DURHAM, N.C. -- The last time Duke coach Carl Franks saw them, both his goal posts were being carried up the steps and out of Wallace Wade Stadium, Duke students looking like a horde of ants making off with the picnic's prized banana.

Franks didn't know exactly what to feel. Elation? Sure, but maybe a little regret, too.

"I hate it that we tore down the goal posts for one win," he said.

Before beating East Carolina 23-16 Saturday, the Blue Devils had last won a game in 1999, a streak of 23 losses that was the longest active skid in the country, and among the 10 longest in NCAA Division I-A football history.

Houston, We Have A Win

People wondered about Houston coach Dana Dimel last season, when he'd rave about the freshmen being redshirted and talk about the future of the program - when the present was so bad. The Cougars went 0-11 in 2001, the first winless season in school history, but to the end Dimel was enthusiastic about 2002. Now you see why. One of those players Dimel redshirted last season, quarterback Barrick Nealy, passed for 161 yards and ran for 99 more in the Cougars' season-opening 24-10 victory against Rice, snapping a losing streak that had reached 15 games. Houston controlled the line of scrimmage with an offensive line averaging 324 pounds per man, allowing it to control the ball for 38 minutes while Nealy and running back Joffrey Reynolds (28 carries, 155 yards) pounded away at the Owls defense. In all 14 freshmen played for the Cougars, whose young nucleus of talent, combined with senior leadership from the likes of safety Hanik Milligan, has Dimel ready for the next game, Saturday against Tulane. "We were pleased with our young players; they played really well, especially for a first game," Dimel said. "And there's nothing like the confidence from a first-game win. I think that'll be something we can hopefully build on." Optimism? Why not? Rice isn't awesome, but it's not a doormat, either. Ken Hatfield led the team to an 8-4 record last season, so a victory against the Owls isn't an empty one. And the schedule seems to have room for a few more Houston victories, too. The Cougars ought to have a shot at home against Tulane, and certainly can beat Louisiana-Lafayette (home), UAB (road) and Army (home). Throw in a home game against East Carolina, which became Duke's first victim in 24 games, and Houston could maybe - just maybe -- go from 0-11 to bowl eligibility at 6-6. -- Gregg Doyel

So Franks understood the hysteria that overcame the rain-sloshed Duke students in attendance. But he also understood it was just one win, just one game, and if the 2002 Duke season is defined by what happened on Aug. 31, then it will be a very sad season indeed.

"We're happy to win, but one game is not a season," Franks said. "We haven't done all this work to just win one game. That's not what the plan is all about. When you don't win a lot of games, you're hungry."

Will the Blue Devils come out hungry Saturday against Louisville? Or fat, satiated -- and awfully beatable? Cornerback Kenneth Stanford thinks he knows.

"It was nice to win one game, but we want a lot more than that," he said. "I know I'm not satisfied, and I don't think anyone on the team is satisfied, either. We've got 11 more games to play."

Not all of them are winnable, of course. The Sept. 21 trip to Florida State, for example. The Louisville contest, as recently as a week ago, seemed another game destined to become an ugly Duke loss. But the events of this past weekend have changed the way a reasonable person looks at Duke-Louisville.

If Duke can beat East Carolina. ... and if Louisville can lose at home to Kentucky. ... then surely Duke has a chance to beat Louisville in Durham. Right?

"I think so," Franks said. "I like our chances. But I'm sure they like their chances, too."

Franks has used some of Louisville's perceived self-assurance -- real or otherwise -- to motivate his players. He told them how Louisville refused to exchange game film from the 2001 season, a refusal Franks called "very rare," especially for a non-conference game between two non-traditional rivals. And he told his players that Louisville probably agreed to play Kentucky on a Sunday night, six days before traveling to Duke, for the same reason it refused to exchange game film.

"They think they can beat us," Franks said. "They think they don't need any tape on us to beat us. And they figure they don't need an extra day's rest. I don't know -- maybe they don't."

Maybe they should reconsider. New Duke defensive coordinator Ted Roof has remade the Duke defense in the image of some of his more successful units at Georgia Tech, where he coordinated George O'Leary's defense before following O'Leary to Notre Dame after the 2001 season. Out of work a few days later thanks to O'Leary's bloated resume, Roof took the vacant coordinator position at Duke and has put out a product that is smaller, faster and more athletic than recent Duke defenses.

Fast enough to contain Louisville quarterback Dave Ragone, who would aid his limping Heisman candidacy with a huge day against Duke? Both teams find out Saturday.

Cue the tape.

Around the ACC

Clemson
Clemson likely will play Louisiana Tech without starting running back Bernard Rambert (foot). ... Backup TB Chad Jasmin had success the last time out against the Bulldogs, running for 83 yards in Clemson's 49-24 victory in the 2001 Humanitarian Bowl. ... CB Toure Francis (knee) is out for the season.

Duke
The Blue Devils will play two quarterbacks, Adam Smith and Chris Dapolito, against Louisville. ... Look for linebacker Jim Scharrer, among the Blue Devils' tackling leaders last season, to play a lot more than he did in the opener after being moved back from defensive end a few days earlier. ... Brent Garber's 56-yard field goal was one yard short of the school record.

Florida State
FSU is off this weekend and next plays Sept. 14 at Maryland. ... With the Terps' inexperience in the secondary but a strong front seven led by All-American linebacker E.J. Henderson, it would help the Seminoles if quarterback Chris Rix returns to his late-2001 form.

Georgia Tech
The Jackets face their former defensive coordinator, Randy Edsall, the head coach at Connecticut. ... UConn is 5-18 as a Division I-AA team. ... The Jackets are one of two ACC teams starting a former defensive back at tailback; Tony Hollings ran for 153 yards against Vanderbilt to become the first Tech TB to debut with 100 or more yards. NC State, with Greg Golden, is the other team with a former defender at tailback.

Maryland
QB Scott McBrien remains the starter, though coach Ralph Friedgen says he could use backup Chris Kelley "regardless of the situation". ... The Terps, who play host to Akron, might have a budding star in true freshman linebacker D'Qwell Jackson, who had 12 tackles in 39 snaps against Notre Dame. ... Akron is the first of four straight home foes for the Terps. ... TB Bruce Perry (groin) could return Sept. 21 against Eastern Michigan.

North Carolina
Darian Durant remains the starting quarterback, but coach John Bunting hopes to play backup C.J. Stephens in the first half against Syracuse. ... To prepare for the Carrier Dome, the Tar Heels have piped in loud music at practice. ... Senior DT Eric Davis (knee) is out for the season, so two of the team's top defensive tackles will be converted OLs Chase Page and Jonas Seawright.

NC State
The Wolfpack faces former defensive coordinator Buddy Green, who has that title at Navy. ... The option quarterback for N.C. State's scout team, to simulate the Navy attack, is prized (but ineligible) newcomer Tramain Hall. ... DT Ricky Fowler has been moved to OG, where he will back up a pair of fellow converted DLs: Sean Locklear and Shane Riggs.

Virginia
Matt Schaub will replace Marques Hagans as the starting quarterback, and coach Al Groh expects to continue to use Hagans off the bench. ... The Cavaliers and their opponent, South Carolina, have played 32 times, none since 1987. ... South Carolina's Lou Holtz and Groh are both former New York Jets coaches. ... Virginia will make at least two personnel moves, adding sophomore cornerback Jermaine Hardy and sophomore center Zac Yarborough to the starting lineup.

Wake Forest
The Deacons face an ECU team bent on avenging its season-opening loss last year to the Deacons. ... Deacons TB Tarence Williams (foot), who ran for 158 yards in that 21-19 victory, will play after missing the opener. ... Coach Jim Grobe plans to stick with kicker Matt Wisnosky, who missed a 31-yard field goal and had two kicks blocked in an overtime loss to Northern Illinois.

Around Conference USA
Memphis' Danny Wimprine became the first Division I-A quarterback to throw five touchdown passes in a game, last week against Murray State. ... Memphis true freshman RB DeAngelo Williams was as good as his press clippings, running for 129 yards and a touchdown on just 12 carries. ... Tulane's Mewelde Moore needs 100 rushing yards against Houston to tie former Houston star Ketric Sanford's C-USA record with 14 career 100-yard game. ... Tulane hasn't been 2-0 since its perfect season in 1998. ... Louisville's Dewayne White needs two sacks against Duke to tie former teammate Michael Josiah with 30, first on the school career chart. ... The Cardinals haven't lost two straight regular-season games since falling to Oklahoma and Illinois in 1999. ... Army becomes the last C-USA team to play this season when it takes on Holy Cross. ... See if Holy Cross can penetrate an Army offensive line that allowed just nine sacks last season. ... East Carolina quarterback Paul Troth had a rough debut against Duke, confounded by many dropped passes, and it won't get a lot easier against Wake Forest -- which plays a base defense with five defensive backs and often employs six or seven. ... Pirates kicker Kevin Miller hasn't missed a field goal in almost a year, a 12-kick streak, but he missed an extra point against Duke. ... Houston free safety Hanik Milligan, the national leader in tackles last season, had 14 against Rice. ... The Cougars didn't play Tulane last season but did win their last meeting in Houston, 36-31, in 1999. ... Northwestern won't be happy against TCU, coming off a 52-3 loss to Air Force. Then again, it might not matter. ... The last time the Horned Frogs visited Evanston, Ill., they lost 17-7. ... Illinois is the first Big 10 school to visit Southern Miss ...The Golden Eagles have scored at least 55 points in three of their previous four games at M.M. Roberts Stadium. ... UAB has a game on its hands against Troy State, which gave Nebraska more than it expected in a 31-16 loss. ... UAB last played an in-state foe in 1996, against Auburn. ... Cincinnati, which is off this weekend, has to feel good any time the game's close in the fourth quarter. Only a sophomore, quarterback Gino Guidugli has directed four fourth-quarter comebacks in 11 career starts, including this last week's victory against TCU.

Gregg Doyel covers college football for The Charlotte Observer and can be reached at gdoyel@charlotteobserver.com.