Playing one of the most acclaimed special teams in the nation, Duke could not afford to make any mistakes against the Hokies.
But at the end of the game, when the box score showed that only two of the Virginia Tech's eight scoring drives spanned more than 50 yards, the Blue Devils knew that their numerous mistakes on special teams contributed to a shorter field and pushed the game out of reach.
Known for its impact plays on special teams, Virginia Tech lived up to its reputation Saturday and capitalized on a variety of Duke mistakes on both kickoffs and punts, giving the Hokies yet another runaway win over Duke.
The Blue Devils' special teams nightmares began quickly, as kick returner Jabari Marshall lost the first of two fumbles seven minutes into the first quarter. At that point, Duke trailed only 6-0 despite going three-and-out on each of their first two possessions. Virginia Tech kicker Jud Dunlevy kicked the ball short to the Blue Devils' 12-yard line. Marshall ran up quickly to field the ball, but instead of catching it on the run, he let it bounce off his chest, and Hokie Dorian Porch picked up the ball off the second bounce. Virginia Tech would score on a 19-yard touchdown on a skinny post to wide receiver Josh Morgan three plays later.
"You can't have fumbles like that in our territory," defensive tackle Vince Oghobaase said. "They capitalized on all those times they were moving down in our territory."
Marshall also fumbled on a kick return midway through the third quarter with the score at 34-7. Although the Hokies did not convert on the ensuing drive because of a failed fourth-down attempt, the coaching staff had seen enough of Marshall, who was benched for the remainder of the game.
"That's unacceptable and if you look back on the course of the season he's done it a couple of times before," head coach Ted Roof said. "There's two choices-either work and get better or replace him."
Roof also mentioned that Chris Davis and Ronnie Drummer have returned kickoffs for touchdowns in their careers, and with Drummer replacing Marshall after the second fumble, it appears the kick return job is up for grabs. Roof, however, said Marshall is still in the mix for the position.
To say that the kick return unit cost Duke the contest, though, would ignore the team's woes in the punting game. One four-minute stretch midway through the second quarter exemplified Duke's plights for the day.
Virginia Tech running back Kenny Lewis had just run straight up the gut for a five-yard touchdown to put his team up 20-7 with 9:25 left. After Duke went three-and-out, Kevin Jones came onto the field to punt from his own 25-yard line. His kick appeared to go off the side of his foot, and the ball went a meager 23 yards and landed out of bounds.
It took all of four plays and just over a minute for the Hokies to take advantage of the shortened field, as quarterback Sean Glennon lofted a perfect pass to the back of the end zone for wide receiver Eddie Royal, who had easily beaten his defender on the corner route.
The next series, Duke went three-and-out again, and the ensuing punt was even more disastrous than the last. Virginia Tech stacked the left side of the line with multiple defenders, drawing gunner Eron Riley in for blocking help. It did not matter, however, as cornerback Stephan Virgil came off that same side untouched and blocked Jones' punt.
Even then, the Blue Devils could not catch a break. Instead of the ball going into the back of the Duke end zone for a safety and the chance to stop Virginia Tech with much better field position, the ball went out of bounds at the Blue Devil 2-yard line, where the Hokies would score on a bruising rush by running back Branden Ore one play later with 5:42 left.
"Anytime you average 31 yards a punt, that's not a good day," Roof said. "It was a classic example of field position...whether it was from a short punt, a turnover, a fumble or a blocked punt."
Nevertheless, in a game in which only two Virginia Tech scoring drives went longer than 50 yards, Duke knows that making those kinds of miscues on special teams-especially ones that can shorten the field for the opposing team-can make it almost impossible to win.
"They're good enough as it is without helping them," Roof said of the Hokies. "I sensed us making mistakes against a good football team and paying dearly for them."
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