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DURHAM -- From the parachutist who was supposed to land in Chapel Hill to the lightning that wasn't welcome anywhere, many annoyances came out of the sky and into Wallace Wade Stadium on Saturday night.

The terrestrial stuff was more to the home folks' liking. And heaven knows they waited long enough for it.

Their festivities delayed by 90 minutes of bad weather, the Duke Blue Devils kicked off David Cutcliffe's coaching tenure win a 31-7 win over James Madison and earned the program's first home win in nearly three years. Thaddeus Lewis connected twice with Eron Riley for two touchdowns, and the balanced attack Cutcliffe promised undeniably delivered.

The 32,571 assembled -- the largest throng at a non-ACC game here since 1994 -- didn't care that the foe was a FCS member.

This particular FCS institution won the NCAA title in 2005, which means Duke didn't have much room for overconfidence. They'd have to settle for exuberance, which an eager student section gave them in bunches.

Shortly after the delay began, Cutcliffe emerged from the tunnel, ran across the field and applauded the students for their attendance. Given the circumstances, the gesture may have also been a plea for patience.

Only the seniors had ever seen their team win on this field, and how many of them could there have been in the house for the win over VMI on Sept. 17, 2005? The total attendance that day was announced at 10,126.

"I've never had this crowd, this feeling in the air," senior defensive end Greg Akinyibi said. "It's like Christmas."

There's a lot more zeal around this place now. Much of it stems from the hiring of Cutcliffe, who earned his stripes as tutor to two Manning brothers and brings the most impressive college coaching resume of any Duke football hire since the stadium's eventual namesake shocked Alabama to come here in 1931. (Steve Spurrier won an ACC title at Duke in 1989, but his previous head coaching experience consisted of a tenure in the USFL. )

Cutcliffe did something implausible by managing a winning record at Mississippi, and it's hard to figure out which turned more heads: the bizarre decision to dismiss him in Oxford in 2004 or Duke's ability to lure him from a relatively cushy gig as the offensive coordinator at Tennessee last December.

How big a deal is the new guy? He walked on and off the field with a coterie of three security personnel -- an obligatory status symbol in the SEC that has seldom been required in this state. He ushered in a change of uniforms that makes the Devils look suspiciously like Peyton Manning's Indianapolis Colts.

Contact Rob Daniels at 373-7028 or rob.daniels@news-record.com

James Madison 7 0 0 0 -- 7

Duke 7 7 17 0 -- 31

Duke--Harris 1 run (Maggio kick)

JMU--Landers 47 run (Stannard kick)

Duke--Riley 7 pass from Lewis (Maggio kick)

Duke--Harris 1 run (Maggio kick)

Duke--Riley 20 pass from Lewis (Maggio kick)

Duke--FG Maggio 27

A--32,571.

JMU Duke

First downs 13 24

Rushes-yards 37-188 48-218

Passing 51 146

Comp-Att-Int 4-11-1 18-31-0

Return Yards 7 67

Punts-Avg. 5-38.0 4-53.5

Fumbles-Lost 3-2 3-2

Penalties-Yards 6-60 3-40

Time of Possession 24:41 35:19

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--James Madison, Landers 16-96, Holloman 13-55, Dudzik 3-25, Yancey 5-12. Duke, Harris 17-95, Hollingsworth 15-46, Jackson 9-31, Lewis 5-28, Z.Asack 2-12, Chestnut 0-6.

PASSING--James Madison, Landers 4-9-1-51, Dudzik 0-2-0-0. Duke, Lewis 17-28-0-141, Z.Asack 1-3-0-5.

RECEIVING--James Madison, Caussin 2-28, McCarter 1-12, Long 1-11. Duke, Riley 7-67, J.Williams 2-19, Harris 2-13, Kelly 1-15, Bell 1-13, Huffman 1-7, Wood 1-6, Chestnut 1-4, T.Robinson 1-2, Jackson 1-0.