ATLANTA—For the first time in head coach David Cutcliffe's tenure at Duke, the Blue Devils took the sting out of the Yellow Jackets' triple-option.
On a day in which starting running back Shaquille Powell did not see the field and standout receivers Jamison Crowder and Issac Blakeney combined for just five catches, the Blue Devil offense looked completely revamped as Duke took down No. 22 Georgia Tech 31-25 at Bobby Dodd Stadium Saturday in a game that was interrupted by a lengthy weather delay. Duke was powered by a strong ground game, rushing for 250 yards and three scores.
"Running the football, we knew, was going to be a huge part of [winning the game]," Cutcliffe said. "We knew we had to try to match their ability to run the ball. I thought we were a physical football team today."
Led by another standout performance from safety Jeremy Cash—the redshirt junior finished the game with seven tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery—the Blue Devil defense shut down Georgia Tech's potent triple-option. Duke held the home team to 25 points, 9.6 less than their season average of 34.6.
This did not seem to be the case early on, though, as the Yellow Jackets seemed to be on their way to drawing first blood on their initial drive. They drove from their own 20-yard line down to Duke's 10-yard line with little resistance from the Blue Devil defense.
But as it has seemed to do so all season, as soon as Duke was backed against its on end zone, the Blue Devils locked in. Switching up their defensive front and forcing a Georgia Tech timeout, a Kyler Brown tackle-for-loss stymied the Yellow Jackets' rhythm, and—following an incomplete third down pass—they were forced to settle for a field goal.
"[Holding them a field goal was] huge," Cutcliffe said. "We played better in third down circumstances than we had against them. A year ago, they were pretty successful against us... We felt like we had to be aggressive in those circumstances and our players responded to that."
Following a disappointing first drive that ended in a Crowder drop, the Blue Devils—with the help of a pair of untimely Georgia Tech penalties—found their groove on their second offensive series.
After a pass slipped through Crowder's hands on third down for the second consecutive drive, Duke punter Will Monday came on and booted the ball away. But an offsides penalty on the Yellow Jackets would be enough to grant the Blue Devils a first down at their own 36-yard line.
Three plays later, Boone found freshman running back Shaun Wilson streaking down the middle of the field for a 29-yard completion. Duke had another 15 yards tacked on to the big play as Georgia Tech defensive back Corey Griffin was called for targeting after leveling Wilson as soon as he came down with the pass.
Boone capped off the drive with a four-yard touchdown pass to Max McCaffrey. After a second Yellow Jacket field goal, Duke extended its lead to 14-6 on a three-yard scoring run from quarterback Thomas Sirk.
"If Issac's down, we've got Jamison. If Jamison's down, we've got Issac. And if both of them are down, we've got Max," Boone said. "Those guys really compliment each other and they feed off each other. It's a good mix to have and it's a real comforting experience to have three good receivers."
Georgia Tech did not end the first half quietly, though, as it stormed down the field to score on a Zach Laskey four-yard run with 40 seconds remaining. Down 14-12, Yellow Jacket head coach Paul Johnson decided to call Laskey's number once again on the two-point conversion. In what was one the biggest plays of the game, linebacker David Helton stood Laskey up at the goal line to keep the Blue Devil lead intact and give Duke the momentum heading into what would be an abnormally long halftime.
"That was big for us going into the half," Helton said. "It wasn't just me either. I had some help with the line there and it was just great to be a part of momentum shift like that. Going into half 14-12 is a lot better than going into half 14-14."
The two halves were separated by a 77-minute lightning delay, but the Blue Devils would not miss a beat coming out of the extended visit to the locker room.
"We just rested," Cutcliffe said. "We're on the road, you can only talk and adjust so long. We actually let them take their shoulder pads off. I wanted them to lay down, I wanted them to relax. I knew Cash, [Dwayne Norman], a lot of those guys spilled their guts out in the first half."
The second half was all about turnovers. Georgia Tech had committed just four coming into Saturday's game, but a pair of untimely giveaways spelled doom for the Yellow Jackets. Laskey—who had only managed 10 yards since a 48-yard performance in the first quarter—had the ball knocked loose by Jamal Bruce, and Cash emerged from the ensuing scrum with the ball. The turnover would lead to a Snead touchdown to push the lead to 24-12.
Georgia Tech limited the Blue Devils to a field goal on their next series and then stuffed Snead on fourth-and-one to take possession at its own 24-yard line. After picking up a first down, Thomas rolled out of the pocket looking to pass but was picked off by Cash at the Yellow Jacket 46-yard line. Three plays later, Sirk powered his way into the end zone to give Duke a 31-12 lead and seal the game for the Blue Devils.
"I saw an interesting throw by a quarterback," Cash said. "I was very surprised that he, in fact, threw that ball."
Georgia Tech saw a slight resurgence in the final minutes of the game, as redshirt junior Tim Byerly would replace Thomas at quarterback. In the final five minutes of play, Byerly led the Yellow Jackets on two touchdown drives, capping both with touchdown dives of his own.
The win was much-needed by the Blue Devils, who, after looking dismal on offense against Miami Sept. 27, hit their stride early against Georgia Tech. The victory is Duke's first against a ranked team since taking down the then-No. 24 Hurricanes Nov. 16 last year.
Duke will next take on Virginia for its homecoming game Oct. 18 at 12:30 p.m.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.