BLACKSBURG, Va. –– The Duke Blue Devils found themselves trailing the Virginia Tech Hokies 3-0 after the first quarter. A seemingly revitalized Hokies defense held the Blue Devils to under 10 yards and zero first downs in the first quarter.
The second quarter was a completely different story. Duke’s offense exploded before halftime and that continued throughout the rest of regulation en route to a 45 to 10 victory over the Hokies.
After the game, head coach Justin Fuente owned the defeat. Stating, “Obviously we were not ready to the point where we can compete and play and have a chance to win against the team we played tonight. That’s my responsibility and my fault. I believe in our group. I have got to find a way to get more out of them in all three phases of the game. We played a good football team tonight and were not much of a match for them.”
He was right to take ownership of the loss because as the head coach, it all falls on his shoulders. No matter how fair or unfair those criticisms may be.
The Hokies offense struggled to find any rhythm. Tech employed three quarterbacks, Ryan Willis, Hendon Hooker, and Quincy Patterson, throughout the contest and none could find a tremendous amount of success. Apart from a 72-yard touchdown pass from Willis to Damon Hazelton and a 45-yard Deshawn McClease run, Virginia Tech struggled to move the ball throughout the game.
True freshman running back Keshawn King only received six touches on the evening, which could possibly mean his injury sustained against Furman was worse than initially thought or was reaggravated.
The aforementioned defense looked solid and much improved throughout the first fifteen minutes of the contest. Unfortunately for Virginia Tech, that changed quickly.
Duke quarterback Quentin Harris wasn’t extremely effective through the air; however, he was excellent on the ground with 17 rushes for 100 yards and a touchdown.
Duke’s play-calling was dynamic and tough for the Hokies to defend. A passing touchdown from wide receiver Jalon Calhoun underscored the success Duke was able to find throughout the second, third, and fourth quarters.
Ultimately, Duke outclassed Virginia Tech in every aspect of the game. Unfortunately, the Hokies’ schedule doesn’t get any easier with a trip to Miami to face the Hurricanes on the horizon.
