It was a sad sight to see.
At Wallace Wade Stadium Saturday night, Duke did nothing to suggest that this season would be anything different from 2005. In fact, judging from the team's first game, it might be worse.
"We were [playing] uphill the whole time," sophomore linebacker Michael Tauiliili said.
Against Division I-AA Richmond, that should not have been the case. Duke's defeat to the Spiders was the Blue Devils' first loss to a I-AA opponent since the designation came into existence 28 years ago. I-AA teams are only permitted to offer 63 scholarships, as opposed to Duke, which has 85 available.
In the 13-0 loss, the Blue Devils struggled to move the ball on offense, especially on the ground. Duke's running backs combined for 54 yards on 17 carries, although starter Justin Boyle and "Devil" back Ronnie Drummer were lost in the first half to injury.
"We're very disappointed," head coach Ted Roof said. "We weren't counting on losing two of our kids who we center things around, but that's no excuse. It's just part of football."
Disappointment was the theme of the postgame press conference, as both the players and Roof alike lamented the missed opportunities that ultimately led to the defeat.
Despite the fact that Roof preached to his players all week that Richmond was a good team, Tauiliili hinted that some of his teammates may have taken the Spiders lightly.
"Maybe some of the guys eased up a little bit," he said. "They are a good team, but a lot of guys expected to win."
On the third series of the contest, Roof inserted freshman quarterback Thaddeus Lewis into the game, replacing starter Marcus Jones. Although Roof had planned on this substitution prior to the start of the game, Lewis' playing time for the rest of the night was previously undetermined.
With Jones unable to move the offense, Roof played Lewis virtually the entire second half. The freshman was off target on some of his passes, but overall he did a nice job running the offense.
Even so, Duke did nothing to help the defense, failing to score twice in the red zone in the game's final three minutes and coming up short numerous times on third down throughout the contest.
"It's very frustrating," Lewis said. "That's just something we have to go back and work on."
The defense gave a solid effort overall, holding Richmond to only 225 yards on offense. Tauiliili, however, was not so quick to put the blame squarely on the offense.
"It's on us just as much as it's on [the offense]," Tauiliili said. "If we stop [Richmond] from scoring the entire game, we did our part. If they score, it's on us."
The Blue Devils were visibly upset after the loss. Many of the players walked off the field with their heads down, looking as if they knew another tough season was on the horizon.
"It hits you in the heart," Roof said.
Next Saturday, Duke travels to Winston-Salem, N.C. to take on Wake Forest in the ACC opener for both teams. Boyle and Drummer's status are uncertain at this time, but one things is clear-that the Blue Devils will need to put forth a better effort if they expect even to be competitive.
"It's a wake up call," Tauiliili said. "Now we know we need to come to play regardless of who it is-Division I, I-AA, or ACC team. That's how I look at it-as a wake up call. Guys gotta ask themselves, did I go 100 percent?"
Duke better get that wake up call early. Or it'll be a long season.
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