Despite five first half turnovers by Virginia Tech, the Duke Blue Devils fell to the Hokies in an ugly defensive struggle. With its 14-3 win Saturday night at Lane Stadium, Tech's hopes of an ACC Championship berth are well within reach.
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"I thought our defense did a fantastic job," head coach Frank Beamer said. "Really to keep us in the game in the first half when we were having some troubles, they did a great job."
It was a game ruled by defense, and the Hokies (7-4, 4-3 ACC) made key interceptions in the final minutes of play.
With backup quarterback Zack Asack starting in place of the injured Thaddeus Lewis, the junior struggled to establish a solid passing game and that was accentuated in their final three drives.
With just over four minutes remaining, and Tech up 7-3, the Blue Devils (4-7, 1-6) got the ball at their own 20 after another Tech drive stalled.
Asack threw into double coverage and the pass was picked off by Stephan Virgil.
After an Evans first down, the Blue Devils stopped the Hokies rushing attack on three consecutive plays, while also using all of their timeouts.
Starting at the Tech 18 yard line, Asack's first pass on their next possession went into the hands of Tech senior cornerback Victor "Macho" Harris, who returned it back to the end zone and, in turn, sealed the win.
"I just made a bad read and a bad throw and it cost us the game," Asack said.
Virgil was in perfect position again with under a minute to go, intercepting Asack's final pass.
The backup finished going 2-of-9 through the air for just 20 yards and four interceptions. Overall, the Hokies defense stifled the Blue Devils offense to just 136 yards total.
Playing without Lewis, who injured his foot in Duke's loss last week to Clemson, the Devils offense pushed on and stuck to a conservative run-first game plan with Asack.
The Blue Devils stuck to the running game with Asack and running backs Jay Hollingsworth and Tony Jackson.
Asack carried the load for the most part, rushing 24 times for 87 hard-earned yards against the stingy Tech defense.
When Duke did go to the air, the only completion of the half was a badly overthrown ball to Harris of Virginia Tech.
Even though the Devils' offense could not move the ball effectively, Tech starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor gave Duke plenty of opportunities early on, throwing interceptions to senior middle linebacker Michael Tauiliili and freshman safety Matt Daniels.
Duke squandered the early interceptions, being stuffed by the tough run defense of Tech.
Redshirt freshman Darren Evans provided another chance for Duke, fumbling a pitch from Taylor later recovered by Daniels.
This time, the Devils capitalized, picking up 22 yards and a first down to set up sophomore Nick Maggio for a 39-yard field goal to take the lead, 3-0.
Taylor's night finally ended after running for a 16-yard gain and fumbling to junior Catron Gainey.
"I was a little disappointed in myself, but it was the better move for the team at the time and we just had to go with what coach said. I was more disappointed in myself than anything else," Taylor said.
After the replacement, Tech's turnover problem continued, as fifth-year senior Sean Glennon had a pass tipped by Tauiliili and then intercepted by Gainey.
Still, Duke could not take advantage of the gift from the Hokies and Tech's offense finally woke up at the end of the half.
Glennon managed to put together an 11 play, 86-yard touchdown drive ending with a touchdown pass to freshman Jarrett Boykin, the first reception for a touchdown by a wide receiver all season for the Hokies.
Tech kicker Dustin Keys converted on the extra point, putting the score at 7-3 in favor of the Hokies near intermission.
Offensive ineptitude continued into the third quarter for both teams, with neither able to put points on the board, instead trading punts back and forth.
Duke continued to run the ball, attempting no passes in the third quarter, instead content to run with Asack into the teeth of the Tech defense with little success.
In the fourth quarter, Tech began to wear down the Duke defense, pounding the ball with Evans and running the "Wild Turkey" formation with redshirt junior tight end Greg Boone.
The Hokies can claim the Coastal Division by beating the rival Virginia Cavaliers next Saturday.
"Now we're back to controlling our own destiny," Harris said. "We're only one game away. This was a great victory tonight, we're going to put it behind us and go back to work on Monday."
Duke, now eliminated from any bowl consideration, will face North Carolina at home.