After jumping out of the gates to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, then-No. 22 Duke (8-2, 4-2 in the ACC) looked poised to bury the visiting Hokies before halftime. But a series of miscues and missed opportunities by the Blue Devils kept Virginia Tech (5-5, 2-4) in the game, giving them a 17-16 edge after a late fourth-quarter touchdown.
With two minutes on the clock, Duke forced a Hokie three-and-out and regained possession, setting up for one last drive. But, the magic ended on fourth -and-21 when Virginia Tech broke through the offensive line, downing redshirt senior quarterback Anthony Boone deep in the backfield.
With Florida State’s come-from-behind victory against Miami Saturday night, the Blue Devils remain in the driver’s seat of the Coastal Divsion as the race to the ACC Championship reaches the home stretch. However, a disappointing loss at home raises questions about the Blue Devil’s ability to close out the season without another loss.
Offense: C
Pass: Boone posted some of his worst numbers of the season against the Hokies, connecting with receivers on just 18 of his 40 attempts and throwing two interceptions. The contest marked Boone’s first without a touchdown pass since the Blue Devils’ anemic offensive effort in the team’s loss to Miami Sept. 27. An offensive line that entered Saturday’s game having allowed on average only 0.5 sacks per game struggled to protect the quarterback from Virginia Tech pressure, allowing four sacks and forcing Boone to throw the football away on multiple occasions.
Rush: Compounding the effects felt by Duke’s inefficiencies in moving the ball through the air was the team’s inability to move the ball on the ground after a strong first quarter. The Blue Devils finished the game with a meager 141 rushing yards on 41 carries and late in the game had to rely on a passing offense that struggled to produce at the levels it has in the past against a stiff Virginia Tech pass defense.
X’s and O’s: For the second time now, Duke has appeared weak when the pass game has been disrupted. In the game against Virginia Tech as well as the game in Miami, the defense did its job, making stops and stepping up in key moments. But, when Boone isn’t producing and is under pressure, Duke is very beatable. The Blue Devils' weaknesses on the offensive side of the ball were compounded by an inconsistent effort uncharacteristic of Duke’s usually clutch kicker Ross Martin, but the team’s inability to protect the passer and move the ball through the air ultimately sealed its fate.
Defense: A-
Pass: Although Duke struggled to contain pressure on the offensive side of the ball, it compensated by bringing its own heat—sacking Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Brewer six times for a loss of 62 yards. Fulfilling his role as the new leader of the Blue Devil defense, returning-All-American Jeremy Cash notched two sacks, a pass breakup and seven tackles. When Duke’s offense stumbled, Cash and the defense stepped up to keep the Blue Devils in the mix all the way to the final minute. Brewer finished just 12-of-23 for 138 yards and although he threw two touchdowns, the Texas Tech transfer was also intercepted by cornerback Breon Borders in the second half.
Rush: Duke’s 4-2-5 defense kept the Hokies from finding its rhythm early in the game by stuffing the Virginia running game and the trend continued throughout the contest. The Blue Devils compensated for their own lackluster 3.4 yards per carry by holding Virginia Tech to a measly 3.0 yards per rush, but it is important to note that a lot of the lost yards came on sacks and without Brewer's contributions, the Hokies averaged more than five yards per carry. Nonetheless, the Duke run defense did enough to set up the offense for success.
X’s and O’s: The Blue Devils took advantage of an injury-ridden offensive line, confusing the unit en route to picking up six sacks -62 yards of offense, Duke found an answer for much of what Virginia Tech brought to the field on the offensive end Saturday. For a unit that was questioned for its ability to perform after losing redshirt senior linebacker Kelby Brown to an ACL injury in the offseason, the defense has proven reliable and resilient when other units have come up short.
Special Teams: C
This was the dagger for the Blue Devils Saturday. Martin missed his first two field goals of the season after entering the contest as one of the country’s three remaining perfect kickers having made all 13 of his field goals. The Solon, Ohio, native booted in a 24-yard chip shot early in the first quarter before missing on a 51-yard attempt late in the second.
After knocking in two third-quarter field goals, late in the fourth-quarter, the junior walked onto the field once more faced with a 40-yard attempt to give Duke a 19-17 lead. Martin made clean contact, but Wallace Wade Stadium let out a gasp as the football swung wide left for the second time on the afternoon.
All-American kickoff returner DeVon Edwards also fumbled the opening play of the fourth quarter to set up Virginia Tech's go-ahead score. For the first time in a long time, special teams let the Blue Devils down in a big way.
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