By BRYAN STRICKLAND

bstrickland@heraldsun.com; 419-6671

DURHAM -- A reporter asked Duke coach David Cutcliffe earlier in the week whether he had mentioned the Blue Devils' 11-game losing streak against N.C. State to his team heading into today's trip to Carter-Finley Stadium (4 p.m., ESPNU).

"We're at a point where if we focused on that particular area too much every week, it would probably depress us all," Cutcliffe said. "We're behind in a lot of series in recent times."

Nowhere has that reality been more painful than close to home, where even in its darkest days the Duke program has acquitted itself well -- everywhere except in the win column.

Seven of Duke's 11 losses to the Wolfpack have been by no more than a touchdown. The Blue Devils also carry a nine-game losing streak against Wake Forest that includes six losses by a touchdown.

Then there's the North Carolina series. Duke has dropped 18 of the past 19 meetings, even though six of the most recent seven have come down to the final possession.

"Coming close over and over and over," Cutcliffe said, "really doesn't do anything for you in the long term."

So Cutcliffe, while as focused as possible on today's game, also is focused on the long-term, on figuring out how to go beyond snapping a losing streak in a series only to have an opponent start another one.

For starters, he's winning more and more battles locally that don't show up in the win-loss record -- at least not directly. Cutcliffe and his coaching staff are making serious in-roads when it comes to recruiting the state of North Carolina.

Duke has nine true freshmen who played high school football in-state and have verbal commitments from eight more for the class of 2010. By contrast, the four recruiting classes before Cutcliffe arrived totaled 10 in-state commitments.

In addition, every day spent with Duke's current players includes some form of emphasis on the future.

"It's important to keep that in mind, the big picture as far as our program moving in the right direction," Cutcliffe said. "My goal is to always win the ballgame and prepare well, but my larger goal is getting better. We got better against Virginia Tech -- physically better -- and we needed to pick that up on Tuesday and Wednesday and take another step. I believe in my heart that we did that.

"All that does is give you a chance. You've got to go play and execute, but in the fundamentals of the game and competing and playing -- just one-on-one football -- we're getting better."

The future almost always is on Cutcliffe's mind, with one obvious exception -- the three-plus hours today when the Blue Devils will be all about trying to find a way to finally beat N.C. State.

"Every game is a big game for us," Duke wide receiver Austin Kelly said, "but when you get somebody right down the street, you definitely want the bragging rights."