It is do-or-die time for the Blue Devils.
After nine wins in the first two seasons of the David Cutcliffe era, many people, including the team, thought this could be the year that Duke reached its first bowl since 1994.
Now, on the heels of losing six consecutive games after a solid showing in the season opener, the Blue Devils (1-6) will have to run the table to make the postseason. That ambitious goal starts tomorrow against Navy (5-2) at 3:30 p.m. in Annapolis, Md.
“We know that we can still go 6-6,” running back Jay Hollingsworth said. “That’s the goal for us right now and winning out isn’t out of the question.”
Duke will be facing a familiar foe in the Midshipmen—not only have the Blue Devils played Navy in five of the last six seasons, but they saw the triple option offense earlier this year against Army.
Duke was relatively successful in stopping the Black Knights’ running game, limiting the team to a respectable 3.8 yards per carry. The defense knows what it has to do to be effective Saturday.
“It’s just really up to you to step up to the challenge—be assignment sound, fundamentally sound, alignment sound,” senior linebacker Abraham Kromah said. “It’s just a matter of doing what we have to do. There’s really no magic to it.”
Duke’s defense isn’t taking any chances in its preparation for Navy, bracing itself for the possibility of senior quarterback Ricky Dobbs airing it out. In 2007, the Blue Devils were caught off guard by 21 pass attempts from the Midshipmen en route to a 46-43 Navy win. And against the Black Knights earlier this year, quarterback Trent Steelman burned Duke with two touchdown throws of over 30 yards.
“Defensively, knowing that we were hurt the last time we played an option team with a couple of big plays in the passing game, we spend a lot more time [on it],” Cutcliffe said. “We certainly respect Dobbs’s ability to throw the ball.”
In that game against Army, the Blue Devils’ offensive shortcomings were their undoing. Five Blue Devil turnovers led to 28 points for the Black Knights, and quarterback Sean Renfree was picked off on two of the first three drives, putting Duke in a 14-0 hole just over halfway into the opening period.
Turnovers have continued to plague the Blue Devils throughout the season. In each of the team’s last three defeats, Duke has lost the turnover battle, most notably giving the ball away seven times against Miami Oct. 16. Renfree, who completed 71 percent of his passes in the first two games, now leads the country in interceptions with 15 and has seen his playing time decline in favor of mobile quarterback Brandon Connette.
“There’s no good reason for it,” Cutcliffe said about the turnovers. “It’s just a lack of execution on our part.”
The Blue Devils will have to protect the ball against the Midshipmen, who rank among the country’s leaders in time of possession and frequently use all four downs to move the ball up the field, bolstered by their powerful running game.
“The thing you have to do is be disciplined,” Cutcliffe said. “You need good first-down production, and you certainly can’t turn the ball over.”
Do or die: Duke faces that particularly ghoulish task the day before Halloween—one it must accomplish in order to keep its bowl hopes alive.
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