BLACKSBURG, Va.—Through the first 10 minutes of play, Saturday's game looked poised to turn into a shootout. But things have since calmed down, sending the Blue Devils to the locker room with a lead.
No. 23 Duke holds a 14-10 advantage on Virginia Tech at intermission at Lane Stadium, looking to capture its second win in as many trips to Blacksburg and become bowl eligible for the fourth consecutive season. Quarterback Thomas Sirk found wide receiver Max McCaffrey for touchdowns on each of the Blue Devils' first two drives to put Duke out in front, but the Hokies closed the gap to keep things close on Homecoming weekend.
Duke marched right down the field on its opening possession, converting all four of its third downs, including a one-yard touchdown strike from Sirk to McCaffrey. Sirk completed 5-of-8 passes for 58 yards on the drive, including big third-down passes to Anthony Nash and Johnell Barnes. Both of McCaffrey's catches on the drive came in tight windows—the Castle Rock, Colo., native just got a foot down along the sideline to move the chains, then caught the touchdown pass in heavy traffic as Sirk rolled out to his left.
Virginia Tech answered right back with a touchdown drive of its own, as quarterback Michael Brewer—making his first start under center since the season opener against No. 1 Ohio State due to a broken collarbone—found tight end Bucky Hodges for a 22-yard strike. Hodges—who burned Duke in the Hokies' 17-16 win in Durham last year—also hauled in a 36-yard pass to put Virginia Tech just outside the red zone earlier in the drive.
Nash—who caught a team-high five passes at Army two weeks ago—continued his offensive renaissance early Saturday, making a juggling catch along the sideline for 45 yards to put the Blue Devils right back in the red zone. Sirk connected with McCaffrey again, this time a 13-yard slant rout, to regain the lead, 14-7. Nash has two catches for 68 yards at halftime.
After three-and-outs by both sides, the Hokies used a 30-yard drive to set up Joey Slye for a 44-yard field goal, but the damage could have been much worse. After a 16-yard Brewer scamper to the Duke 19 yard line, the Hokies tried to catch the Blue Devils off guard with a quick-snap screen play to wide receiver Isaiah Ford. But cornerback Breon Borders saw it coming and charged the line, and the Duke defense gang-tackled Ford for a 12-yard loss to put Virginia Tech behind the chains, eventually stalling the drive.
Senior Ross Martin entered the game a perfect 12-of-12 on field goals this season, but missed his first of the year a few minutes before halftime from 29 yards out.
Here are some observations from the first half:
- Despite the hot start, Sirk missed a couple of open looks down the right sideline on Duke's opening drive, including a wide-open McCaffrey on the game's first play from scrimmage.
- Freshman wide receiver T.J. Rahming entered the game as probable, but didn't make an appearance on the field until 7:09 remaining in the second quarter. The Powder Springs, Ga., native has no catches on one target.
- Sirk has been the only Blue Devil to find success on the ground so far Saturday. The quarterback has 63 yards on 10 carries, compared to 13 yards on eight carries for the trio of Shaquille Powell, Jela Duncan and Shaun Wilson. The Glen St. Mary, Fla., native added 158 yards through the air in the first half.
- Tight end Erich Schneider used a referee as a partial screen on a 10-yard reception on the Blue Devils' second series, bouncing off and creating a bit of separation from his eventual tackler.
- Sophomore cornerback Alonzo Saxton II had a chance to pick off a Brewer overthrow on the Hokies' second drive, but the ball fell to the turf, allowing Virginia Tech to punt on fourth down.
- Brewer handled the first two drives under center for head coach Frank Beamer's squad, but Brenden Motley—more of a rushing threat—served as the signal-caller to start the Hokies' third series. Brewer returned to find Ford to move the chains, but Duke caught a break as it appeared Ford's knee may never have touched the ground before the officials blew the play dead. The drive culminated in a field goal.
- Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Terrence Alls—newly reinstated Tuesday after serving a game suspension imposed in March—dropped his first target of the afternoon.
- Martin has now missed his last three field goal attempts against the Hokies after missing a pair in last year's loss in Durham. He had not missed a field goal since last year's Virginia Tech game.
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