It was only fitting that the seniors who transformed Duke’s football program finished their Wallace Wade Stadium careers on a positive note. And while it certainly wasn’t linear, the Blue Devils got the job done with a clutch performance.
Duke defeated Virginia Tech 31-28 in a game that featured a little bit of everything. With the win, head coach Manny Diaz’s squad improves to 8-3 on the year for the team’s third straight eight-win season.
The outcome looked to be comfortably in the Blue Devils’ hands with two minutes to go. While Star Thomas had less than 20 yards on the ground prior to the final possession, he was the workhorse at the end.
Duke led 31-28 and Thomas marched his unit down to the Hokie 16-yard line. However, the ball was swiped by Keonta Jenkins and Virginia Tech recovered the fumble with a chance to tie or take the lead.
But as they have so many times this year, the Blue Devil defense came up big. Redshirt freshman quarterback William Watson III — who was the third-string signal caller for head coach Brent Pry’s squad — was harassed by the Blue Devil front seven. On fourth-and-13, linebacker Tre Freeman made a crucial open-field tackle on Jaylin Lane to seal the win.
The Blue Devils wasted no time getting started.
On the team’s first offensive play, Maalik Murphy dropped back to pass from his own 14-yard line. Eli Pancol ran a deep post and received Murphy’s throw in stride just past midfield. Pancol did the rest of the work for the team’s longest reception of the year, putting Duke up 7-0.
But that wasn’t enough for the graduate receiver in his final home game. On the subsequent possession’s third down, Pancol caught a back-shoulder throw from Murphy on the visitor sideline and ran to the freshly-painted black end zone. Less than seven minutes into the game, the home squad had a 14-0 stiff-arm.
The first half featured whiplash-like play that saw Murphy throw both three touchdowns and interceptions, with four total plays of 50-plus yards on either side. And even though Virginia Tech dominated the time of possession 23 minutes to seven, the Blue Devils hung on to a 21-17 lead.
The second half started just like the first, as Murphy found Que’Sean Brown standing wide open over the right side for a 34-yard completion. He went right back to Brown to take Duke into the red zone, and Thomas waltzed his way into the end zone to cap off a seven-play, 74-yard drive as the Blue Devils took a 28-17 lead.
The Jonathan Patke-led defense flipped the script coming out of the locker room, as they forced a three-and-out to start. Joshua Pickett’s interception on fourth down set Duke up for a Todd Pelino 42-yard field goal.
But Virginia Tech would not go away. A field goal and a Bhayshul Tuten touchdown — followed by a successful 2-point conversion — made it a three point game with 9:19 remaining. On the other side, back-to-back punts gave the Hokies the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead.
Watson and wide receiver Ali Jennings picked apart a typically stout secondary, as the graduate student finished with six receptions for 158 yards. The Blue Devils made stops when it mattered most, forcing Watson into an errant pass. Duke’s front seven made a big difference with four second-half sacks, clearly affecting the redshirt freshman quarterback throughout.
Hokies starting quarterback Kyron Drones did not play in the contest, and redshirt senior Collin Schlee left the game at the end of the first quarter with an injury. Watson, who recorded his first career completion on a crucial third-and-13, played the rest of the game for head coach Brent Pry’s squad.
The first quarter finished as a string of explosive plays eventually gave way to punts; Both offenses settled down after a lightning-quick start. After a turnover-free contest in Duke’s win against N.C. State, Murphy made his first costly error of the contest. The Hokies punched right back, as Schlee hit on his career-long completion to Jennings, who strutted into the end zone.
Virginia Tech went into its bag of tricks to tie the game up. Wide receiver Ayden Greene caught a reverse pitch and sped his way into the end zone, as the score became 14 apiece. On that possession, the Hokies brought in Watson, who marched his team down the field.
The pendulum shifted the visitors’ way towards the end of the first quarter, as Murphy’s second interception of the contest paved the way for a field goal. Virginia Tech led 17-14 with 7:55 left in the first half, and the energy completely changed in Wallace Wade Stadium.
However, as was the case to start, the deep ball was the biggest form of offense for Duke. This time, it was graduate receiver Jordan Moore who took advantage of a defender on the ground to make a 58-yard reception. On the next play, Murphy tossed it to Pancol, who did a nice job boxing out his defender for his career-high third touchdown of the contest. The redshirt sophomore quarterback passed former Blue Devil Anthony Dilweg for single-season passing touchdowns with 25.
Duke will travel to Winston-Salem, N.C., for its regular-season finale against Wake Forest Nov. 30.
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Ranjan Jindal is a Trinity junior and sports editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.