After coming close against Miami, Duke has reason for optimism

DURHAM, N.C. - Duke&#39;s only victories this season are of the moral variety and the winless Blue Devils insist that&#39;s not good enough anymore.<br> <br> ``We&#39;ve been making strides the last couple of weeks, but in no way, shape or form am I satisfied,&#39;&#39; linebacker Michael Tauiliili said Tuesday. ``Nobody on the team is satisfied with what we did. Staying close with Miami, that&#39;s not good enough. We won&#39;t be satisfied until we start getting wins.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Still, the Blue Devils (0-7, 0-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) have some reasons for optimism heading into this week&#39;s game against Vanderbilt.<br> <br> In last week&#39;s 20-15 loss to Miami, 18-point underdog Duke trailed by 18 before rallying. They drove to the Hurricanes&#39; 6-yard-line with 3 seconds remaining only to have Thad Lewis&#39; final pass intercepted at the goal line.<br> <br> Coach Ted Roof still called it ``the best half of football since I&#39;ve been the coach here.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> ``It&#39;s encouraging to see the way we came back in the second half and the way we fought back,&#39;&#39; center Matt Rumsey said. ``It&#39;s definitely something to build upon, but it still wasn&#39;t a win.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> That challenging midseason gauntlet of games against traditional powers Alabama, Florida State and Miami is in the past, and for the most part, the Blue Devils were surprisingly competitive.<br> <br> Duke led the Crimson Tide at halftime before Alabama broke the game open in the second half and won 30-14.<br> <br> ``Obviously, there&#39;s a little frustration with how close we&#39;ve come in certain games, but you take it and use it as motivation through the next week to keep you fired up,&#39;&#39; Rumsey said.<br> <br> Against Miami, the Blue Devils trailed 20-2 before scoring two fourth-quarter touchdowns to pull within five points. Two long passes from Lewis to Jomar Wright against a short-handed Hurricanes secondary help set up the final play.<br> <br> ``Our kids could have played forever Saturday,&#39;&#39; Roof said. ``We just ran out of time.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Duke gained 196 total yards to Miami&#39;s 38 in the fourth quarter, and seemingly moved the ball at will when it counted right until the final play. But that close loss also showed the young Blue Devils just how fine the line is between winning and losing, Tauiliili said.<br> <br> ``We&#39;re learning from the mistakes that we see on film,&#39;&#39; he said. ``It&#39;s only a couple of mistakes here and there that are making the difference.&#39;&#39;