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DURHAM -- Saturday's showdown between Duke and North Carolina has more potential postseason implications than perhaps any meeting in the storied series.
But based on some of the sound bites coming from the coaches, you might think both teams were jockeying for BCS consideration.
"This passing attack, it's got an awful lot of Indianapolis Colts' concepts and ideas and philosophies built into it," UNC coach Butch Davis said of Duke's passing game, which ranks fifth in the nation with 325.1 yards per game. "They flip the field on you with their big-play capability."
Duke coach David Cutcliffe concurred that Colts quarterback Pey-ton Manning, who starred at Tennessee when Cutcliffe was the offensive coordinator there, did take some of the concepts he learned in college with him to the NFL.
But in Cutcliffe's mind, that's where the complimentary comparison should stop.
"I don't see Reggie Wayne out there, or Peyton," Cutcliffe said. "After I saw that, I called [Colts president] Bill Polian and asked if I could borrow his five offensive linemen. He turned me down."
Cutcliffe isn't above a bit of coach-speak, either. While Davis likened Duke's passing game to that of a recent Super Bowl champion, Cutcliffe made it sound like UNC's defense, ranked seventh nationally with 265 yards per game allowed, might be even better than that.
"We can't block these guys. They're too good," said Cutcliffe, who also detailed a conversation he had with Duke offensive coordinator Kurt Roper. "I told Kurt, 'Sometimes you can't run it. Sometimes you can't throw it. But you've still got to score points. Go figure that out.'
"That's about what it's like when you play that kind of defensive team."
For the love of Lewis
While Cutcliffe made it sound like there's virtually no way Duke quarterback Thad Lewis can possibly keep up his recent pace against UNC's defense, Cutcliffe does believe that Lewis deserves more credit for what he has been able to do over the last month.
"If you look at what he's done the last four weeks, tell me a quarterback in the country that's playing better," Cutcliffe said. "The guy we've got never gets mentioned. That's OK, but show me one that's playing better. We just don't get the highlights."
Over the past four games, Lewis has completed 116 of 173 passes for 1,532 yards, with 10 touchdowns and two interceptions. Yet when the Davey O'Brien Award that goes annually to college football's top quarterback announced its 15 "semifinalists" before Duke's victory Saturday at Virginia, the ACC's only representative on the list was Miami quarterback Jacory Harris.
"I really think he got a raw deal with the Davey O'Brien Award," said former Florida State quarterback Danny Kanell, now a television analyst. "Thaddeus is putting up way better numbers than half the guys on that list, and it's not like you can give the excuse that Duke's not a good team."
Even with a slow start to the season, Lewis ranks ninth in the nation with 289.4 passing yards per game. He's on pace to finish his career ranking second in ACC history to former N.C. State quarterback Philip Rivers in passing yards, total offense, pass completions and pass attempts, and he looks likely to end up third behind Rivers and FSU's Chris Weinke in touchdown passes.
Waiting till next year
Duke's recent success on the football field has translated into continued success on the recruiting trail.
During the Blue Devils' three-game winning streak, they've secured verbal commitments from Forsyth Country Day tight end Nick Sink as well as Clerance France, a linebacker out of Georgia.
Sink, a 6-5, 235-pounder, has caught 31 passes for 508 yards and five touchdowns this season, and he also could be a prospect as a long snapper. Sink was getting serious attention from UNC and Kentucky but hadn't been offered a scholarship before accepting Duke's offer.
France, a 6-1, 215-pounder out of Carver High School in Columbus, Ga., moved to linebacker for his senior season after previously playing on the offensive line. France had offers from Western Kentucky and Troy.
Shortly before the winning streak, Duke also got a verbal commitment from Jordon Ondijo, a 6-4, 200-pound defensive player out of Waller (Texas) High School. Ondijo projects as either a defensive end or outside linebacker.
Duke has 16 confirmed verbal commitments for the class of 2010.
Staff writer Briana Gorman contributed to this report.
