After its disappointing opening game loss to East Carolina and a hard week of practice, Duke expected to see signs of progress when it took the field Saturday against then No. 7 Virginia Tech. Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, their worst offensive performance in almost 10 years wasn't what they had in mind.
In a lopsided contest that had many of the most ardent Duke fans filing for the exits by halftime, the Blue Devils (0-2, 0-1 in the ACC) were beaten handedly by the Hokies (2-0, 2-0) 45-0 at Wallace Wade Stadium Saturday.
Duke's offense was manhandled by Virginia Tech's physical defense all afternoon, limiting the Blue Devils to a measly 35 total yards on 53 plays from scrimmage. The Blue Devils finished the game with only five first downs and ran just one play in Hokie territory.
The last time Duke failed to gain 100 yards in game was in 1996, when they tallied 91 yards in a 44-7 loss at Florida State in 1996.
"We just got beat in every phase of the game today," head coach Ted Roof said. "That is it. They are a much better football team than we are."
The Hokies offensive line provided quarterback Marcus Vick the time he needed to operate the Virginia Tech offense effectively all game. By halftime the Hokies led 21-0, and by the start of the fourth quarter they had removed most of their starters from the game.
Vick finished 12-for-19 for 172 yards, three touchdowns and an interception before being taken out at the end of the third quarter. After building its lead through the air, Virginia Tech concentrated on running the ball, accumulating a total of 202 rushing yards among six backs.
While the Hokies marched up and down the field, Duke compiled more penalty yards-nine penalties for 68 yards-than total offensive yards and could not take advantage of the few opportunities they had.
Junior cornerback John Talley forced Virginia Tech's lone turnover midway through the second quarter when he dove in front of wide receiver Eddie Royal to intercept a slant pass on Duke's 29-yard line. But even this bright spot ended in disaster during Duke's ensuing possession.
After being stopped for a three yard loss on first down, the Blue Devils were called for holding on second. On the replayed down, quarterback Mike Schneider was sacked for a seven-yard loss, and Duke was flagged for delay of game before it could get off third down. The embarrassing sequence set up a insurmountable third-and-35 situation from Duke's own 4-yard line.
"We were able to get those guys into bad situations like third-and-35," Virginia Tech defensive end Darryl Tapp said. "Whenever you get those you know it's going to be over fast so you just got to out there and just pin your ears back and go."
In an attempt to find a solution to Duke's offensive ineptitude at the quarterback position, Roof alternated between Schneider and Curt Dukes to little avail. Neither quarterback could move the ball through the air, as they faced strong pressure from the Hokies' athletic defensive line, which recorded five sacks.
Consequently, Duke was forced to run the football 35 times, but that too was met with equally poor results. The Blue Devils amassed just 13 total yards on the ground.
"They were beating us up front," Roof said. "When we had a chance to make plays we didn't make them. It goes back to what we talked about-being opportunistic."
Virginia Tech made few mistakes during the game. Despite missing a 44-yard field goal attempt on their opening possession, the Hokies came right back on their next drive. Marching 50 yards to the Duke seven-yard line, Vick connected with tight end Jeff King in the back of the end zone to put Virginia Tech up 7-0.
The scoring onslaught continued for the remainder of the game, including the 10 points Virginia Tech's backups scored against Duke's starting defense in the fourth quarter.
"We are just going to go back to work and keep working because there is no magic pill, magic dust or you snap your fingers and the light comes on," Roof said. "It is hard work and a process. Of course I am disappointed about the outcome of this football game but this isn't going to deter us from continuing to work and fighting hard to give our folks a win next week."
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