Weird day. The second half was delayed 77 minutes by lightning, although nobody at Grant Field saw a flash. The game featured a comeback attempt fashioned not by Justin Thomas, the quarterback who excelled at such derring-do, but by Tim Byerly, who hadn’t thrown a pass this season. It ended with Georgia Tech, which lately invented ways to win, losing despite punting only once.
That Duke was the inflictor of Tech’s first loss of 2014 won’t sit well with many Yellow Jackets fans because this is football, and Duke historically hasn’t done well with the oblong ball. But it was fitting that Tech’s comeuppance came against an opponent that has built its program the way Paul Johnson has configured this one — with lesser talent and a stylized offensive scheme.
Last year’s combo platter was enough for Duke to seize the ACC Coastal title. This year’s division standings are more of a mess than ever, which is why Tech shouldn’t despair unduly. And if the Jackets are seeking a template as to how the Coastal could be won, they need only watch this tape.
Tech entered the game ranked No. 22 in the Associated Press poll, but they trailed in all five games. This wasn’t a team capable of beating anybody — not even Wofford, which was within five points with nine minutes left — on manpower. Tech has to play well to win. On Saturday it made enough poor plays to lose.
“We’re not good enough to lose the turnover battle 3-0 and win,” Johnson said. Then this: “We’ve got to play clean games. We’re not going to roll out our helmets and beat anybody.”
Duke’s talent might be even smaller than Tech’s, but the Devils are among the best-coached teams in the land. That’s how they went 10-2 the 2013 regular season and scared the pants off Johnny Manziel and his NFL-ready Texas A&M Aggies in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Duke executes. Duke plays to its strengths. On its better days, so does Tech. This was not such a day.
After a fairly even half that saw two strong drives end in Tech field goals and a Duke possession that would yield a touchdown prolonged by the Jackets lining up offside on a punt, the long-delayed third quarter commenced with B-back Zach Laskey fumbling. Then Harrison Butker missed a 52-yard field-goal attempt. Then Thomas threw a bad interception inside the Duke 10. Then he threw maybe the worst interception in Institute annals.
With 8:18 remaining, the Jackets trailed 31-12, and the “12” was bizarre. Duke was ranked 10th among 14 ACC teams in total defense, and it wasn’t exactly halting the Jackets. Tech simply wasn’t scoring. Tech gained 282 yards rushing, 15 fewer than its average, and broke only one run of more than 20 yards. (And that was a DeAndre Smelter end-around.)
Duke made the Jackets work for everything they got, and they weren’t getting much. Meanwhile, the Devils’ offense was pitching and putting and seizing on Tech largesse. From the Devils’ second full series to its eighth, they banked four touchdowns and a field goal — and one of their whiffs came when coach David Cutcliffe went temporarily insane and eschewed a field goal that would have given his team a 15-point lead with 10 1/2 minutes remaining to try on fourth-and-1.
Even then, Tech couldn’t profit. Thomas, whom Johnson said rolled his ankle in the first half, was driven from the pocket and, having seen his options vanish, sought to throw the ball away. His woeful pass never cleared the sideline. Safety Jeremy Cash intercepted. Soon Duke led by 19.
At that moment Tech had scored 12 points and gained 321 yards. In two series under Byerly, the Jackets scored 14 and gained 162. Had Duke not fielded two onside kicks in the final five minutes, Tech might still be unbeaten. But Duke did, and Tech isn’t.
It would be wrong to draw sweeping conclusions from this. Duke played better and deserved its victory. That doesn’t mean Tech can’t play well and earn better results. Johnson said afterward that if his men pay better attention to detail, “we can beat anybody we play.”
And if they don’t? “We can lose to anybody we play.”
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