David Cutcliffe Has Duke Fans Believing Again

It has been 15 years since Duke Football had a winning season and even longer since they were considered more than a one-hit-wonder.

Second-year coach David Cutcliffe has Duke Football fans, and even some members of the media, singing an old-yet-unfamiliar tune—success.

While Duke Fans are hoping for the best, media members like Rob Daniels of the ACC Sports Journal are predicting some positive things from this year's Duke Team.

Daniels didn't even pick Duke to finish last, or next to last in his pre-season predictions.

For any member of the media to do that is saying either the end of the world is nigh or Duke Football is in the beginning of its rebirth.

While the momentum following last year's four-win-season may seem insignificant to the big boys of the college football world, in Duke's corner the excitement among its fan base is palpable.

I'm not saying Duke is going to be winning championships anytime soon, but their days of playing doormat to not only the ACC, but really anyone in the realm of college football including lesser divisions is over.

The fans believe it, the media believes it, and the players believe it. They all can thank Cutcliffe for that.

The last person to bring this type of life to an otherwise dormant program was none other than the Old Ball Coach himself, Steve Spurrier.

Spurrier began to make a name for himself with his cocky-yet-winning ways at Duke in the mid-to-late 80s. Before jumping ship to his alma mater Florida, Spurrier led Duke to a share of the 1989 ACC Championship with Virginia, the Devil's last.

He went on to post a 20-13-1 record—the last coach to have a winning record at Duke. He was also known for his penchant of taking team photos celebrating big wins including a 41-0 drubbing of arch-rivals UNC in his last regular season game.

Duke proceed to follow that success up with a series of bad or questionable hires. The notable exception, at least at the time, was the hiring of Fred Goldsmith, who led Duke to respectability and a bowl game in 1994. He, however, never posted another winning season and is now coaching high school football.

Fourteen years later Duke finally got it right when they hired David Cutcliffe, the former offensive mastermind behind Eli and Peyton Manning to name a few.

In previous hires, Duke went for the nice guy with no experience. This time they got the nice guy, but one who brought a first class football resume with him.

Cutcliffe brought a different feel to the Duke program. For one, he was an SEC guy, and when it comes to football he expects to win.

After being fired by Ole Miss for one bad season, at least to the folks in Oxford, Cutcliff took some time off to recover from medical problems before returning to Tennessee.

When Duke came calling Cutcliffe jumped at the chance be a head coach and has made the most of it in a place where most dared not go.

He has revived the Duke Football fans' (those that hadn't died or given up on the Blue Devils) hopes of a team of which they can be proud.

It is hard to say what he hasn't done well since taking over the program, and one could scarcely find anyone who could have done better.

This weekend kicks off his second season, one many feel will be a stepping stone toward next, but one Cutcliffe expects to be a great success.

And if the Blue Devils live up to his bowl prediction, then there is no limit to the praise that the fans will be singing for him.

Cutcliffe often speaks of leaving a place in better condition when you leave than when you got there. If Cutcliffe were to leave today he would have already accomplished that goal.