Two teams that started the season bent on playing in bowl games will reach a dead-end at least one victory short of that destination when Wake Forest and Duke close their seasons at noon today at Wallace Wade Stadium.
The Deacons (4-7, 2-5) want to win so their 22 seniors will have more victories (33) than any other class in school history.
The Blue Devils (5-6, 3-4) want to win for their first non-losing season since 1994.
The Deacons want to win to avoid ending their season with a sixth straight loss.
Duke wants to win to make at least partial amends for three heart-breaking losses to Wake Forest the past three seasons.
And both teams want to win to send their senior quarterbacks -- Riley Skinner of Wake Forest and Thaddeus Lewis of Duke -- out in a fitting manner.
But is all this enough to sufficiently motivate the Deacons and make their trip to Durham worth the gas money and per diem?
"Well we'll find out," Coach Jim Grobe of Wake Forest said. "I don't think there's any gimmicky stuff you can do to motivate the guys at this point.
"This is a deal where your love for the game is going to show. If you love the game, and you know these might be the last snaps you'll ever play, you'd like to think that would be a pretty good motivator. But I can't guarantee it."
David Cutcliffe has made great strides in his two seasons as Duke's coach, and his team should be playing for a chance to become bowl eligible. Instead its victory over N.C. Central didn't count toward that goal because the cross-town university is still making the transition to Division I and lacks the number of required scholarships.
So there are 15 seniors playing for the Blue Devils -- Lewis, tackle Jarrod Holt, defensive tackle Vince Oghbaase, defensive end Ayanga Okpokowuruk, linebacker Vincent Rey, cornerback Leon Wright and safety Catron Gainey among them -- who will take the field knowing it's their final college game.
"The obvious is that I'm real proud of these seniors and what they've done over the two years that we've been here with them," Cutcliffe said. "They've endured a lot of tough and difficult times.
"Things have obviously gotten better. I'm saddened that we've come up short for their opportunity to play in a bowl game, but I'm looking forward to hopefully playing our best football game -- which is what it's going to take to play with Wake."
And no Duke senior wants to close his career 0-4 against Wake Forest, especially given the way the last three games have been decided.
Chip Vaughn of Wake Forest blocked a shanked 27-yard field goal attempt to clinch a 14-13 victory in 2006. The Deacons fended off a furious comeback attempt for a 41-36 victory in 2007. And Alphonso Smith intercepted an underthrown pass by Lewis in the end zone in last season's 33-30 overtime victory.
"Honestly some of the wins that we've gotten, we've been lucky," Grobe said. "We blocked a field goal and had a play in the end zone in overtime. We've had a lot of knock-down drag-outs that have gone down to the wire, and for one reason or another we've had a chance to win. And in some cases we've just gotten the right bounces.
"We know every year we play these guys it's going to be a battle."
dcollins@wsjournal.com.
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