Dwyer set tone for Tech’s offense

Tech’s opening drive foretold what lay ahead Saturday.

B-back Jonathan Dwyer carried on the first three plays, ripping off 25, 5 and 6 yards. He finished with career highs in carries (23) and yards (159) as the Jackets controlled the ball for nearly 39 minutes.

“With [starting quarterback Josh] Nesbitt out, that’s another leader out of the huddle and I figured I have to step up and lead,” said Dwyer, a sophomore averaging 7.7 yards per carry.

Freshman quarterback Jaybo Shaw “is a young guy, he played great today, a phenomenal game,” Dwyer said. “I was just trying to let him feed off my energy and let everybody else feed off the energy I have.”

Tech faced 4th-and-2 on its first possession, so naturally the ball went to Dwyer. He dragged Duke tacklers for a 10-yard gain. Late in the third quarter Dwyer ran four consecutive times for 51 yards, setting up Tech’s second touchdown.

With Dwyer bulling up the middle and Demaryius Thomas catching nine balls on the outside, the Jackets achieved a balance that paid off with 24 points in the second half.

“They made what percentage of the big plays?” Duke coach David Cutcliffe said of Dwyer and Thomas. “100 percent maybe?”

Tech coach Paul Johnson said the Blue Devils paid a lot of attention to Shaw and the pitch man, which freed up Dwyer.

“The [middle] linebacker was just taking off and running to the pitch or running to the quarterback on every play,” Johnson said. “You got five left in there to block four. We should have had more than we had if we do a better job in there.

“But Jon’s so explosive. You give him a little crease and he can turn it into some big plays.”