David Cutcliffe ventured to the Blue Zone for the early minutes of Saturday's Tailgate festivities to plead just one last time. He told them the game would be worth the students' time-he even promised, he said Sunday afternoon.
Cutcliffe and Duke held up their part of the bargain, and students found the dominating victory worth their presence.
Not even an 88-minute rain delay could dampen a newfound student spirit surrounding football games, as an area filled with blue-clad shirts in Sections 20-23 made Wallace Wade Stadium look more like Cameron Indoor Stadium, right down to the Cameron Crazies' wiggling fingers.
"It far exceeded my expectations," Cutcliffe said Sunday of the students' efforts. "I really was thrilled with that sea of blue there, surrounding the band-that was pretty neat looking from the field."
And the players certainly noticed the effect of having a supportive crowd, too.
"This is almost unreal really," Greg Akinbiyi said. "We never had this kind of crowd, never had this atmosphere. This feeling in the air is like Christmas."
Cutcliffe had campaigned and marketed for greater attendance numbers since he was hired in December and began another blitz on students last week, when he ramped up his public appearances, offered free T-shirts and almost begged students to make the short walk from the Blue Zone to Wallace Wade. And unlike almost all games in the Ted Roof era, students packed the newly moved student section behind the Duke bench. Most sat through the delay; some left and came back at 8:15 p.m., the announced kickoff time.
And while Cutcliffe made a point to open his post-game press conference by recognizing the students, he made his feelings clear earlier in the night. During the delay, the head coach walked to the tunnel to check on the weather. He immediately saw the students and ran across the field to pump his fist three times and rile up the Blue Devils' new 12th man.
"I couldn't believe how many people were there," Cutcliffe said. "I kind of instinctively went over to see them. That was as much fun as I had all night."
The goal posts came down after the game-but not at the hands of students. A group of stadium officials lowered the uprights and security officials blocked off entrance to the field. When the Blue Devils last won at Northwestern in Sept. 2007, Duke students entered the empty stadium and carried the goal posts all the way to the Duke Chapel.
Cutcliffe said he was against taking down the goal posts Saturday night, as he believes it is a celebration that should be reserved for "big wins."
"I don't know that you can pinpoint one, but those moments in time happen," he said. "It's a bad habit to do it every time you turn around.... If it happens at the right time, it happens. But I just didn't think it was the right moment."
And now more than ever, students might be in the bleachers to witness it.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.