DURHAM, N.C. -- The first game figured to be the hardest. It was the first time since Bryon Fields was 4 years old that he wasn’t lining up on a football field with his teammates, and it was tough to feel so removed from the action. But that day Duke’s defense was dominant, and for the next six weeks after that, the Blue Devils plugged along without their star cornerback, posting numbers that ranked among the nation’s best.
Then it all fell apart. The pass rush evaporated, the secondary was burned again and again, Duke’s defense imploded and Fields understood what his absence really meant.