Pirates loss sinks Devils

Duke never recovers from opening setback to ECU, but there's hope for the future

With eye black smudged across his cheeks and the distinct look of a missed opportunity in his eyes, Duke linebacker Patrick Bailey tried to rationalize the Blue Devils' season-opening loss at East Carolina.

Bailey added up the turnovers, the missed tackles and the mistakes that equaled a 24-21 loss to the Pirates.

The question for the Devils was if they couldn't beat ECU, winners of three games in 2003 and 2004 combined, who could they beat?

"I don't think it's the end of the season," Bailey said that humid September afternoon in Greenville after he made a game-high 11 tackles. "I think we just need to bounce back and go full steam against Virginia Tech. Hopefully things will turn out better then."

With a gut-busting 45-0 loss to the Hokies, Bailey and Duke would have their answer. It never did get better, at least not measured by a 1-10 record and a seventh winless ACC season since 1992.

With injuries, an unforgiving schedule and their own mistakes, the Blue Devils remained in the ACC basement in 2005. Duke coach Ted Roof said he hopes the lumps taken by his younger players make them better next season.

"I don't think we're as far away as some people think," Roof said after the 24-21 season-ending loss to North Carolina. "This is a process, and nobody wants it done more than I do, but it takes time."

It's time Roof will be given, Duke athletics director Joe Alleva said. Roof went 2-3 as the interim coach in 2003 and 3-19 in the two seasons since.

"We're not excited about the won-loss record," Alleva said this week. "I do see a lot of hope on the horizon with the young kids. The only way to turn it around is by recruiting, and I see the talent level improving. I've got full confidence in Ted and his staff."

The young players were the highlight in a dreary season. Sophomore running back Justin Boyle scored nine touchdowns this season, the most by a Duke player since 1995.

Sophomore back Ronnie Drummer showed a propensity for the big play with an 81-yard touchdown run against Miami and a 100-yard kickoff return against ECU.

The freshman class produced a new quarterback, Zack Asack, who started six games, and the leading tackler, linebacker Michael Brown, who finished with 92 tackles, the most among freshmen in the country.

"We're not the same old Duke," Asack said after the UNC game. "With all the young talent we have, I'm very excited. The future looks good for us."

Counting on the future is a familiar refrain at Duke, which has had five winning seasons in the past 25. Duke had even hoped for a sixth winning season this year. But as the only ACC team to play Florida State, Miami, Virginia Tech and Virginia, Duke needed a healthy roster.

That didn't happen. The injuries started in spring practice, when top-rated recruit Vince Oghobaase, a 6-foot-6, 320-pound defensive tackle from Houston, tore knee ligaments. He underwent surgery in March and never took a snap.

The week of the ECU game, freshman defensive end Ayanga Okpokowuruk, the second-highest rated recruit, blew out a knee in practice, putting him on the shelf for the season. Duke lost four more starters to injury, further depleting a shallow depth chart.

Roof never used the injuries as an excuse, even after passing for only 8 yards against Miami on Oct. 8. Roof said: "That's not the reason we lost 52-7."

There's no shortage of blame for the 0-8 ACC record. The offense, under first-year coordinator Bill O'Brien, finished last in the conference in scoring (16.1 points per game) and total yards (248.1 per game). Before the season, O'Brien, a running backs coach at Maryland in 2004, had promised the offense wouldn't rank last in the country again.

He was right. The Devils national rating improved to 116, up from 117 in 2004, but the average yardage decreased.

The defense also ranked last in the ACC in scoring defense (37.1) and total yards (411.3).

The numbers will get better, senior safety Brian Greene said before the UNC game, when Roof gets more of his recruits in Durham.

"The coaches all know how to win," Greene said. "They've done it before."

The question is when will they win again. It won't be easy in 2006, with Virginia Tech, Miami, Florida State and Alabama on the schedule.