For more than 17 minutes Saturday, the Blue Devils were on track against No. 23 Virginia Tech.
After allowing an early touchdown, Duke tied the game then was driving in the red zone early in the second quarter with a chance to grab a first-half lead.
But a game-changing special teams play has the Blue Devils down big at halftime once again.
Hokie cornerback Greg Stroman came around the edge and blocked Duke kicker A.J. Reed's 35-yard field goal early in the second quarter, then Adonis Alexander scooped the ball up and ran 75 yards for a touchdown to give Virginia Tech a 14-7 lead. The Hokies added another touchdown on a Jerod Evans quarterback keeper to take a 21-7 lead into the locker room at Wallace Wade Stadium.
The Blue Devil kicking game has struggled all season, as Reed is now 3-of-8 on the year.
After both teams punted the ball on their first offensive possessions to start the game, the Hokies broke through with a six-play 54-yard touchdown drive highlighted by an impressive one-handed 20-yard reception by All-American tight end Bucky Hodges. Running back Travon McMillian finished off the drive just two plays later when the redshirt sophomore broke a Joe Giles-Harris tackle en route to a 14-yard touchdown run. McMillian has 32 yards on the ground, and Evans has 52 to go along with his 121 yards passing.
Duke responded quickly, though, with its own 10-play 75-yard drive during which quarterback Daniel Jones went 5-of-5 for 34 yards, including a key 22-yard pass to tight end Daniel Helm on third down that moved the ball to the Virginia Tech three-yard line.
Junior running back Shaun Wilson punched it in to get the Blue Devils on the board with 3:55 in the first quarter, but after the blocked field goal, Jones and company struggled to get anything going. Although the redshirt freshman finished the half 12-of-19 for 92 yards passing and added seven carries for 45 yards, Duke's last three full possessions resulted in punts.
Here are some other observations from the first half:
- Both teams have primarily operated out of the no-huddle offenses with a lot of success, as they have combined for 414 total yards.
- With running back Jela Duncan out for the season, Wilson has received most of the carries, with eight rushes for 21 yards and a touchdown.
- Although Jones has been relatively sharp for the third straight game, the 6-foot-5 signal-caller missed opportunities downfield to Wilson and tight end Erich Schneider that could have given the Blue Devil offense a shot in the arm.
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