Mike Elko talks about his struggling football team going into regular-season finale

Back to the basics

When things aren’t going well, get back to the basics.

Mike Elko agrees with the premise.

“The biggest thing you got to do as a coach is you got to get back to the basic fundamentals,” he told the media Monday. “You’ve got to get back to the things that your kids are most comfortable with and then try to put them in positions to go out and execute at a high level.”

So, what’s not going well?

Offense, perhaps.

“Offensively, when you look at the some of the game, it boils down to a handful of third and ones that we don't convert and keep drives alive, a second-and-one that we take a sack that kills a drive and two turnovers and that's five out of out of 12 drives that end in situations that they probably aren't ready to end and so, you know, it's disappointing.”

Sure, but the defense is still okay, right?

“If you just look at at Saturday, there was a couple of times where we really got out of our lanes and zone drops and created huge voids. The first touchdown to Malik Washington, that was the case; the third and 12 that they converted at the start of the second half, that was the case.

“In the second half, if you look at the big touchdown pass, they threw you know, that was obviously a one on one jump ball. That got out of the kid's [Anthony Colandrea] hand pretty quick and their kid [Malachi Fields] just made a play and we didn't do a great job locating and getting the ball on the ground which we’ve been better at. Then I think it's times where we could be better at rushing the passer and disrupting the quarterback.”

Stopping the run?

“We really struggled with angles and leverage and missed tackles, which has certainly not been something that's been a problem for us this year.”

Is that all?

“We played our worst special teams game across the board. We didn't do a really good job there.”

Yikes. Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play.

Elko implied that his team was tired, maybe more mentally that physically.

“It has been a gauntlet of a schedule, right? And when that happens, I think sometimes there's a wear and tear that you have to learn how to play through. I think that's kind of what we've talked to the guys about.

“I think there's been some emotional roller coasters this year, that that maybe these kids are having to experience for the first time, to be a team that's talked about as a top 25 team and then not a top 25 team and then to go from a big stage to a lesser stage, still getting everyone's best every shot along the way. All of that is a piece of us having to learn how to do a championship-level program and so we haven't always handled it the right way.”

Elko called it a “multi-layered problem,” which is not really where you want your team to be at this deep in the season. But the stopwatch doesn’t lie, as we used to say back in the day and the stopwatch says that Duke has lost four of its last five games and its once lofty goals have shifted to sending the seniors off with a win that would guarantee a winning season.

So, once more until the fray, at least until a bowl game at a time and place to be determined, against an opponent also to be determined. Elko said 37 players will be walking as seniors Saturday against Pitt, while cautioning that he doesn’t know what that actually means in today’s game.  

I’ll be back later in the week if I’m not zapped out on turkey and talk more about that game and what Duke needs to do to come out on top.