David Cutcliffe: I'm Far From Defeated but Not In a Good Mood
David Cutcliffe was not feeling jovial headed into this week’s game with Syracuse.
The Blue Devils have lost three straight, and, preparing for a Syracuse team that’s also struggling seemed to strike a nerve with the Duke coach.
“(They were a) special team a year ago,” Cutcliffe said of Syracuse. “We're all in a little bit of the same boat. There's a fine line, and I don't know every problem they've had. They don't know every problem we've had. But I know they're having a tough year, and like we're having a tough year.”
As Cutcliffe talked about Syracuse, he seemed to naturally slip into discussing Duke’s own season.
“You might think, well, why the record? Well, this is a tough league,” he said. “And again, I don't know what all the problems are. But I have the utmost respect for this Syracuse program and this Syracuse team and we're going to continue to work to become an outstanding football team. And we can. We got three games left and we got to try to go 1-0 this week. I'm not worried about three games. The focus is going to try to be the best Duke team we can be this week.”
Cutcliffe then concluded by admitting that he wasn’t his usual chipper, upbeat self.
“If it maybe sounds like I'm in a serious mood, yes, I am,” he said. “I'm far from defeated, but if you asked me if I was in a good mood, I'd tell you no. There's a reality to all of this.”
