January 31, 2013
To prepare for their newest out of conference game, the Blue Devils, Troy needs to start watching exorcism movies now. When multiple teams left the Sunbelt, Troy was forced to find a new out of conference opponent to fill their schedule. While Duke may not be the first opponent people think of for Troy, the teams are actually quite similar.
Troy and Duke, though they have never played, are racing back to greatness. Both teams have their own legacies that they strive to obtain and each team has been getting increasingly closer to achieving that goal. Troy and Duke football programs both have dominant pasts that most of the nation is unaware of.
Troy has 20 conference championships spread across six different conferences. Five of those came consecutively after being in division I-A for a mere five years. They have two national championships in Division II and one in NAIA. The school is one of only two colleges to move from division II to the FBS.
Dukes legacy is one of the most colorful in the ACC. Duke has 17 conference championships, the last being 1989. The Blue Devils have no national championships. Duke, in a statistical oddity, was one of only three teams whose defense allowed zero points during an entire regular season.
In 1942 Duke became the only other site to host the Rose Bowl, the “Granddaddy of Them all”. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Rose Bowl committee canceled the game and parade after they decided an event of that size and importance was a likely target for attack. Duke, being one of the teams to participate that year, invited the Rose Bowl and the Oregon Ducks to their field.
Though Duke and Troy have both had a rough few years as of late, both are looking to reclaim their former glory. Each team is hoping the new schedule and new contract starting in Durham next season will get the ball rolling.
Although the date is not set, Troy will fight to win to add to our legacy.
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