Duke fought but fell short. What we learned about Blue Devils in loss at Georgia Tech
There’s no questioning Duke’s fight this football season, which says plenty after so many lopsided losses over the past two seasons.
The execution on both sides of the ball was simply imperfect too often to keep the Blue Devils from suffering a 23-20 overtime loss at Georgia Tech on Saturday.
The Blue Devils (4-2, 1-1 ACC) already have more wins than they posted in either of the past two seasons. When they trailed 20-6 in the fourth quarter as their offense sputtered, it certainly appeared they’d go quietly into the Atlanta night and start preparing for North Carolina next weekend.
But this Duke team under first-year coach Mike Elko has proven different in that realm over the first six games of his tenure.
“I told our guys in the locker room, I’m a proud of our fight, proud of our resiliency,” Elko said. “This program showed again that we will battle four full quarters and overtime, if needed. But the reality is, for three and a half quarters, we just didn’t make enough plays, to win a game on the road in the ACC. That’s really what it comes down to.”
Sahmir Hagans provided a spark with an 81-yard punt return for a touchdown. Riley Leonard led an 80-yard touchdown drive in the final two minutes and fired the game-tying touchdown pass with eight seconds left in the game.
In overtime, Duke’s defense held Georgia Tech to a field goal.
It looked like Leonard, in what was his worst game of the season, had completed a pass to Hagans to give Duke a first down at Georgia Tech’s 9 with a great chance to win the game.
Instead, an offensive pass interference penalty on Jontavis Robertson set Duke back 15 yards.
After Leonard misfired on a third-down pass, Charlie Ham’s 52-yard field goal kick sailed wide right.
The Blue Devils fought but they fell short. Midway through the season, they need just two wins in their final six to extend their season to a bowl game.
That’s serious progress, and chances are better than not Duke will pull that off. But there are concerns, too.
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Here are three things we learned about the Blue Devils from the loss to Georgia Tech:
Troubles up front
Duke struggled to run the ball and wasn’t able to get its passing game going for the majority of the game at Georgia Tech.
Its offensive line is part of the reason.
For the first time this season, quarterback Riley Leonard found himself under siege. Georgia Tech sacked him three times and was credited with hurries on five other passing plays.
Over the season’s first five games, Duke had allowed just five sacks. That’s the fewest among ACC teams.
But Georgia Tech made Leonard uncomfortable and his production plummeted. After completing 72% of his passes in the first five games, he was 20 of 42 (47.6%) against Georgia Tech. He threw for only 136 yards and was intercepted once.
Duke averaged 4.3 yards per carry, below the ACC-leading 5.3 yards they averaged prior to facing Georgia Tech.
Duke’s been using a seven-man rotation along its offensive line, with Jacob Monk splitting his snaps between center and right guard. Chance Lytle and Jack Burns are the main reserves.
At Georgia Tech, though, starting left guard Maurice McIntyre suffered a lower-body injury in the first quarter and didn’t return to the game.
So Lytle played the rest of the game left guard alongside left tackle Graham Barton. Burns, a graduate transfer from Cornell played center with Monk at right guard and Andre Harris at right tackle.
Lytle’s pass blocking rating, according to PFF.com, was a poor 48.5 this season. That’s compared to Barton’s excellent 87.5 and McIntyre’s average 64.5.
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Time to clean up the play
Duke committed seven penalties that cost it 75 yards against Georgia Tech. That’s an uptick over the 5.4 penalties the Blue Devils have averaged this season. That was tied with Wake Forest for the fewest per game in ACC play this season.
The miscues were major on Saturday night.
“We just didn’t handle our emotions the right way,” Elko said. “We want to play to the whistle. We don’t want to go through the whistle. We didn’t handle that right.”
Linebacker Shaka Heyward was called for targeting after hitting sliding Georgia Tech quarterback Jeff Sims in the second quarter. The meant Duke’s best linebacker was ejected for the rest of the game.
“He’s a tremendous leader for us and that’s very out of character for him,” Elko said. “But he couldn’t pull off, and he’s got to pull off and not make that play.”
Jontavis Robertson, a reserve wide receiver pressed into more action due to an injury to Jalon Calhoun, committed two rough penalties. Duke had gained 6 yards on a first-quarter running play when Robertson shoved a Georgia Tech player in the back as the play ended. That unnecessary roughness penalty moved Duke back from the Georgia Tech 21 to the 36.
Duke had to punt instead of getting points.
“We kind of pushed the guy after the play, and we can’t do that and kill the drive,” Elko said. “It’s something we got to coach better and we got to get corrected.”
In overtime, on a screen play where Leonard completed a pass to Hagans, Robertson was called for offensive pass interference.
Instead of a first down at the Georgia Tech 9, Duke faced third down from the Yellow Jackets 34. A missed field goal from 52 yards resulted and Duke lost the game.
Lytle also flagged for being an ineligible receiver downfield play in Georgia Tech territory.
Depth is being tested
Injuries, both to starters and reserves, are starting to pile up for Duke and chip away at what depth the Blue Devils possess.
McIntyre’s injury impacted the offensive line.
The running game was slowed because leading rusher Jaylen Coleman didn’t play due to a lower-body injury and Jordan Waters, tied with Coleman for the team lead with four rushing touchdowns, left the game after a hard hit in the fourth quarter.
Waters gained 24 yards on seven carries, but younger running backs, like sophomore Jaquez Moore and freshman Terry Moore, were forced into action. Jaquez Moore led Duke with 59 yards on 12 carries while Terry Moore gained 30 yards on five carries.
If Coleman or Waters aren’t available for UNC on Saturday or Miami on Oct. 22, it’s unfair to expect major production from the Moores.
Senior wide receiver Jalon Calhoun’s upper-body injury knocked him from the game in the first half Saturday. He entered the game leading Duke in receptions (23) and receiving yards (356). His absence meant more playing time for Robertson, whose two crucial penalties hurt Duke even though he caught three passes for 41 yards.
On defense, the Blue Devils were without reserves Anthony Nelson (defensive end) and Tre Freeman (linebacker). They aren’t expected to play against UNC on Saturday, either.
This story was originally published October 9, 2022 at 7:40 AM with the headline "Duke fought but fell short. What we learned about Blue Devils in loss at Georgia Tech."