Duke defense has dominant showing in 24-7 ACC college football win over Virginia Tech
Maligned often in recent years, Duke’s defense surrendered an explosive play that put Virginia Tech on top early Saturday.
In a sign of different times for the program, the Blue Devils were dominant from there.
Virginia Tech scored on its second play from scrimmage but didn’t do so again as Duke posted a 24-7 ACC football win at Wallace Wade Stadium.
Under first-year coach Mike Elko, the Blue Devils (7-3, 4-2) have their most regular-season wins in a season since 2018 and their most ACC wins in season since 2015. No matter what happens in the final two regular-season games at Pitt and at home with Wake Forest, this will be the first season since 2015 that Duke will not have a losing ACC record.
Duke’s defense played a major role in getting the team the win over Virginia Tech, handing the Hokies (2-8, 1-6) their seventh consecutive loss.
The Hokies finished with just 281 total yards, the fewest Duke has allowed in an ACC game this season. In four of Duke’s other five games, the opponent gained 300 yards or more.
“Defensively, our best effort of the year,” Elko said. “I thought the way we controlled the line of scrimmage, the way we responded to the first big pass play — I thought we really kind of controlled the tempo of the game.”
Duke limited Virginia Tech to 4 of 12 on third-down conversions and also stopped two fourth-down attempts by the Hokies. Virginia Tech quarterback Grant Wells completed 16 of 28 passes for 177 yards. That included his 53-yard touchdown pass to Da’Wain Lofton in the first quarter.
Duke scored the game’s final 24 points, possessing the ball for 38 minutes, 59 seconds compared to Virginia Tech’s 21:01.
“I almost feel like I didn’t play a game,” said Duke safety Brandon Johnson, who recorded both of Duke’s sacks against Virginia Tech. “Being able to let the defense rest, I feel like that’s pretty crucial to how the defense performs.”
Quarterback Riley Leonard threw two touchdown passes and ran for one. He completed 19 of 31 passes for 262 yards while also rushing nine times for 48 yards.
Running back Jordan Waters paced Duke’s balanced running game with 61 yards on 15 carries. Averaging 208 rushing yards per game, Duke finished with 165 yards against a Virginia Tech scheme that packed the line to slow the run.
But that allowed Leonard to find throwing seams in the secondary.
“The O-line gave me as much time as I needed in the pocket to deliver the ball,” Leonard said, “and our receivers are out there just making plays all day. That’s how you beat the blitz. Just getting the ball out of your hands quickly and making competitive catches.”
Wide receiver Jalon Calhoun caught five passes for 94 yards, and Jontavis Robertson caught five passes for 81 yards, including a 6-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter that capped the scoring.
Virginia Tech jumped on top on its second play from scrimmage when Wells fired a 53-yard touchdown pass to Lofton for a 7-0 Hokies lead.
Duke cut the deficit to 7-3 when Todd Pelino kicked a 25-yard field goal with 2:04 to play in the first quarter.
The Blue Devils moved ahead for good when Leonard connected with tight end Nicky Dalmolin on a 24-yard touchdown pass with 6:32 left until halftime.
Leonard’s 5-yard touchdown run pushed the Blue Devils lead to 17-7 in the third quarter.
This story was originally published November 12, 2022 at 2:57 PM.