Duke's David Cutcliffe: Playing Well Not Good Enough, We Need to Win

Coach thinks team will improve from week one to two

Duke coach David Cutcliffe said the team showed great effort in the loss at Notre Dame, but that’s not enough.

“Disappointing,” he said of the week one loss. “Our locker room was a blend of disappointment in South Bend but also understanding we’re different than we were a year ago, and we are. But to prove we’re a good football team, you don’t prove it by playing well against great opponents.You prove it by winning. What this team has to do is put the bumps and brises behind you. The week one to two improvement is there for you, depending on how much energy you have and effort you put into preparation. I do think there’s a different feel for our team now that we’ve played a game.”

Now that the team has played a game, Cutcliffe thinks they’ll fall into a routine that wasn’t there during the pandemic-marred preseason.

“Most of August, a lot of them weren’t sure we were going to play,” he said. “Even into the first part of the week last week, they were not sure. Now they’ve played. They’re excited about playing. I think our preparation will really be outstanding.”

Duke opens its home schedule against a Boston College team that has a new coaching staff.

“Boston College, we know very little about their staff,” he said. “They haven’t played a game. All we can do is do the work, prepare our team as well as we possibly can. It will be a physical game against a physical team. Both fronts are extremely physical. They had a few graduate transfers come in to increase their physicality on the defensive front.”

We’re looking forward to another ACC football game. Every week, playing conference football, you better play at a high level.”