After much-needed break, Brice, Duke hope to clean up offense and limit turnovers
Few would argue that Duke needed a break from playing games last weekend, what with its turnover-plagued offense struggling through the first six games.
Duke has averaged 21.3 points per game during its 1-5 start to the season and, considering underlying statistics like turnovers and red-zone scoring percentages, the Blue Devils are fortunate to have scored that much.
Entering Saturday’s 7 p.m. nonconference game with Charlotte at Wallace Wade Stadium, Duke has turned the ball over 22 times compared to benefiting from only 11 turnovers by its opponents.
That minus-11 margin leaves the Blue Devils last among the 101 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in the country that played a game this season.
Seeing his team turn the ball over twice as many times as its opponents has left Duke coach David Cutcliffe, who took over play-calling duties this season, stunned.
“We can’t turn the ball over like that and be a winning football team,” Cutcliffe said. “Twenty-two turnovers in six games; we’re minus two. I’ve never — I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of a team minus two in turnover ratio.”
The only other team to match Duke’s 12 thrown interceptions is Mississippi State.
When Duke has moved the ball to the opponents’ 20-yard line or closer, the offense has still struggled to come away with points. In 21 red-zone possessions, Duke has scored eight touchdowns, kicked seven field goals and failed to score six times.
By scoring only 71.43% of the time, Duke is No. 81 nationally. By scoring touchdowns only 38.1% of the time, Duke is No. 93.
Those ugly results gave Cutcliffe and the Blue Devils plenty to work on during their open week last week.
“You take those two things,” Cutcliffe said, “when you take possessions away, then you’re not getting the ball in the end zone in red-zone opportunities. Your point production is going to be poor. So, you look at the cause, you see what the effects are. Then you attack it, and you have to let the players feel those effects, those positive effects on the practice field. We really tried to focus on that offensively.”
Chase Brice arrived as a graduate transfer from Clemson this year to take over as Duke’s quarterback. Having played behind all-American Trevor Lawrence the past two seasons, Brice sought playing time to showcase his skills.
So far, things have not worked out like he, Cutcliffe or Duke’s fans had hoped.
While completing only 54.9% of his passes, Brice has thrown 11 interceptions with six touchdowns.
Brice showed a glimmer of improvement in Duke’s most recent game, a 31-20 loss at N.C. State. He completed 60 percent of his passes that day, his best performance in that category this season. But that statistic was rightfully overshadowed by his three interceptions.
Having two weeks between games gave Brice and Cutcliffe a chance to examine all that has gone wrong and try to fix it.
“I’m really focused in on accuracy, you know,” Brice said, “and my footwork and timing plays, footwork-wise with my throws, and, working on my thinking, and just those things that you kind of take for granted.”
Cutcliffe said helping Brice learn how to read defenses better should help cut down on turnovers.
“I think he utilized the time really, really well,” Cutcliffe said. “I think finding a way to get him more comfortable in our system is still a big part of whether we’re going to be successful or not and that’s the job that I’ve got to do.”
Brice made it clear Duke doesn’t plan on getting conservative in the passing game in its attempt to curb turnovers.
“Stick to my aggressive play, having faith in our receivers and you know, putting the football right where I need to put in,” Brice said, “but also just being smarter about it.”
This story was originally published October 29, 2020 at 5:10 PM with the headline "After much-needed break, Brice, Duke hope to clean up offense and limit turnovers."