No. 12 Georgia Tech begins 7-0 for first time since 1966, pulls away from mistake-ridden Duke

[ad_1] With No. 2 Miami dropping to Louisville Friday night time, the ACC actually feels up for grabs. No. 12 Georgia Tech and Duke performed sizzling potato with their probabilities to make a run to the convention title recreation Saturday afternoon.

Duke's first two drives reached the Georgia Tech 1- and 12-yard strains however resulted in 0 factors due to ball safety points. Georgia Tech, outfitted with a top-11 dashing offense in faculty soccer, did not cross the 100-yard barrier on the bottom till previous the halfway level of the fourth quarter.

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However the Yellow Jackets prevailed, simply as they did in additional time late final month at Wake Forest.

Georgia Tech operating again Malachi Hosley spun previous Duke security Caleb Weaver and gave the Yellow Jackets (7-0, 4-0 ACC) an insurance coverage landing. Quarterback Haynes King added one other along with his tenth dashing rating of the yr, sealing what turned out to be a 27-18 win in Durham, North Carolina.

The Yellow Jackets are 7-0 for the primary time since they began 9-0 in 1966.

Missed alternatives haunted Duke (4-3, 3-1 ACC) at dwelling. The final one was a 46-yard area objective try that sailed broad proper with 2:57 to go. A make would have minimize Duke's deficit to seven earlier than King's rubbish time landing.

Duke dominated the primary half, outgaining Georgia Tech (7-0, 4-0) 238-110. However a bunch of these yards felt empty after the Blue Devils left back-to-back drives empty-handed within the first quarter.

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Quarterback Darian Mensah fumbled on the mesh level of a zone-read play on second-and-goal from the doorstep of the Yellow Jackets' finish zone.

Georgia Tech security Omar Daniels picked up the unfastened ball and went the gap for a 95-yard scoop-and-score to swing the pendulum and set up a 7-0 Yellow Jackets lead.

Duke's subsequent drive ended with holder Kade Reynoldson muffing the snap on a area objective try.

Turnovers have dictated the Blue Devils' season up to now. Their turnover margin was minus-6 although their first three video games of the yr, which included losses to then-No. 11 Illinois and Tulane. However throughout Duke's three-game ACC win streak, it was plus-11 in that division.

Though Duke technically dedicated just one turnover Saturday, botched exchanges — one on offense and one on particular groups — value them 10 factors.

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The Blue Devils did, nevertheless, rating a landing simply earlier than intermission. That is when Mensah situated tight finish Landen King from 20 yards out to tie the sport at 7-7.

Duke was knocking on the door once more throughout its first sequence of the second half. The Blue Devils drove to the Georgia Tech 1-yard line. The Yellow Jackets responded with three straight stops on the objective line, with redshirt senior defensive lineman Jordan Van Den Berg creating knockback every time.

The Blue Devils settled for a chip-shot area objective, leaving extra factors on the desk.

That was the story of the day for a Duke staff that, regardless of its two losses in non-conference play, nonetheless had a transparent path to the ACC championship recreation — not anymore, although.