A valiant effort by seniors David Green and Corey Thomas turned out to be too little, too late for the football team on Saturday as the Blue Devils (2-8, 0-7 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) failed in their quest for a conference victory, losing 41-38 to Georgia Tech (5-4, 4-3 in the ACC).
But when the score stood at 38-11 at the end of the third quarter, a win was almost too much to ask for.
For Green and Thomas playing in their last home game, the nearly impossible victory looked within reach. The two combined for a record-setting four touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
"We went out there and played backyard ball," Thomas said "I told [the team] just to have fun."
Green replaced quarterback Bobby Campbell with 9:28 remaining in the third quarter and from that point on completed 21 of 27 passes for a career high 335 yards.
"We originally were going to put Bobby back in, but David got hot," Goldsmith said. "He kept doing it and doing it."
He threw nine completions to Thomas, who set a school record with 16 receptions for 276 yards.
"I'm proud of the way our football team fought back," Goldsmith said, "but I'm mad that they were in that position. I'd like to just not have the first half."
It took just under a minute for Georgia Tech to put points on the scoreboard. On third down in their first drive of the game, the Yellow Jackets needed one yard for their first first down. Quarterback Joe Hamilton handed off to Charles Wiley, who got that yard and 65 more as he broke for the touchdown.
The run was Georgia Tech's longest from scrimmage this season and put the Yellow Jackets up 7-0 just 59 seconds into the game.
Duke answered back on their next drive, moving steadily up the field after the kickoff. The Blue Devils took 10 plays to work their way to Tech's 26-yard line, well within range for Lenhardt's 16th field goal of the season.
His 44-yard field goal improved his mark to seven-of-eight from between 40 and 50 yards this season and broke the school record for field goals in a season.
Although Lenhardt's kickoff to Georgia Tech sent Dez White back to the five yard-line, the effort was mainly in vain as White's ran it back 95 yards for the score.
"We're in a tough spot psychologically," Goldsmith said. "There's only so long that you can go saying 'We've got to get the win.' It's awfully hard on our football team."
On Georgia Tech's punt with 6:54 left in the quarter, Duke's Ben Erdeljac returned the favor with a 57-yard return, to the Yellow Jackets' 28-yard line.
Campbell directed Duke the rest of the way, connecting with Thomas on third and 10 to keep the drive alive. Campbell took it in from two yards out for the score and hooked up with Scottie Montgomery for the two two-point conversion, pulling Duke within three.
But those 11 points were all that Duke was able to muster until the fourth quarter. Midway through the second quarter, the Blue Devils drove 60 yards mainly off short passes before being intercepted in the end zone. After a Campbell pass intercepted by Brian Wilkins led to a Yellow Jacket touchdown in the third quarter, Campbell was pulled, setting the stage for the Green-Thomas show.
Green began by engineering the Blue Devils' longest drive in the third quarter, but had the drive end on an interception by Travaras Tillman..
Only 32 seconds into the fourth quarter, Green threw 36 yards to Thomas in the endzone for the first of his touchdown passes.
Green threw to Thomas twice on Duke's next drive, first for a 50-yard completion, and then for a 19-yard touchdown with 7:40 left in the quarter.
"We took a no-holds-barred type of attitude," Green said. "Like my daughter told me, Hakuna Matada-no worries."
Duke's next possession ended with a Thomas touchdown with 3:34 left. Thomas did not catch the two-point conversion, however, and the score stood at 41-31.
An onside kick by Lenhardt went out-of-bounds for the second time in the quarter, but Duke regained the ball after a short Tech possession.
After an 18-yard touchdown reception by Thomas with :48 left in the game, the Blue Devils found themselves seemingly miraculously within three points.
But an onsides kick by Lenhardt was caught by Tillman, and the Yellow Jackets hung on for the duration of the game.
Tech's receivers had a field day as both Harvey Middleton and Derrick Steagall caught for over 100 yards. It was the third straight year in which Middleton has rung up over 100 yards against Duke.
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