DURHAM -- As it stands, Duke coach David Cutcliffe said his squad is a .500 football team "fighting, struggling and scratching" to keep its bowl hopes alive.
The Blue Devils (5-5, 3-3 ACC) were mowed down, 49-10, by No. 7 Georgia Tech on Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium. They must win their final two games - at Miami and hosting Wake Forest - to become bowl eligible for the first time since 1994.
After starting the season with a loss to Richmond, a Football Championship Subdivision team, the Devils found their stride midway through the season and knocked off three consecutive ACC opponents - N.C. State, Maryland and Virginia. But over the past two weeks, the Devils have slowed their roll and seemingly lost their edge - not to mention their effective passing attack.
The Devils must now try to win despite bruised confidence and key injuries.
"We're serious about competing for this thing," Cutcliffe said. "So we're going to battle. ... We have too much pride in this program not to go and compete in these final two ballgames and make something happen."
Compete is what they could not do against the Yellow Jackets (10-1, 7-1), not after opening the game with an impressive scoring drive and jumping to a 10-0 lead.
But everything changed after Georgia Tech's Orwin Smith returned a kickoff for 83 yards to Duke's 2-yard line in the first quarter, setting up its first touchdown.
It was all downhill from there.
The Yellow Jackets, bolstered by the ACC's top rushing offense, unleashed the option attack the Devils had prepped for but could not stop. Duke allowed seven consecutive touchdowns and 519 total yards.
Once they got going, the Yellow Jackets were offensively spectacular. Georgia Tech roared past the Devils to clinch the Coastal Division and a berth in the conference championship game Dec. 5 in Tampa, Fla.
Nine Georgia Tech rushers, with junior back Jonathan Dwyer (14 carries for 110 yards and two touchdowns) leading the charge, combined for 306 yards on the ground.
Quarterback Josh Nesbitt added to the Yellow Jackets' onslaught, completing 6 of 10 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns.
Nestbitt demonstrated touch and range, completing a 75-yard touchdown strike to junior wide receiver Demaryius Thomas with 2:43 remaining in the third quarter. By then, the Yellow Jackets had a comfortable 42-10 lead.
"You really don't know what to expect," Duke senior linebacker Vincent Rey said. "We all know they can run the ball, but they can also throw the ball. It's tough when you have that two-pronged attack as they do."
The Devils, who amassed 281 total yards, never seemed to find consistency with their passing attack. Add to the passing woes a running game that never got going - 24 rushes for 25 yards - and the burden to contain Tech fell heavily on the defense.
It didn't help when usually accurate senior quarterback Thaddeus Lewis missed a wide-open receiver. Lewis overthrew freshman Conner Vernon, who had leaked out behind the safeties and was alone downfield, on a play-action pass.
"I'll do anything to get that one back," said Lewis, who was 22-for-35 for 212 yards a touchdown and an interception. "I saw him wide open. I didn't want to under-throw him, I didn't want to over-throw him. I wanted to be perfect."
Lewis, however, was perfect on the opening drive. He connected on five-of-five pass attempts in a nine-play opening drive, including the 18-yard touchdown strike to tailback Re'quan Boyette to put Duke up 7-0.
Cutcliffe has said his team must play well in all three phases of the game - offense, defense and special teams. Despite some early success on defense, he said they did not meet that standard on Saturday.
"We have a two-game season to get where we want, which is a bowl game," Duke senior Kinney Rucker said. "We just have to regroup as a team, come together and continue to play hard."
Cutcliffe said he has learned that during tough times, people have to try to pick themselves up. He acknowledged that is a difficult task for the Devils considering the disappointment and physical pain players are dealing with.
"The people around us will not hang their heads," he said. "And I promise you we're going to Miami to win a football game. That will be the intent."
Added Lewis: "We can turn it around. The season is not over."
No. 7 Georgia Tech 49, Duke 10
Georgia Tech | 7 | 21 | 14 | 7 | -- | 49 |
Duke | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | 10 |
Duke--Boyette 18 pass from Lewis (Snyderwine kick), 10:47. Duke--FG Snyderwine 31, 1:30. GaT--Nesbitt 2 run (Blair kick), 1:12.
GaT--Wright 16 run (Blair kick), 11:22. GaT--Dwyer 3 run (Blair kick), 5:50. GaT--S.Hill 32 pass from Nesbitt (Blair kick), :32.
GaT--Dwyer 12 run (Blair kick), 12:36. GaT--D.Thomas 75 pass from Nesbitt (Blair kick), 2:43.
GaT--Watson 7 run (Blair kick), 4:48.
| GaT | Duke |
First downs | 22 | 15 |
Rushes-yards | 52-306 | 24-25 |
Passing | 213 | 256 |
Comp-Att-Int | 7-11-0 | 27-41-1 |
Return Yards | 47 | 4 |
Punts | 3-51.7 | 7-37.1 |
Fumbles-Lost | 5-1 | 1-0 |
Penalties-Yards | 5-48 | 4-38 |
Time of Possession | 29:18 | 30:42 |
RUSHING--Georgia Tech, Dwyer 14-110, Peeples 5-48, Wright 5-47, Allen 5-37, Nesbitt 9-30, Shaw 6-27, Jones 2-10, Watson 2-8, Lyons 2-6, Team 2-(minus 17). Duke, D.Scott 6-20, Kurunwune 6-18, Boyette 3-17, Hollingsworth 2-9, Team 1-(minus 7), Lewis 4-(minus 12), Renfree 2-(minus 20).
PASSING--Georgia Tech, Nesbitt 6-10-0-195, Shaw 1-1-0-18. Duke, Lewis 22-35-1-212, Renfree 5-6-0-44.
RECEIVING--Georgia Tech, D.Thomas 2-89, S.Hill 2-38, Peeples 1-37, Allen 1-31, McKayhan 1-18. Duke, Boyette 6-65, D.Scott 5-45, Vernon 3-18, Huffman 3-16, Varner 2-34, Kelly 2-23, B.King 1-29, Williams 1-9, Trezvant 1-8, Bell 1-5, Parker 1-5, Hollingsworth 1-(minus 1).
Att.--25,899.
