Saying that he was "mad in general," though not "mad at [the team]," head football coach Carl Franks expressed regret Monday over missed opportunities in the 26-21 loss to Northwestern.
Franks also announced that sophomore quarterback Adam Smith would start the game next week against Florida State--the first time the starting quarterback has been named before kickoff this season.
Duke also has injuries to worry about, with star running back Chris Douglas reaggravating his ankle in the Northwestern game. The Blue Devils' leading rusher last season has been slowed all season by the pain, and Franks said he is considering letting Douglas sit-out the Florida State game to hopefully improve the lingering ailment.
However, the No. 1 complaint by Franks about the Northwestern game was the lack of offensive efficiency. Franks said he felt the team should have scored 35 points at a minimum.
"We stopped ourselves many more times than Northwestern stopped us," he said. "The way that I calculated it, they had a better defense than we had an offensive play about three times."
Franks hinted that Smith may have separated himself from fellow sophomore quarterback Chris Dapolito in their rivalry for playing time. Dapolito fumbled his first snap and threw an ill-timed interception, while Smith played his best football of the season for the first three quarters. Despite Smith's letdown in the fourth quarter, Franks said he is happy with his development.
"He hit some passes, handed the ball off well, and made some good decisions," Franks said. "I thought he played very, very well through the first three quarters of the game. He gave us the best chance on that day."
Dapolito's chances are not over, however, as Franks still plans on playing him in every game, fearing an injury to Smith would devastate the season. Franks said he feels that to discontinue the development for Dapolito would be a mistake.
"We got some things in our offense that Chris can do very effectively," Franks said.
Franks praised his quarterbacks for the most part, offering alternate solutions to problems normally blamed on quarterbacks. For the two interceptions, Franks felt the receivers were at fault, and for the lack of offensive rhythm, Franks held the snappers responsible.
Franks thought his team played well on the defensive end for the most part, but gave up too many big plays. On 64 of their 74 defensive plays, the Blue Devils gave up only 168 yards. But on the remaining 10 plays, Duke gave up 262 yards.
"The game came down to big plays we gave up defensively and turnovers we committed on offense," Franks said. "It was tough watching that tape, because that's a game we should have won. This team wasn't better than us."
The "big play issue" could prove to be an even bigger problem against Florida State, a team known for its break-away talent.
"What we've got to do to stop big plays is to make sure we're taking care of the right gaps, and getting the right calls. In the secondary we have to make sure our eyes are on the right spot," he said
Despite its 1-2 record, Franks believes the team is playing much better than a season ago. He credits an improved running game, an improved turnover margin--second in the ACC--and defense as the main factors for the progress.
"There has been a great deal of improvement," Franks said. "I guess we've improved to the point where its hard to accept that we lost that game [against Northwestern], which is to me a good thing. Our expectation level is higher than it's been in a long time."
Monday's press conference did have a positive note for the Blue Devils with the announcement of special teams coach Denny Creehan's successful prostate cancer surgery. He is expected to make a speedy recovery.
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