ANNAPOLIS, Md. - According to a Naval Academy tradition, midshipmen watching Navy football games from the stands must perform pushups-as many as their team has points-every time the Mids score. During Saturday's game against Duke, midshipmen at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium had to do 347 pushups-a decent workout, even for one enlisted in the military.
Although most statistics show Navy with an advantage-the Midshipmen outgained the Blue Devils, 478-379, in total yards and picked up 21 first downs to Duke's 19-the Mids' edge appears somewhat slight. A closer look, however, reveals that in turnovers, a category that usually distinguishes fundamentally sound teams from ragged ones, Navy overwhelmed Duke, recording seven takeaways to the Blue Devils' one.
"We've just got to be a lot tougher and worry about not turning the football over," Duke head coach Fred Goldsmith said after Saturday's 64-27 loss. "I think I counted about 36 points that we gave away this afternoon between turnovers and [mistakes]. I'm extremely disappointed that as I see us improving in phases of our offense and defense... we just give points and give the ball away."
Duke's players and coaches can find several reasons for their club's disappointing 0-5 start, a streak in which opponents have outscored the Blue Devils, 229-86. Duke has been outrushed by an average of 164 yards per game, has allowed twice as many sacks as it has registered and has converted just 35 percent of third-down plays, compared with its opponents' 50 percent mark.
But if the Blue Devils want a single, sure-fire answer for their abysmal showing, they need only to point to one category-turnover margin. The Blue Devils have turned the ball over 19 times while picking up only six takeaways. Their minus-13 turnover differential would put them among the nation's worst at the end of an 11-game season; only five games into the year, it's almost unheard of.
"We're getting better in a lot of areas offensively and defensively, but you can't turn around and give away gobs of points and make it easy on the opponent," Goldsmith said. "All our opponents are too good for that."
In 1994, the year in which Duke finished 8-4 and earned a Hall of Fame Bowl berth, it ranked second nationally with a plus-16 turnover margin. The 1994 Blue Devils were nothing special in yardage categories-49th out of 107 Division I-A teams in total offense and 68th in total defense-and actually gained fewer yards (373.1 per game) than their opponents (382.5). However, their ability to force turnovers while committing few propelled them to the top tier of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Similarly, Northwestern-like Duke, a traditional football weakling and an outstanding academic university-rode the turnover wagon to success last year. The 1995 Wildcats' plus-20 margin, which placed them third in America, led them to the Big 10 championship.
A school with high academic standards cannot afford a football team full of poor students, no matter the skill level of the athletes. Hence, to compete with the top programs in the country, teams like Duke and Northwestern-which maintain strict academic standards for their athletes-must excel fundamentally.
Football observers agree almost unanimously that turnovers and penalties measure a team's fundamentals and its concentration level better than almost anything else. In short, smart teams don't commit turnovers or penalties.
Duke has performed admirably in the penalty department this season, committing just 15 against its opponents' 39. However, by turning over the ball nearly four times per game, the Blue Devils have-excuse the pun-fumbled away their season.
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