Three months ago, I stood on a practice field behind Wallace Wade Stadium, talking to senior linebacker Jamyon Small about Duke's objectives for the upcoming football season.
"We want to go to a bowl game, we want to protect our home field, we want to play well against our in-state rivals," Small said. "Those are some of our main goals."
If these are the criteria by which the Blue Devils are to be judged, then a look back at the Carl Franks era can yield only one conclusion: If Duke falls to UNC Saturday, then Franks' stint as head coach needs to end, and end immediately.
One game short of completing his fourth season, Franks has protected his home field twice, while opponents have left Wallace Wade victorious the other 19 times. In 14 matchups against other teams from North Carolina, Franks has won two. As for going to bowl games, let's just say that the Blue Devils have fallen a bit short.
There are a million excuses and justifications that can be offered to explain why Franks is 5-39 as Duke's head coach, from inexperienced players to tough academic standards for recruiting to a lack of fan support.
But if Duke's on-field talent may not rival that of other ACC schools, Franks is largely to blame. Convincing players to come to Duke may be difficult, but any success that Franks has made in this area has been offset by his inability to keep his most talented athletes. Under Franks's watch, wide receiver Richmond Flowers, tight end Ben Watson and linebacker Todd DeLamielleure have all transferred, while quarterback D. Bryant left school after being declared academically ineligible.
Some defend Franks by insisting that Duke has simply been the victim of bad luck, dropping a number of close games that could have gone either way. During Franks's tenure Duke has been involved in 14 games decided by a margin of 10 points or less, posting a record of 3-11. Some call it fate, but others more accurately describe this statistic as depicting Franks' inability to pull out tough victories. This season, Duke blew a 14-point fourth quarter lead by giving up three touchdowns to Clemson in a span of just over four minutes. Clemson wins, 34-31.
Last season, Duke spotted Wake Forest a 28-0 halftime lead, and then fell short in its comeback attempt, losing 42-35. Senior defensive end Charles Porter summed up everyone's thoughts, wondering, "Why can't we play two halves of football?"
On the flip side, however, against Wake the Blue Devils did put together one half of solid football. This season, against Maryland, Duke didn't even do that. After the Terps raced out to a 31-0 halftime lead, Duke came out for the second half looking to turn the tide. Instead, they allowed the Terps to score in less than two minutes. Maryland wins, 45-12.
Following the game, quarterback Adam Smith stated the obvious. "Sometimes it just seems like not everybody has their mind and their heart 100 percent into it," he said.
Throughout the Franks regime, the players have time and again insisted that they go out onto the field and put forth their best effort in every single game, leading fans to believe that Franks was somehow holding the team together despite the tough times. Following the Maryland game, such assurances are now met with skepticism.
Franks has one game left to show that he can still motivate his troops. The Blue Devils have lost 24 consecutive ACC games and have not beaten the Tar Heels since 1989. Both teams head into Saturday with 2-9 records. Both are winless in ACC play. The Blue Devils need to win this game, and if they don't, their head coach needs to go.
Evan Davis is a Trinity senior and senior associate sports editor. His column appears every Wednesday.
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