With under five minutes left in the game, Duke had the ball on Virginia Tech’s 15-yard line trailing by four points. Blue Devil quarterback Sean Renfree rolled out of the pocket looking for a crucial fourth-down conversion—but his receivers were nowhere to be found. The Hokies dropped Renfree for a three-yard loss, depriving Duke of what would end up as its best chance to take the lead.
Missed opportunities in the red zone spelled defeat Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium, as the Blue Devils fell 14-10 to No. 15 Virginia Tech despite outstanding play from their defensive unit.
Duke limited the Hokies to 132 yards of total offense in the final two quarters and largely contained their star running back David Wilson. The Blue Devils forced Virginia Tech (8-1, 4-1 in the ACC) to punt on all but one of its second-half drives, but they could not take advantage on the other end. Although the team’s average starting field position in the half was six yards short of midfield, Duke (3-5, 1-3) only mustered three points after halftime.
“Offensively, I felt like we left a lot of points and opportunities out there on the field,” head coach David Cutcliffe said. “We didn’t convert our third and fourth downs like we were capable of. We didn’t get it done in the red zone.”
The offense looked shaky against the Hokies’ vaunted defense from the start. Renfree threw an interception on the Blue Devils’ first drive and allowed Virginia Tech to take over at Duke’s 41-yard line.
Two plays later, however, safety Matt Daniels set the tone for Duke’s defense by picking off quarterback Logan Thomas’s throw at the 2-yard line and returning the interception for 43 yards. But the Blue Devils quickly coughed up momentum on the ensuing possession when running back Juwan Thompson fumbled the ball at Virginia Tech’s 25-yard line.
The Hokies then drove 85 yards for the first score of the game, sparked by a 39-yard run from Wilson. Thomas managed to escape pressure down at Duke’s 2-yard line and found tight end Eric Martin at the back of the end zone for the short touchdown.
The Blue Devils would answer on their very next drive, benefitting from two pass interference penalties and a late hit committed by Virginia Tech. A 15-yard completion to Brandon Braxton on third down brought the ball to the 3-yard line. Desmond Scott proceeded to crash into the end zone two plays later, tying the game at 7-7.
After going up 14-7 on their next drive, the Hokies had an opportunity to break the game open when Renfree threw another pick. The quarterback’s pass to Braxton bounced off the receiver’s hands into the arms of cornerback Chris Hill. Thomas wasted no time taking a shot at the end zone on Virginia Tech’s next play, but Daniels came up with another huge interception, making a break on an underthrown ball to pick it off on the goal line.
“We kept saying ‘strips and picks, strips and picks,’” Daniels said of his team’s mentality. “Each pick that I had [came after] a turnover created by our offense, so we really swung the game. Both times they were in the red zone and likely to score.”
Duke closed out the second quarter with missed field goals of 38 and 57 yards from Will Snyderwine, but the defense made sure the offense had plenty more chances after intermission.
Yet, Duke’s offense failed to convert quality scoring opportunities throughout the second half. On their first drive of the third quarter, the Blue Devils seemed primed to score with a first-and-goal on the 8-yard line. Backup quarterback Anthony Boone overthrew an open Braxton Deaver on a misdirection play before Renfree returned to similar results. Duke settled for 26-yard field goal from Snyderwine.
Scott ripped off a 47-yard run to begin the fourth period, giving Duke a first down at Virginia Tech’s 18-yard line. The Blue Devils stalled once again, calling on Snyderwine to knock through a 29-yard field goal. His attempt bounced off the right upright, though, for his third miss of the game.
Even after Renfree was dropped for a loss on fourth down with five minutes remaining, the Blue Devils still had one more opportunity to put points on the board. Following a touchback with 1:50 left, Duke had to travel 80 yards with no timeouts remaining. Renfree connected with Braxton for consecutive gains of 11 and nine yards, but the game ended when he threw his third interception of the day on fourth down.
“We had tremendous field position all throughout the second half,” Renfree said. “I’m just sorry we couldn’t do anything offensively to put it in the end zone.”
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