The last time the Blue Devils scored first at home was in last season's down-to-the-wire, 28-21 loss to Navy.
This time around, Duke (0-8) hopes to get off to a similar start but end up with a different result-winning and snapping the nation's longest losing streak of 16 games against Navy (5-3) at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Falling behind early has plagued the Blue Devils at home all season. In most of Duke's matchups, the team has relied on scoring surges in the fourth quarter just to stay close.
Jumping out to an early lead will not be any easier when Duke goes up against Navy's triple option-which has helped the Midshipmen get on the scoreboard first in more than half their games this season.
"We spent a lot of time in practice working on that," head coach Ted Roof said about going against the triple option. "Everybody they play in the first quarter gets chopped, and you see guys on defense on the ground in the first quarter. It usually takes a quarter to adjust-you like to think that we'll stay on our feet early."
In the triple option, the quarterback bears the majority of the responsibility for every play. Jarod Bryant will guide the Navy offense against Duke. Based on how the Blue Devil defense reacts, Bryant makes one of three choices in the triple option every play.
One, give the ball to one of the running backs for a dive up the middle.
Two, pitch it to another running back trailing behind him.
Or three, keep the ball and make something happen on his own.
While a mess of action is going on in the backfield, the Navy offensive lineman will try to dive down and block the Duke defenders at their legs-as opposed to the more traditional style of blocking the defender above his waist.
The Navy offensive style poses problems for the Blue Devils because it is unlike anything they have seen all year.
"When you play the triple option, number one, they make you defend the entire width of the field," Roof said. "They make you have to be extremely disciplined and assignment conscience, make sure to take care of the dive, take care of the quarterback phase and take care of the pitch phase of the option."
If the Blue Devils hope to go ahead early against the Midshipmen, they will have to adjust quickly to the different style. In order to get his team ready, Roof has spent the week preaching to his team about the importance of technique and assignments, he said.
"Sometimes when you make a mistake on the play on defense you don't get exposed, but against the triple option, they read it and take advantage of it," Roof said.
Even though Navy is the number two Division I rushing offense with 310.9 yards per game, the Midshipmen suffered a devastating loss when starting quarterback Brian Hampton sustained a season-ending knee injury against Rutgers two games ago.
At the time, Navy led the nation in rushing with 350.5 yards per game. After the Midshipmen lost Hampton, that average dropped significantly when Rutgers held Navy to 113 yards. Then a week later, the Midshipmen posted 271 yards rushing in a 38-14 loss to Notre Dame.
Not only did the Fighting Irish take advantage of Navy's weakened running game, but they also showed that Navy's defense is susceptible to giving up points early. Notre Dame scored on its first five possessions to take a 31-14 lead.
If the Blue Devils can find a way to limit the run and get up on Navy early, then they could avenge their loss from a season ago, and more importantly, end the longest losing streak in the NCAA.
"Our day is coming soon," offensive lineman Cameron Goldberg said. "As you can see, we are really close, and we are working as hard as as we can. It's going to come. It's not going to be like this forever."
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