Duke insists it's making progress despite lack of victories

DURHAM, N.C. - Duke has to use alternative methods to track its progress. The Blue Devils certainly can&#39;t measure it by wins.<br> <br> They haven&#39;t beaten a Division I-A team in two years, and they have the nation&#39;s longest active losing streak at 18 games entering this week&#39;s game at No. 18 Georgia Tech. Yet they insist they&#39;re a better team than they were a season ago.<br> <br> ``Defensively, I think we&#39;re much better at this point in the season. Offensively, everybody&#39;s getting better,&#39;&#39; safety Chris Davis said Monday. ``You can still call us young the majority of our receivers are sophomores. Offensive line, all sophomores. ... Our quarterback is a freshman. Some people might say that&#39;s an excuse. I&#39;m definitely not using it as an excuse. But it&#39;s the facts.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Duke (0-10, 0-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) hasn&#39;t won a game since beating I-AA VMI last season and its last win over a I-A team came against Clemson on Nov. 13, 2004.<br> <br> The Blue Devils are one of two winless major-college programs, and the other Florida International is better known for its involvement in an ugly fight against Miami. No other team in I-A has a losing streak even half as long as Duke&#39;s.<br> <br> Since the victories haven&#39;t been there, Duke has had to settle for close calls and improvement on the stat sheet.<br> <br> Two games came down to the final play. Wake Forest&#39;s surprising season may never have gotten going had the Demon Deacons not blocked a Duke field goal attempt on the last play of their 14-13 victory, and Miami needed a final-seconds interception at the goal line to preserve a 20-15 win over the Blue Devils.<br> <br> ``We look back, and we&#39;re one kick away, one play away, from beating them,&#39;&#39; Davis said. ``I don&#39;t know what the future holds, but I&#39;ve definitely wondered that. All we can do is live in the now. ... That moment is gone. We missed out on that opportunity, and now all we have to look forward to is the next practice, the next game.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The Blue Devils also say they&#39;ve gotten better at rushing the football, a statistic nearly every coach considers critical for success. Duke averaged 37.5 yards rushing in its first four games and more than 148 in its past four an improvement coach Ted Roof attributes to an offensive line that starts three sophomores and two juniors, and finally appears to be growing up.<br> <br> ``I think you&#39;ve got to start with the big E-word experience,&#39;&#39; Roof said. ``They&#39;ve stuck with it, and I think they&#39;ve gotten better. That&#39;s evident by the statistics ... and they&#39;ll all be back next year. That curve should continue to go up. Just playing together, some of them are playing together for the first time, and it was a big deal, because there was some ability there. They&#39;ve been fighting hard, and I think they&#39;ve gained confidence.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> One thing the Blue Devils aren&#39;t doing, Davis insisted, is quitting on another lost season.<br> <br> ``We look at the film, guys running, diving everywhere, going full speed for the ball,&#39;&#39; Davis said. ``You can&#39;t wake up at 6:30 (a.m.) if you don&#39;t love it.&#39;&#39;

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