It's another Monday, so football coach Fred Goldsmith must be once again mulling over who to start at quarterback, right? Well, for once, Goldsmith's decision has been made for him.
Redshirt freshman Spencer Romine, who started in Saturday's 29-20 loss at Clemson, is out for the remainder of the season with a broken foot, suffered midway through the second quarter. Romine was 8-of-15 for 110 yards passing before going down with the injury.
"I feel bad for him because he was really starting to come along and do an excellent job for us," Goldsmith said at his Monday afternoon press conference. "Spencer Romine had practiced very, very well and really was getting an excellent feel for our passing game, and it's very obvious to see the running ability that he has."
Romine finished the season 34-for-65 for 432 yards passing with three touchdowns and three interceptions. The redshirt freshman also ran for 71 yards in six games. Romine started four games for the Blue Devils this year and finished two, both Duke wins.
"He made tremendous progress," said Goldsmith of Romine, who played quarterback for only one year in high school and sat out last season after undergoing knee surgery. "He did a heck of a job for us; there's no question about that. I think he's got a very bright future."
With Romine out, Bobby Campbell resumes his role as the starter. Campbell started Duke's first two games, was sidelined by a knee injury at Northwestern and returned to the starting role after Romine was injured at Maryland. The redshirt freshman completed just 10-of-25 passes for 99 yards in relief of Romine in Death Valley on Saturday.
"Bobby came in there and had some good success throwing the football early," Goldsmith said. "I told him now he's got to guarantee me he's going to stay healthy."
By Monday afternoon, Goldsmith and the Blue Devils were still feeling the sting of the overtime loss. Unlike during last year's 0-11 debacle, many of Duke's games this year could have swung the other way if just one or two fourth-quarter plays had gone the Blue Devils' way.
"We just haven't quite been able to get the job done," Goldsmith said. "I don't think there's any guru-ish psychology to that, it's just a matter of execution."
Duke (2-7, 0-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) doesn't have time to contemplate the Clemson loss, however, as it wraps up its home slate this Saturday at 1:30 p.m. against Georgia Tech (4-4, 3-3 in the ACC). The Yellow Jackets are coming off a similarly disappointing loss, a 35-31 decision on the road at Virginia.
"The team that feels least sorry for themselves is going to bounce back," Goldsmith said.
Duke's loss at Clemson did have a positive side, as sophomore Sims Lenhardt hit his 14th and 15th field goals of the season, tying him with Doug Peterson for the Blue Devils' single-season record. While Goldsmith praised Lenhardt's performance this season, he has little interest in seeing Lenhardt shatter the record.
"I love Sims Lenhardt, but he's been playing too much," Goldsmith said. "He's getting way too many opportunities to kick field goals. We've just got to score some touchdowns. When we get breaks, when we get field position, when we start scoring more touchdowns than we do field goals, that is when we're going to take the kind of leads... that won't be overcome."
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