
But they're becoming more confident and it does appear that Cutcliffe is spoonfeeding them the knowledge to become a solid team. We can't wait to see what the next game, Saturday, against Navy, brings.