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DURHAM -- Duke's last game produced a victory worthy of a commemorative football in Coach David Cutcliffe's office, but now the Blue Devils haven't touched a game ball in 11 days.
That's a cause for concern for Cutcliffe, whose Blue Devils triumphed 49-28 at N.C. State on Oct. 10, but then had an open date in advance of hosting Maryland this Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
"Open dates are good. They serve their purpose, but it's always a little difficult to roll back into a rhythm," Cutcliffe said following Tuesday's practice. "I thought we were a little bit sluggish this morning, but we got a little better as it went on and it ended pretty well.
"You need to get back in the flow."
The Blue Devils (3-3, 1-1 ACC) used the open date to get healthy, to get some rest and to start getting prepared for a Maryland team (2-5, 1-2) that no current Duke player has faced. The Devils and Terrapins last met in 2004.
"It's great to have an extra week to prepare for Maryland. We're definitely going to use that time to our advantage," Duke tight end Brett Huffman said. "It's extra time for film study, and we had three or four extra practices as well where we were able to get a look at them through our scout team.
"Me personally, I would have rather just kept the train rolling coming off the N.C. State game. At the same time, we've all had little nicks and things, so it was great to have a bye week in the middle of the season to heal those so we can push through the last half of the season."
Besides studying a Maryland team that Cutcliffe said is better than its record but has been betrayed by untimely turnovers, the two areas on which Cutcliffe wanted to concentrate with the extra time go hand in hand: the running game and tackling.
The Blue Devils did a lot of live running drills, physical segments geared toward helping the running game and tackling at the same time. Cutcliffe said the team is aiming to average at least 4.8 yards per carry -- with short-yardage and sacks thrown out of the equation.
"We're getting closer. What we'd love would be some big plays in the running game, some plays of more than 12 yards a little bit more often," he said. "We're not trying to run the ball 200 yards a game, but we want to be effective."
The drills didn't include senior Re'quan Boyette, who suffered another lower-body injury against the Wolfpack and wasn't back to practice as of Tuesday. Jay Hollingsworth, who hasn't been fully healthy since suffering an ankle injury in the second game of the season, is fast approaching full strength, but Cutcliffe said that Desmond Scott likely would start Saturday.
Scott, a true freshman out of Hillside High, leads Duke with 147 rushing yards despite making his debut just three games ago. Gary Douglas, one of Scott's former running mates at Hillside, is Maryland's second-string tailback.
"He's going to get his carries and his opportunities," Cutcliffe said. "He's a good receiver out of the backfield, and he's becoming a better and better blocker.
"The more complete a player you become, the more your role increases."
Cutcliffe might be concerned about how his team will bounce back from a silent Saturday, but that doesn't mean his players are. Quarterback Thad Lewis, coming off a five-touchdown, 459-yard day, believes the Devils can pick up where they left off nearly two weeks ago.
"That's one thing that coaches worry about, but this team has a mindset of its own, and we came out here and worked today," Lewis said. "Guys came out here and gave it their all, and that's a good sign."
