Football looks for first win

 The last time that Duke (0-1) and Western Carolina (0-1) met on the football field, the Blue Devils defeated their intrastate rivals 24-10 at Wallace Wade Stadium on opening day of the 1998 season. Five years later, Duke will once again be hosting the Division I-AA Catamounts, but this time both teams will looking to even their records at 1-1.

 Both schools are coming off opening week drubbings--Western Carolina fell 59-20 to then-No. 14 North Carolina State and Duke was blanked 27-0 by then-No.18 Virginia--and they see week two as a chance to get their seasons back on track.

 "We've got to find out about ourselves and see if we can't get back to where we're capable of being," Duke head coach Carl Franks said. "I think our players are embarrassed. We've got to coach better, and we've got to play better. I think we're capable of doing it because there aren't a whole lot of guys out there that are different from last year."

 Although the Catamounts have never defeated a Division I-A team in 22 tries, they do return 18 starters and 45 lettermen from a team that won five games last year. And, despite facing a slew of more prominent opponents in the ACC, the Blue Devils are not taking their Southern Conference foe lightly.

 "[Western Carolina] has some outstanding players," Franks said. "They weren't intimidated by NC State at all. I think they're a very good football team, so they're very much a concern for me." In order to avoid its first-ever loss in three games against Western Carolina, Duke must attack a defense that got lit up for nearly 500 yards by N.C. State and Heisman Trophy candidate Philip Rivers. The Blue Devils' offensive output against Virginia--a meager 47 yards passing from starting quarterback Adam Smith, a three-of-15 conversion rate on third downs, and zero points--should improve against Western Carolina's less potent defense.

 The Catamounts do feature a strong pair of defensive ends in senior Michael Spicer and Nick McNeil, who were tabbed preseason first team All-Southern Conference by the league's coaches. However, Spicer--a 2002 third-team All American with 53 career tackles and 21.5 career sacks--was hobbled by an ankle injury against the Wolfpack and is questionable for the showdown against the Blue Devils.

 "Michael Spicer went in the N.C. State game questionable, and he still has the same status," Western Carolina head coach Kent Briggs said. "I don't know if he'll play against Duke or not. He didn't get a chance to perform up to his abilities against N.C. State." Offensive production will be key for Duke in Saturday's contest, as the Catamounts have shown the ability to put up points when they control the ball.

 Senior quarterback Brian Gaither threw for over 1,000 yards in 2001 and 2002, and is the Southern Conference's top returning passer. The 6-foot-3 Winston-Salem native, who also plays on the basketball team, completed 20-of-37 passes last week for 173 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.

 Gaither has a pair of talented receivers in second team-All-Conference selection Lamont Seward and junior Michael Reeder, who caught a career-high nine passes against N.C. State.

 "We know some things about Duke's defensive schemes, but we're not looking to pick on any certain person or particular weakness on their defense," Gaither said. "Our passing game is working well, but that's all because our offensive line is doing a wonderful job picking up blitzes and knowing what's going on."

 The Catamounts will also look to take advantage of a Duke running defense that allowed 204 yards against Virginia, a surprisingly weak spot given the Blue Devil's knack at stopping the run last year.

 "We would obviously love to run the football against Duke because it helps you control the game," Briggs said. "But Virginia has running backs stockpiled. If we had those running backs, we'd run all the time, too."

 After having played in front of nearly 54,000 Wolfpack faithful at Carter Finley Stadium last week, the atmosphere in Wallace Wade will not intimidate the Catamounts, who are the only I-AA team to play against two BCS-eligible schools this season.

 "This is a great opportunity for us to play two ACC games against high quality teams," Gaither said. "We've been hearing all year that this game against Duke is going to be easy and that we should get a win. But we're not looking at it like that at all. We're going into this game knowing that we're going to have to fight hard for it."