Brett Huffman was a redshirt during Duke's 2006 season opener, but standing on the sideline at Wallace Wade Stadium, he could still sense that something was terribly wrong.
"I remember feeling like, ‘This shouldn't be happening. This can't be real,'" Huffman said. "It was my first college game. To be honest, it was somewhat of an embarrassing feeling."
What happened was that Richmond, an NCAA Division I-AA program, took a shocking 13-0 victory that sent Duke spiraling to a winless season.
Richmond will be back in Durham at 7 p.m. today for a season-opener and, if anything, will be stronger than it was in 2006. Richmond is coming off a 13-3 season and a national title in what is now the NCAA's Football Championship Subdivision, and it has won its last six road games.
Richmond also returns 18 starters, including two kickers, and has 15 redshirt seniors and seven redshirt juniors starting.
"I don't think I've ever faced that in my career," Coach David Cutcliffe of Duke said.
Of Richmond's top 44 players, only two, a backup tailback and a backup fullback, have not been redshirted.
Of course, Duke also is a better team now than it was in 2006. The Blue Devils won four games last year in Cutcliffe's debut season and went into November with a winning record.
Cutcliffe is a demanding coach, and quarterback Thaddeus Lewis is confident that, because of Cutcliffe's guidance, Duke will not make the same mistake against Richmond that it made in 2006.
Looking back, Lewis believes that Duke took Richmond too lightly.
"I would say so; I would say we weren't as prepared," Lewis said. "Those guys came in here to play. And they played. That was a tough game.
"I took a lot of hits that game. I took a couple of hits, and I was pretty sore afterward. Those guys had a chip on their shoulder."
Lewis fears that Richmond might have another chip on its shoulder.
"They're national champs, and they beat us already before," he said. "They probably think they're going to come in here and beat us again. And they should feel like that. They've got a nine-game winning streak. We know we have to come out and match that intensity."
Duke can't match Richmond's experience. Duke has only nine recruited seniors, and only five of them are in their fifth season after redshirting.
Cutcliffe expects a better season, however. Lewis provides a strong starting point on offense. He needs only nine touchdown passes to break the school career record of 55 held by Ben Bennett. Re'quan Boyette has returned at running back after missing all of last season because of a knee injury.
The defense has Vince Oghobaase, a 6-5, 305-pound senior, back on the line at tackle. Vincent Rey, a capable veteran, has taken over at middle linebacker for Michael Tauiliili, who exhausted his eligibility.
Cutcliffe's worry is depth, because inexperienced sophomores and redshirt freshmen fill many of the backup positions.
"It would concern anyone," Cutcliffe said. "Speed has never had a bad day in football. If those guys can run, they'll hit you and they'll be fine. I just hope that they're seeing the right way to do things from our older kids."
Cutcliffe wasn't going to make a point of the 2006 game, and Huffman said that the Blue Devils already have their motivation.
"This game is not only our opener, but it's extremely important no matter how you cut it," Huffman said. "We need this win both to start off our season well and to accomplish our expectations of playing in a bowl and winning a bowl.
"We've had a bitter taste in our mouths since Carolina (a loss to end last season). We've got a lot of guys back. We've played two consecutive years now in the same system, and everybody feels more comfortable in playing fast and playing loose. We feel like we can get it done."
■ Bill Cole can be reached at bcole@wsjournal.com.
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