Head coach David Cutcliffe wasn’t expecting the media to be easy on him just three days after his team fell to the Richmond Spiders 24-16 Saturday. That didn't stop him from cracking a few jokes.
“I brought with me today a cookie,” Cutcliffe said. “That way, if none of you all are sweet to me, I can eat my cookie and make myself feel better.”
The Blue Devils were outmatched most obviously when trying to run the ball—rushing accounted for just 19 yards of the team’s offense—but may have actually lost the game with poor special teams play. Richmond returned a blocked punt to take a 7-0 lead, and Duke missed both two field goals inside 40 yards that together would have given the team the lead for much of the game. And so after such a disappointing loss, Cutcliffe may have been concerned about the fact that the home opener left much to be desired. But if the coach was still affected by the loss on Tuesday his weekly press conference, he hid it behind some humor.
“When I came in the room, I was looking for casts on legs and ankles,” Cutcliffe said. “So I was looking around and I was just trying to see if anyone had broken their ankle jumping off the bandwagon. But fortunately, everybody looks like they’re healthy and still riding with us. That’s good, we appreciate that.”
No one said that turning around Duke Football would be quick or easy. Or painless.
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