BLACKSBURG, Va. - Duke almost had it.
Despite playing without injured quarterback Thaddeus Lewis in one of the most intense stadiums in the country, the Blue Devils found themselves up 3-0 with two minutes left in the first half against Virginia Tech Saturday in Lane Stadium.
To that point, a sloppy Hokie offense and an unforgiving Blue Devil defense put Duke in position to pull off the upset on a frigid night.
But Duke's defense, which forced five turnovers in the first half, faltered for just one play, and Virginia Tech's offense took advantage of the lapse, scoring the only offensive touchdown of the game as the Hokies edged Duke 14-3. The loss officially eliminated the Blue Devils from bowl contention.
"I'm really proud of our defense and the way we stepped up," said linebacker Michael Tauiliili, who chipped in with nine tackles to maintain his place atop the ACC tackles list. "We weren't satisfied with the way we were playing over the past couple of weeks, and we knew we could've done better."
The defense made its first big play just three minutes into the game, when Tauiliili picked off a Tyrod Taylor pass off a Vincent Rey tip.
The unit was just getting started.
With two minutes remaining in the first quarter, Virginia Tech running back Darren Evans fumbled a sloppy pitch from Taylor, and freshman Matt Daniels pounced on the ball, returning it for nine yards. A six-play Duke drive set up Nick Maggio's 39-yard field goal to give Duke the lead.
Daniels would come up big again on the next Hokie series, when he picked off a Taylor pass intended for Jarrett Boykin.
Duke (4-7, 1-6 in the ACC) couldn't capitalize on the opportunity and was forced to punt, but on the very next defensive series, Rey forced yet another Taylor turnover-a fumble that was recovered by Catron Gainey. Amid a chorus of boos from the raucous Hokie crowd, Taylor was benched in favor of quarterback Sean Glennon, who didn't fare much better initially for Virginia Tech (7-4, 4-3). Gainey hauled in an interception with one hand on Glennon's second series-the fifth Hokie turnover of the half.
"We thought that, as the game played out, our defense was a good matchup against their offense," head coach David Cutcliffe said. "All the things it takes to win, our defense did."
Until Virginia Tech's last drive before the half, that is, when Glennon connected with Boykin for a 19-yard score.
Down 7-3 at halftime, the Blue Devil offense ultimately could not overcome the deficit. It was continuously stopped by a stingy Hokie defense in the second half and did not make it to the red zone once in the game.
Relying almost exclusively on the running game plagued Duke.
Although Asack rushed for a career-high 87 yards on 24 carries, he didn't complete a pass until the 11-minute mark of the fourth quarter. And while Cutcliffe said Duke's game plan was to continue to run and hope for a breakout rush, he could not have anticipated such futility through the air.
"We were going to be patient and avoid the temptation [to pass]," he said. "We were going to keep running. I kept hoping that we would bust a run, and, boy, we came close over and over again to doing it."
The Blue Devils' final chance for their first win against Virginia Tech in eight tries came with 1:31 remaining in the game. After the defense stopped three straight Evans runs, the Hokies were forced to punt. But on the very first play of the ensuing drive, Asack was blitzed, and, under pressure, threw a game-ending interception that Victor "Macho" Harris returned for a touchdown.
"With under two minutes in the game, we had to get some passing going," said Asack, who was 2-for-9 for 20 yards and four interceptions. "I just made a bad read and a bad throw, and it cost us the game."
The loss officially ended the team's last hopes of going to its first bowl since 1994. The Blue Devils started the season by winning three out of their first four games, and after an upset against Vanderbilt Oct. 25, Duke needed to win just two of its next five games to remain bowl-eligible.
Instead, it has dropped four straight.
Although Duke won't partake in the postseason, it still has one game left. And even after a four-game losing slide, Cutcliffe remained positive about the team and the program that he has turned around in less than a year.
"You'll never see a football team play better together than you saw today," he said. "It was an unbelievable feeling. I count myself lucky to be around this team."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.