Duke is nationally ranked. In football. Duke.
Would anybody have predicted this? I think this most unlikely of events happened only because Duke is smarter than everybody else and did things the right way.
I ran some statistics that may surprise you:
Duke is only 1 of 2 BCS conference teams to keep their same head coach after 4 consective seasons of non-winning-but-not-necessarily-losing records. 1 of only 2 such teams.
While fans of schools such as UNC and NC State and several SEC schools demand the firing of their coach after a single losing season, Duke was smart enough to stand by a coach who brought honor and dignity to their program. Those other schools send coaches in and out of their revolving doors without so much as a bowl win (and UNC got NCAA sanctions to boot, while NC State just got everybody laughing at them). I have a theory that the fan bases who demand a new coach every year do so because most of their fans have never seen a college campus and they need a good football game to watch to compensate for their lack of success in life. For some people, having wood-panel facing on their kitchen appliances is their crowning achievement in life.
But Duke was different. Their patience paid off, and their miracle season is finally here. Who knows how long it will last?
Would anybody have predicted this? I think this most unlikely of events happened only because Duke is smarter than everybody else and did things the right way.
I ran some statistics that may surprise you:
Duke is only 1 of 2 BCS conference teams to keep their same head coach after 4 consective seasons of non-winning-but-not-necessarily-losing records. 1 of only 2 such teams.
While fans of schools such as UNC and NC State and several SEC schools demand the firing of their coach after a single losing season, Duke was smart enough to stand by a coach who brought honor and dignity to their program. Those other schools send coaches in and out of their revolving doors without so much as a bowl win (and UNC got NCAA sanctions to boot, while NC State just got everybody laughing at them). I have a theory that the fan bases who demand a new coach every year do so because most of their fans have never seen a college campus and they need a good football game to watch to compensate for their lack of success in life. For some people, having wood-panel facing on their kitchen appliances is their crowning achievement in life.
But Duke was different. Their patience paid off, and their miracle season is finally here. Who knows how long it will last?