Duke does some good things against Hokies but also enough bad things to lose — again
Duke had 31 points, 410 yards in total offense and just one turnover Saturday against Virginia Tech.
And lost. Again.
The Blue Devils are 0-4 after a 38-31 loss to the Hokies at Wallace Wade Stadium, with some things to feel good about from the game but also some troubling concerns that must have Duke coach David Cutcliffe wondering what might happen next.
The Blue Devils allowed 324 yards rushing. That’s a problem. There’s no avoiding that. And Tech running back Khalil Herbert was a game-long problem with 208 yards rushing on 20 carries and another 150 yards on three kickoff returns. The Kansas transfer is a powerfully explosive player and his 358 all-purpose yards set a school record.
But what likely bothers Cutcliffe just as much were the breakdowns, the death by a thousand cuts. The Blue Devils score a touchdown, then give up a long kickoff return. They appear to force a three-and-out on defense but shove the quarterback a bit too hard out of bounds for a penalty that keeps the drive alive. A receiver catches a pass for a nice gain, then gives it away by grabbing the defender’s face-mask as he’s being tackled for another penalty.
“A tale of inconsistencies,” Cutcliffe said in his postgame media call. “When something got going, something else didn’t hold up.”
Good teams find ways to win, losing teams find ways to lose. It would be easy to explain Duke’s season that way. But Duke has faced four solid teams — Notre Dame, Boston College, Virginia and Virginia Tech — in going 0-4 and continues to believe there can and will be a turnaround.
“Nobody wants to be 0-4,” quarterback Chase Brice said. “We start out with Notre Dame, really a top-10 team, and a Boston College team with a new coaching staff and a new energy. Then a really good Virginia team that went to the ACC championship (game) last year. Then a Virginia Tech team that’s known for its defense.”
It also was a Virginia Tech team missing a chunk of its defense Saturday. With COVID-19 issues and other problems again depleting the Hokies’ roster, just as they did in the season opener last week against N.C. State, the Hokies were missing their four top cornerbacks and two of their secondary coaches.
Tyler Matheny, a former walk-on, wasn’t on the two-deep depth chart this past week and started at safety for Virginia Tech. The redshirt sophomore also picked off a tipped pass in the first half, further energizing the Hokies.
“We put up a great fight. We had the opportunity to go and win that game tonight,” Brice said. “But it’s in the rear-view mirror and that’s the mentality. That windshield is straight ahead. That’s what we’re focused on and going up to Syracuse next weekend.”
Brice had his best college moment against Syracuse — with Clemson. With the Tigers trailing the Orange 23-20 late in the fourth quarter in the 2018 game at Clemson, with quarterback Trevor Lawrence out of the game, Brice led the Tigers 94 yards for the winning score.
What the transfer wants now is to get Duke a winning score. College football has become a sport of constant movement and change. Herbert is a graduate transfer. Braxton Burmeister, the Hokies’ starting quarterback Saturday, transferred from Oregon and running back Raheem Blackshear from Rutgers. So it goes.
Brice, who played two years as Lawrence’s backup at Clemson, finally found a comfort level Saturday in the second half — Duke had only 91 yards in total offense in the opening half. He connected on some down-the-field throws and found senior tight end Noah Gray, the old reliable, for another TD pass.
“This is our fifth real live competition, with one live scrimmage,” Brice said. “Later on now we’re beginning to click a little better. I’m understanding my personnel and feeling more confident in the system and play-calling.”
And not getting locked in on one or two guys. Duke had nine players catch passes Saturday and Brice found sophomore Jarett Garner for gains of 41 and 36 yards, an element of the offense missing the first three games.
Duke rushed for 139 yards that was a season-high and a big bump up from a 56-yard effort last week against Virginia in a 38-20 loss. Running backs Mataeo Durant had 86 yards and Deon Jackson 68 yards and two scores.
“We ran the ball better and it opened up some things for me and the receivers,” Brice said.
Duke led the nation in the most dreaded category — turnovers — after the first three games with 14 and “ball security” was the mantra in Duke practice this past week. The Blue Devils won the turnover battle Saturday as the Hokies lost two fumbles and Burmeister had a pass picked off, and scored off a muffed punt.
But Herbert, listed at 5-9 and 212 pounds, was a handful and will be for the other teams on Virginia Tech’s schedule. The Hokies eventually will get players back in the lineup including quarterback Hendon Hooker, who again was dressed but did not play Saturday as 21 players were held out.
Cutcliffe said he has not been 0-4 as a head coach but once was 0-6 while an assistant coach at Tennessee. The Vols then won five in a row and were 11-1 the next season, he said.
“It’s hard for me not to get really angry at myself, and I am,” Cutcliffe said. “At the same time, I can’t lose my head. I have to be objective as we study this and see what we have to do.
“Us pulling together is the only possible path. We have enough playmakers to find a way to win football games. It’s a unique time in the history of college football. What I do know is you have to fight and you have to fight together.”
