After last week's 30-9 drubbing at the hands of Navy, the football team faces many questions about its offensive ability.
Senior placekicker Tom Cochran scored all of the Blue Devils' points against the Midshipmen. Even though the offense managed to get inside the Navy 20-yard line four times last Saturday, it could not come through with a touchdown.
"We were supposed to win that game," junior flanker Marc Wilson said. "We didn't score a touchdown, which upset me. Three field goals won't win you a game."
Although the loss to Navy is the most disturbing of Duke's losses this season, the Blue Devils have faced inconsistency in their offensive abilities most of this season. During the Army game in the third week of the season, the team escaped with a 23-21 win after a last-second field goal by Cochran. And in the last four minutes of their game against Maryland, the Blue Devils handed the ball back to the Terrapins on loss of downs--twice.
"We all worked hard this summer, but come game time some people just thought it was going to fall into place," Wilson said. "Our confidence has been depleted somewhat, but people do still think we can win."
Duke (2-3, 0-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) needs to correct its offensive woes quickly because it squares off against an improving Georgia Tech team this weekend. Tech held the explosive Maryland offense to a single field goal in a 31-3 Thursday-night win last week.
"We just have to execute on offense," Wilson said. "I don't think it's going to be a problem . . . We just have to get the fundamentals right."
A much-needed part of the Duke offense that has been missing for most of this season is the deep pass. Senior quarterback Spence Fischer's longest completion of the year was a 44-yard toss late in the third quarter against Florida State. But the Blue Devils' offense has mainly consisted of short passes to advance down the field.
"We could make it a lot easier on [Fischer]," head coach Fred Goldsmith said. "Right now, when you throw the ball as much as we've had to throw it the past several weeks, it puts way, way too much pressure on one person out there. I think that's what's happened to [Fischer]."
Sophomore wide receiver Corey Thomas--a primary target for many of Fischer's deep passes last year--has been hampered most of the season with a toe injury. As a result, opponents haven't been overly concerned about the possibility of a deep pass from Fischer.
"It doesn't seem like, from a receiver standpoint, the cornerbacks are respecting the deep ball," Wilson said. "They don't respect our receivers--they don't think we're going to throw it deep because we haven't been.
"I don't think it's because we don't have the ability to go deep, I definitely think we do. It's just that our offense has been performing rather inconsistently."
The Blue Devils have even completed a few long plays this season--rushing and passing the football--only to have them called back due to penalties. Duke has been slapped with 37 penalties for 339 yards this year.
"We moved the ball quite well, but there was inconsistency with the penalties stopping things here or there," Goldsmith said of the offense against Navy. "I would have liked to have thought we would have continued to improve and do much better."
"It doesn't seem like the personnel is the problem," Wilson said. "I just think it's the little things--the fundamentals, the executing, mental breakdowns. Dumb penalties on offense are big problems for us."
The team needs to get those mental problems solved quickly, with the remainder of its games against ACC opponents. At this point in the season, the Blue Devils can no longer afford to take any wins for granted.
"We can't let the season get away from us," Wilson said. "We've got to play every week. They're all good teams. We can't take anyone for granted. This game is a test. It could make or break the rest of our season."
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