LIVE BLOG: Duke 20, Georgia Tech 30 (FINAL)

Duke 20, Georgia Tech 30, Fourth Quarter 0:33

On the second down, Smith makes a long run, and the Yellow Jackets are given a second first down at Duke's 42. A six-yard carry brings Georgia Tech to 2nd-and-4, and they are able to deliver with a run from Peeples, who manages to weave through at least five Duke defenders before being stopped at the 25, but a 10-yard penalty puts the Yellow Jackets back at the 35 on its second down. The subsequent play brings them to another first down at the 30, followed by a 7-yard gain. Washington advances forward with another successful carry to move to Duke's 20 and another first down. He makes a three-yard run following a Duke time-out, but is charged with a 10-yard penalty, and the ball is moved back to the 27th and still a first down. The Blue Devils call one more time-out with 1:54 remaining. Anthony Allen carries the ball to the 23rd, and Washington follows that up by bringing the ball to the 22nd at 3rd-and-12.

Duke 20, Georgia Tech 30, Fourth Quarter 5:56

Duke gets the ball and starts off at the 28 yard line and proceeds to make a complete pass to Helfet, making it 2nd-and-4. Another pass to Helfet proves more fruitful, as the Blue Devils gain another first down at the Georgia Tech 42-yard line. Renfree passes to Scott, who is tackled out of bounds at the 35. One more complete pass gives Duke yet another chance to capitalize on scoring opportunities, as it is brought to the 30-yard line. And just as Renfree was getting into a good groove with steady, consistent passing, he throws an incomplete, and the Blue Devils are on their second down. A fumble on the snap, and Scott is forced out of bounds, with 3rd-and-17 at the 37. Another incomplete pass finishes yet another disappointing series for Duke, and the Blue Devils punt at the 37.

Duke 20, Georgia Tech 30, Fourth Quarter 7:37

Georgia Tech makes little progress until a long pass on the 3rd down from its own 21 yard line that leads to a 79-yard run and yet another touchdown for the Yellow Jackets. Blair proceeds to make the following extra point. It's hard to say at this point what's more impressive--the Blue Devils' inability to keep up momentum or the Yellow Jackets' ability to rally back.

Duke 20, Georgia Tech 23, Fourth Quarter 9:20

Following Duke's possession of the ball, outstanding performance from Renfree again brings Duke to a second first down at the Yellow Jackets' 25-yard line. A pass-play to Varner allows the Blue Devils to advance three yards to 2nd-and-7, and a hand off to Scott by Connette contributes a six-yard gain, bringing Duke to 3rd-and-1 on the 16. The freshman runs forward on the play, but it results in no gain. A kick from Snyderwine does not succeed, his first failed attempt that snapped his 18-kick streak.

Snead takes the ball to the 24 yard line off of the kick. Renfree delivers a complete pass to Vernon for a 15-yard gain, putting Duke at 1-and-10 at the 39. Two more mildly successful attempts, and the Blue Devils are at 3rd-and-3 at the 46. Renfree passes again to Vernon, but he is quickly tackled, though he manages to obtain another first down on Georgia Tech's 46. Renfree throws a touchdown pass to Austin Kelly, and Snyderwine follows up with another precise delivery. A personal foul is called on Georgia Tech followed by another personal foul called on Duke, so the two are offset.

Duke 13, Georgia Tech 23, Third Quarter 1:16

Washington advances nine yards on his first attempt, and the Yellow Jackets are at 2nd-and-1 at the 35. Georgia Tech continues to push forward, attaining 11 yards and another first down as the team approaches Duke's side. The Blue Devil defense is stepping up a little, stopping the Yellow Jackets at 3rd-and-2 at the 47, but Georgia Tech proves too strong and gains another first down followed by an eight-yard gain, bringing them to 2nd-and-2 at the 36. And another first down at the 34, and a quick pass to a relatively open Smith puts the Yellow Jackets at 1st-and-goal. Washington completes the series with a touchdown, but the play is under official review. And the play stands--touchdown Georgia Tech. Blair again makes a successful kick.

Duke 13, Georgia Tech 16, Third Quarter 5:18

A successful pass from Renfree to Varner brings Duke at 1st-and-10 at the 45. The next play fails, as the pass is broken up at the line of scrimmage, and the Blue Devils are at its second down. A hand off to Scott on the next run gains three yards for Duke, but being more than 50 yards from the end zone isn't helping, even as a successive three-yard gain is made on the next attempt. King goes for a punt that lands just outside of Georgia Tech's 22-yard line.

Duke 13, Georgia Tech 16, Third Quarter 7:11

Scott receives Blair's kick at Duke's 3rd-yard line and makes a steady run, but a 10-yard penalty is called, bringing the Devils to a 20-yard first down start. A gain of four yards is quickly followed by an incomplete pass by Renfree to Scott, and Duke is at 3rd-and-6. Renfree does better on the next play with a 36-yard pass-play that included a personal foul on a Yellow Jacket defender. The Blue Devils resume at 1st-and-10 at the opponents' 25 and follow that up with a no-gain play. A third attempt puts Duke at 3rd-and-6 from the 21, and a complete pass to Vernon gives the team another first down 10 from the 14. Connette comes back in for Renfree, and a hand off to Varner results in a loss of six yards.

In a surprising turn of events, with Duke closing in on the end zone, an 85-yard interception by cornerback Mario Butler results in a touchdown for the home team, followed by a successful kick by Blair.

Cutcliffe's rationale behind choosing to substitute in Connette on key plays doesn't make sense given the freshman's history (both today and last week) in failing to deliver during important moments.

Duke 13, Georgia Tech 9, Third Quarter 10:37

Snyderwine's kick brings Georgia Tech to the 5-yard line and is forced to fumble by Duke's Jordon Byas, though he manages to recover the ball. A four-yard gain on the first attempt brings the Yellow Jackets forward, and another successful play brings Georgia Tech to a first down on its own 36th. A gain of three yards followed by a great carry by Washington gives the home team another first down at Duke's 41. A 9-yard advance followed by more aggressive running by the Yellow Jackets gives them yet another first down, this time at the Blue Devils' 29, but quick defense on Duke's end pushes them back one yard, resulting in a 2nd-and-11 and a time-out by Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson. Coming off the break, the offense advances two yards and fails to gain another first down with an incomplete pass, but the opportunity is unnecessary, as Scott Blair makes a field goal. The Yellow Jackets make a 10-play run and gain 48 yards in the span of just over 4 minutes.

Duke 13, Georgia Tech 6, Halftime

Georgia Tech makes a final run with only a few seconds remaining but only advance six yards on its first attempt.

The first half proved particularly successful for the Blue Devils, who managed one touchdown and two field goals to Georgia Tech's two field goals. Duke's defense is making a strong appearance this afternoon against the home team's triple-option offense, stopping many Yellow Jacket runs and preventing multiple first-downs. The players' athleticism and physicality has definitely been impressive, with the defense showing little to no physical fatigue, and rather coming out stronger and more forceful on each successive Georgia Tech drive. Duke's offense, on the other hand, got off to a relatively slow start, particularly as Cutcliffe seemed to be finding a happy medium between his two preferred quarterbacks, Renfree and Connette. The former has definitely played well today, leading in passing with a total of 131 yards, including Duke's last two drives that led to scoring opportunities off of well thought-out passes. He also has thrown no interceptions, a good sign for the Blue Devils. Connette has shown better performance today than he did in last week's contest against the Eagles and averaged a 10.7-yard rushing gain in the first half and holds the team's only touchdown. Being substituted in mid-play appears to throw him off a little, however, as he has made only small yardage gains from hand offs and a no-gain off a carry. To his credit, however, he is facing an aggressive defensive line that is quick to tackle.

The Yellow Jackets' offensive line has been less successful against this year's Duke defense, something the Blue Devils have worked on since last spring to fix. (In the pair's last contest, Georgia Tech came through with a dominating 49-10 victory.)

If the Blue Devils are able to keep up its momentum and aggressive level of play, they chould come away with a convincing victory that emphasizes Duke's growth and development this past season.

Duke 13, Georgia Tech 6, Second Quarter 0:03

Renfree really capitalizes on his opportunity to throw passes to his open running backs, and the Blue Devils get another first down and advance to the Yellow Jackets' 40th on a second down with 37 seconds to go. Two additional complete passes brings Duke to another first down at Georgia Tech's 19. One more successful pass to Helfet, who is forced out of bounds at the 4th, gives the Blue Devils another first down. Duke, who has seven seconds left on the clock and only four yards to advance, fails on its first attempt, as a fumble is made on an open pass. Snyderwine scores another field goal at the 22-yard line, bringing Duke ahead by 7. The Blue Devils finish the last series of the half with nine plays and a 55-yard gain across a span of only 53 seconds.

Duke 10, Georgia Tech 6, Second Quarter 0:56

A deep kick into the Duke end zone results in an illegal formation penalty, and the Blue Devils must re-kick. Another kick brings the ball back toward the 10-yard line, where the ball is recovered and brought to the 31st yard line. Another penalty is called, and another re-kick is in store. The Yellow Jackets recover the ball, and they begin at the 39th yard line. Washington passes to Smith to start again at a first down on the 50th. Two incomplete passes (in big part attributed to Duke's defense) followed by a 4-yard gain gives Georgia Tech what may be its final opportunity to narrow the lead as the team takes a 30-second time-out on the fourth down with 1:04 left on the clock. Washington carries the ball five yards and ends up just short of another first-down attempt, and the ball is turned over to Duke. The officials reverse the call upon further review, and the Yellow Jackets start at Duke's 41st. Another official review and the original play was confirmed, and the Blue Devils have possession again.

Duke 10, Georgia Tech 6, Second Quarter 1:53

Following the great run by Butler, two successful passes to Vernon and Varner, respectively, brings the ball to 2nd-and-12 at the 45-yard line. An incomplete pass by Renfree intended for Cooper Helfet goes wide near Georgia Tech's 20-yard line, and the Blue Devils are still at its own 45-yard line. The next pass proves slightly better, as it is complete to Varner, but too many Yellow Jacket defenders push the running back toward his own end zone, resulting in only a 5-yard gain. A pass to Alex King off of a fake punt results in a successful run toward the 30-yard line, and another great delivery from Vernon brings the Blue Devils to 1st-and-10 at the 20. A pass intended for Vernon sails two feet over his hands and just out of the end zone. Connette makes a 20-yard run for a Duke touchdown--if the freshman continues this level of play, he just might be the solution for the Blue Devils' consistently weak offense, though this series definitely showed a more aggressive side to Duke's offense. The officials are currently reviewing the touchdown to see if Connette fumbled before he hit the line--the play stands. Snyderwine comes through again with a successful extra point attempt. Of note is that he has not missed one kick since the season opener against Elon at home.

Duke 3, Georgia Tech 6, Second Quarter 4:32

Georgia Tech hasn't made much progress in its first three plays, advancing a total of nine yards to 4th-and-1 at the 33. A four-yard penalty is called for a false start, and the ball goes back to the 29th, still fourth down. A 43-yard punt brings the ball to the Duke 23-yard line, and Lee Butler returns the ball to start at the Blue Devils' 47-yard line..

Duke 3, Georgia Tech 6, Second Quarter 6:47

Duke's offensive line proves incredibly ineffective against a Yellow Jacket offense that has been training specifically to combat the Blue Devils' "shotgun" play. Very few yardage gains later (including a sack and even negative yardage), the Yellow Jackets have possession of the ball at the 24th yard line following a long punt.

Duke 3, Georgia Tech 6, Second Quarter 8:21

An incomplete pass that goes out wide brings the Yellow Jackets to 2nd-and-10 on the 22nd. A short run gives Georgia Tech a gain of four, bringing the home team to its third down and six yards to go on the 26. An incomplete pass forces the Yellow Jackets to punt, and Duke begins the Georgia Tech 30-yard line. The Blue Devils' efforts (that began in Spring of last season) toward facing this sort of offense is paying off, as the Yellow Jackets are failing to advance very far, and Duke only seems to be getting stronger. On the offensive side, however, it is still up-in-the-air as to why Cutcliffe keeps deciding to substitute in Connette for Renfree, especially as the starter seems to be gaining momentum. Let's hope this won't be a repeat of last week's match-up against Boston College.

Duke 3, Georgia Tech 6, Second Quarter 9:17

The Yellow Jackets kick it into the Blue Devil end zone, and Snead makes a 22-yard kick return, and Duke begins at the 20-yard line. Head coach David Cutcliffe makes the move to substitute in Brandon Connette for Renfree. He hands the ball off to Connor Vernon, who fumbles the ball, but Donovan Varner recovers it to bring it to 2nd-and-28. A hand off to Jay Hollingsworth gives the Blue Devils another first down on the 43rd. Connette, Duke's running quarterback, carries the ball, and the next attempt results in no yardage gain to bring the Blue Devils to a 3rd-and-3 at the 50. Renfree is back in, and his pass to Varner results in a 13-yard gain and 1st down. Connette comes back on to the field and proceeds to hand the ball back to Vernon for a down and carries the ball on the next run, bringing it back to 1st-and-10 on the 27th. A run by Hollingsworth brings a five-yard game before a forced fumble gives the Yellow Jackets the ball.

Duke 3, Georgia Tech 6, Second Quarter 13:02

The Yellow Jackets manage to advance to the 26th yard line, and on 4th-and-3, and Jack Ferrell makes a field goal attempt, scoring and bringing Georgia Tech ahead by 3.

Duke 3, Georgia Tech 3, First Quarter 0:00

Duke starts off with a gain of four yards, 2nd-and-6. Renfree throws a complete pass to Scott, who is pushed out of bounds, and the Blue Devils are at 3rd-and-4. An incomplete pass results in a fourth down, and Duke punts it to the its own 43rd yard line.

Duke 3, Georgia Tech 3, First Quarter 1:11

A kick from Snyderwine goes to the goal line, and #4 B.J. Bostic returns the ball to the Yellow Jackets' 29th. A handoff results in a 1st-and-10 at the 41st yard line, proving a good sign for Georgia Tech, but the next play results in only a three-yard gain. A toss to Olan Smith allows him to advance forward before a strong Blue Devil defense pushes him back, resulting in no yardage gain. Duke defense continues to stay strong with a sack from Abraham Kromah, but a questionable call of unnecessary roughness on Kromah pushes the Yellow Jackets to the Blue Devils' 48 at 1st-and-10. A short one-yard gain on the first down followed by a four-yard gain brings Georgia Tech to 3rd-and5 on Duke's 43rd. A final 2-yard pass brings the Yellow Jackets to 4th-and-2 at the 40, and a successful run by Washington leads to a 12-yard gain, giving the Yellow Jackets their third first-yard attempt. A great series of plays by the Yellow Jackets leads to another first-down attempt for Georgia Tech, but a fumble followed by a Kelby Brown recovery leads to a rush for minus six, and Duke begins at 1-and-10 at the 21.

Of note is Duke's defense, which has been showing up for today's game. Its plays are proving particularly effective against the Yellow Jackets' offensive style, which is similar to Navy's.

Duke 3, Georgia Tech 3, First Quarter 7:04

Running back Josh Snead fumbles at the 13th yard line, but the ball is recovered by running back Patrick Kurunwune for a touch back. The Blue Devils resume at 1st-and-20, and Renfree passes the ball to Donovan Varner, who is forced out of bounds with a 16-yard gain. A handoff to Snead leads to 2nd-and-9 from Duke's 37-yard line, and a pass to Connor Vernon, bringing Duke to a 1st-and-10 at the 41-yard line. The Blue Devils go through a one-yard gain followed by two short passes to bring Duke to 4th-and-2 at the 34th. Will Snyderwine goes for a field goal, ending the Duke run with seven plays and 52 yards, and bringing the game to a tie.

Duke 0, Georgia Tech 3, First Quarter 10:12

On the Yellow Jackets' second down, quarterback Tevin Washington makes a strong run into the endzone, but the officials call an offensive blocking penalty, and the touchdown is revoked. Bobby Dodd Stadium erupts in boos. Georgia Tech continues to advance, but #50 offensive lineman Jay Finch seems to have gotten hurt and limps off the field after two minutes of stalled play. The Yellow Jackets resume at 2nd-and-18 with a pass that advances two yards. Washington is sacked on the carry, making it 4th-and-19. A field goal attempt by kicker Scott Blair succeeds, and the Yellow Jackets are off to an early start.

Duke 0, Georgia Tech 0, First Quarter 13:27

The Blue Devils start off on the offense but fail to make any significant progress, with Renfree having two incomplete passes and a short handoff. Duke punts the ball to the Blue Devil 46-yard line.