Fourteen seconds, one timeout left, ten yards. Having just miraculously recovered an onside kick at the N.C. State 49-yard line--an attempt made possible by an equally improbable 40-yard touchdown pass from Adam Smith to Khary Sharpe just seconds earlier--Duke needed just 10 yards, maybe only six, to give kicker Brent Garber a realistic try at a game-winning kick.
Smith and the Blue Devil offense trotted out to face a stunned Wolfpack defense, and on the first play from scrimmage those 10 yards were there for the taking.
Sophomore wide receiver Lance Johnson flashed open across the middle without a N.C. State defender in sight. Smith--who literally played the game of his life Saturday afternoon, completing 28-of-38 passes up to that point for 353 yards and a touchdown--simply could not connect.
"That's a play I'm going to remember for at least a year," Smith said in the aftermath of the Blue Devils' (2-6, 0-4 in the ACC) heartbreaking 24-22 loss to 10th-ranked N.C. State (8-0, 3-0), who entered the contest as 24-point favorites. "I threw it a little behind Lance Johnson. If he had caught that we would have been around the 40 somewhere."
Two more Smith passes would fall incomplete, leaving Garber to attempt a 65-yard chance at history. No kicker in any league, professional, collegiate or otherwise, has successfully converted such a long attempt in regulation play. Ever.
As he measured the steps back from his own 45 yardline Garber pushed such distractions far from his mind.
"You can't let that stuff get in your head," Garber said. "I go out there every kick and just try to stay as calm as possible.... I'm glad I had the chance. I don't think it was unfair at all.
In summer practice sessions, with the stands deserted and without a 11 grunting defenders straining for a block, Garber had sometimes come through from 70 yards. In front of 51,500 screaming Wolfpack fans--those that hadn't left five minutes earlier after N.C. State quarterback Philip Rivers completed a 53-yard bomb to Jerricho Cotchery to give the Wolfpack a seemingly insurmountable 24-15 lead--and gunning for the perfect strike, Garber couldn't convert. His attempt at immortality never had chance, and so while N.C. State escaped with the victory, the Blue Devils were left to wonder what might have been.
"I know coaches stand up at podiums after a win and say 'give credit to the other team,' but those kids from Duke played their butts off," N.C. State head coach Chuck Amato said.
The Blue Devils began the game just as they finished it: with a torrent of opportunities.
On the game's very first play from scrimmage Duke safety Terrell Smith dropped a sure interception. Rivers, who entered Saturday leading the NCAA with a gaudy 170.8 quarterback rating, threw into double coverage, and Smith streaked unchecked to the ball only to have it hit him square in the chest and bounce harmlessly to the ground.
Rivers, who would finish the afternoon 26-of-37 for 364 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, overcame his mental lapse to lead the Wolfpack to an opening touchdown.
Trailing 7-0, Duke marched right back. On second-and-two from the NCSU 12-yard line, Duke called an audacious wide receiver pass. Smith took the ball from center and immediately threw a long lateral to Darryl Scott near the left sideline. Meanwhile
After an N.C. State punt the Blue Devils came down the field once more. This time Smith underthrew Sharpe on third down from the NCSU 19 and the Blue Devils lost another golden opportunity for a touchdown. On the next play, the Wolfpack swallowed up a fake field goal attempt.
Rivers and the Wolfpack capitalized on Duke's failure to score, jumping to a 17-0 first half lead. In the face of such adversity, Duke responded with a brilliantly entertaining display, nearly shattering the Wolfpack's BCS hopes.
"We knew we were going to hang with them," Garber said, eyes gleaming. "We know we're better than our record shows.... We've got so much heart on this team. We'll take on anybody knowing we have a chance."
In the second half the Blue Devil defense held Rivers and company to just seven points. Meanwhile, the offense slowly put points on the board. Garber kicked field goals of 47 and 52 yards (both of which would easily have been good from 60), and Douglas broke free for a 41-yard sprint to the end zone.
Still, Duke fell short of a monumental upset. Garber hooked a 31-yard field goal attempt wide left in the third quarter. A key defensive letdown allowed Rivers' fourth quarter bomb to Cotchery.
The Blue Devils' 60-minute fight ended in disappointment.
"It is gut-wrenching," Smith said. "I'm proud of this team. Everybody went out there and fought their hardest. It would have been a lot nicer, it would have been the biggest thing to happen to us in a long time, if we could have pulled this off."
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