From his office in the upper northeast reaches of Wallace Wade Stadium, Carl Franks looks upon the very spot where, on a rainy Saturday night, insurgents heisted $12,000 of yet-to-be-replaced property.

‘I’m looking out my window,’ Duke’s fourth-year football coach mused yesterday afternoon. ‘They’re not there yet.’

They — two banana-hued goalposts — disappeared into the Durham, N.C., night Saturday, ripped down in a celebratory demon cleansing. Dating to Nov. 13, 1999, the Blue Devils had lost a Div. I-worst 23 consecutive games until, on a soggy track against Conference USA’s East Carolina, they won, finally — FINALLY — 23-16.

With three Brent Garber field goals (28, 56, 41 yards), a four-yard scoring run and a 28-yard interception return for a touchdown, Duke avoided matching Virginia’s ACC consecutive-loss record (28). Realistically, the Blue Devils’ next threat to win comes at Navy in their fifth game.

‘It’s a shame you have to do it for that kind of win,’ said Franks, a proud North Carolina native by birth but less proud of a 4-30 mark at his alma mater. ‘You’d rather it be for a championship or something.’


Franks won his championship in 1996 with Florida as an assistant to Steve Spurrier. Arriving at Duke on Dec. 1, 1998, Franks landed in territory familiar (he was a tight end and running back there) yet foreign (at Florida he experienced 24 straight conference wins). Suddenly, all this losing, all the time.

Consider that in the 1,021 days since Duke won previously: the world survived Y2K, Survivor was introduced and reproduced three times, the United States swore in a new president, the Seattle Mariners won 286 games, Barry Bonds launched 162 home runs, and “American Beauty,” “Gladiator,” and “A Beautiful Mind” took turns as Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

Does Franks ever think such thoughts? ‘No,’ he assuredly said. ‘People ask me all the time about the losing streak. I don’t — I didn’t — walk around thinking about the losing streak but about how we can be a better team. If I did, there would not be a whole lot of people who would want to be around me.’

This season, the football surroundings at Duke — the Harvard of the South and the center of the college basketball universe — are brightening. Franks relies foremost on running back Chris Douglas, an unheralded yard-eater whose 168.1 all-purpose yards per game led the ACC last season.

The newest important face is Ted Roof, a three-year defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech who left the school with head coach George O’Leary last December. Saturday, he schemed a defense that gave up just 155 yards to trick-play specialist ECU. Duke’s defense gave up 344 yards on average last season.

This weekend, things gets more difficult against Louisville and slinger quarterback Dave Ragone, a legitimate NFL first-rounder. In the end, though, Roof likely will improve the Blue Devil defense, which ranked worst in the ACC defending the pass and the rush last season. A league-low yards-per-game offense last fall helped little.

But don’t tell anyone at Duke, which for a week at least is home to a wellspring of confidence.

‘We’re looking forward to playing again,’ Franks proclaimed. ‘After the game, I told them to make sure they go out and enjoy it. Celebrate the win. But I would like everyone back eligible to play next week, so don’t have too good a time.’

About the missing merchandise?

‘We’ve got some goalposts down at our practice field,’ he said. ‘I figure (the grounds’ people) know they need them here by Saturday at 7 o’clock.’

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Neuheisel extended

From the it’s-nice-to-be-wanted file: Washington announced Tuesday a six-year contract extension for coach Rick Neuheisel. The 41-year-old former UCLA quarterback will receive more than $1.2 million per season, as well as a $1.5 million loan from the university. Neuheisel must pay five percent interest semiannually, but if he remains at UW for the duration of his contract, he keeps the money.

In just over three seasons, Neuheisel is 26-11, has finished no worse than second in the Pac-10 and coached the Huskies to a Rose Bowl appearance. Hired in 1999 from Colorado, where he went 33-14 in four seasons, he initially signed a five-year contract, which the university modified a season ago to increase his pay.

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Minnesota’s Hall murdered

Tragedy struck the Minnesota Golden Gophers early Sunday morning, when redshirt freshman Brandon Hall, 19, was shot and killed in downtown Minneapolis. According to Tuesday’s St. Paul Pioneer Press, a teammate of Hall was robbed, and subsequently gathered other Minnesota players to pursue the man who had stolen his chain.

When the players confronted the man, they sensed he carried a gun and fled. Hall slowed his pace so as to appear unrelated to the players, Minneapolis Police Lt. Mike Sauro told the newspaper.

His tactic failed. The defensive tackle from Detroit, who the night before made his collegiate debut as a backup, was shot point blank.

The university memorializes Hall in a ceremony open to the public tonight at 7 at Williams Arena. No Gopher will wear his No. 71 until 2005, the year he was scheduled to graduate.

‘I had to make one of those phone calls earlier this morning that in 30 years I’ve prayed I’d never have to make,’ said coach Glen Mason, who spoke with Hall’s mother and later Sunday addressed the media. ‘To the best of my knowledge, Brandon Hall was an innocent victim.’

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This and that

Louisville, Maryland and Penn State all fell from the Associated Press Top 25. Colorado State made the greatest gain, from unranked to No. 19 after a neutral-site 19-14 victory over then-No. 7 Colorado, which fell to 17th. A 22-0 shutout of Maryland vaulted previously unranked Notre Dame to No. 23. Wisconsin beat UNLV to slip in at No. 25. … Gotta love early-season statistical leaders. The nation’s premier rusher? New Mexico senior Quincy Wright, who managed 65 yards against N.C. State, then pounded Weber State for 265 for 330 total. Better still, most preseason depth charts did not include Wright. Three tailbacks departed the Lobos, and two sub-6-foot freshmen, Tony Frazier and Dontrell Moore, were expected to share carries. … Want efficiency? Western Michigan’s Chad Munson racked up a nation’s-best quarterback rating of 230.3 in his season debut. Against Indiana State, Munson went 14 of 19 for 197 yards, four TDs and no interceptions. … Duke’s Brent Garber, just 6 of 9 on field goals last season, connected from 56 yards, the longest collegiate field goal in this young season and one yard short of a school record. … No need to hold your breath any longer. West Virginia’s mascot, a Mountaineer complete with coonskin cap and musket, will be allowed to celebrate WVU scores at Wisconsin’s Camp Randall Stadium. Thankfully, school policy forbids firearms inside the stadium. An exception, however, will be made for the Mountaineer, who apparently shoots powder, not bullets.

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Heisman watch

The frontrunner after Week 1: Marshall’s Byron Leftwich, who sliced up Appalachian State on 27-of-41 passing for 469 yards and four touchdowns. Is he a bona fide candidate, playing in the Mid-American Conference? Leftwich gets a worthy opponent (Virginia Tech) and stage (Lane Stadium) in his next outing, a week from tonight.

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Line of the week

From Tyrone Willingham, who in his Notre Dame coaching debut shut out reigning ACC champ Maryland, 22-0: ‘It’s like playing golf. A hacker will get all excited when he pars a hole. But in his excitement, he’ll forget to play the next several holes. I’m not a hacker.’