Blue Devils stung by Yellow Jackets 37-10 in dreary Homecoming affair

Duke dropped its 17th straight game Saturday, losing 37-10 to No. 17 Georgia Tech. A scoring surge late in the second quarter enabled the Blue Devils (0-5, 0-3 in the ACC) to be within a touchdown at halftime, but Georgia Tech (4-1, 1-1) scored on its first four second-half possessions, dashing Duke's hopes for an upset.

"We've got to be able to put two halves together," Duke coach Carl Franks said. "The way we played in the first half was commendable. We played hard, we executed some things--now there were some mistakes in the first half, but when you're sitting there at 17-10 with the No. 17 team in the country, that's pretty good."

Although the game began in a steady downpour, the rain did not initially appear to bother Georgia Tech's high-octane offense, as the Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 17-0 lead midway through the second quarter. Heralded quarterback George Godsey looked sharp, completing 14 of his first 22 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown.

Suddenly the rain appeared to dramatically affect Godsey's performance, as his next two passes were both intercepted, leading to 10 Duke points.

Ryan Fowler picked off the first, jumping into Godsey's passing lane.

"I was dropping back into coverage, reading the quarterback's eyes, when his intentions told me to break," Fowler said. "When I did I was in the right place."

Seizing momentum, the Blue Devils promptly marched down the field 49 yards for a touchdown. The drive featured seven straight rushing plays, and ended in a Chris Douglas' touchdown dive from the one.

Returning to the field, Godsey promptly threw his poorest pass of the game. Duke's Ronnie Hamilton intercepted the badly underthrown ball, and an ensuing field goal cut the Blue Devils' deficit to seven points.

"We came out in the second half flat," Douglas said. "We were missing assignments, not picking up blitzes, and it showed. It put us behind and the momentum in their favor."

Franks emphasized the importance of a key missed opportunity on Georgia Tech's opening drive in the second half, in which Blue Devils safety Josh Krieder barely missed snagging Duke's third interception.

"The first drive in the second half is always critical," Franks said. "We had the perfect defense called, our safety was in position, the ball was right in his hands, and [he] couldn't catch it.

"That would have been a big turning point in the game. I don't know how it would have eventually worked out from there, but that would have certainly given us an emotional lift."

However, Georgia Tech kicked a field goal, and then promptly sacked Bryant twice on the next Blue Devil series to force a punt. The ensuing lopsidedness of possession affected the Blue Devils both physically and emotionally.

"Ideally, we would say as a team that it wouldn't affect us," Fowler said. "I guess maybe we get a little tired, maybe morale goes down. I would like to say that it didn't change anything, but I think it did."

At the start of the fourth quarter, Duke once again found itself facing an insurmountable deficit, just as it had in previous losses to Florida State, Northwestern, and Virginia.

For an exhausted defense--one that not only held the fearsome offense of the Yellow Jackets temporarily in check, but also presented Duke's offense with terrific field position on their only two scoring drives--continuing to play hard was undoubtedly an arduous task.

"In a game where you're pretty much out of it, and you can't feasibly win, you play for pride," Fowler said. "We really stress that while we're out there. We all come from winning programs [in high school], so to give up is just not our way of doing things."

Such steadfast resolve will be essential in Duke's effort to end the NCAA's longest active losing streak.