It really wasn’t that bad of a game for the Duke football team, at least early into the second half. The Virginia offense (and defense) came alive to take control and hold on for a 31-21 victory.

It wasn’t until the closing seconds of the first quarter that someone scored. Unfortunately it wasn’t Duke. Will Snyderwine missed a 25-yard field goal late in the first quarter. UVA took over and scored a touchdown with four seconds left in the quarter to take a 7-0 lead.

Duke took their next possession into the second quarter and came right back to tie it at 7-7. Quarterback Sean Renfree threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Donovan Varner. After the Duke defense forced UVA to punt, Renfree threw a 41-yard pass and Duke used its rushing game to take a 14-7 lead. Juwan Thompson rushed in for the 1-yard TD.

With about 2:16 to go in the half, UVA quarterback Michael Rocco threw a 38-yard TD pass to Kris Burd to tie the game at 14-14. That is the way the two teams went to the locker rooms at the half.

» Continue reading “Duke’s Football Freefall Continues Against Virginia”

The game didn’t start out well for the Duke Blue Devils and didn’t end well, as the visiting Virginia Tech Hokies, who are ranked in the top 15, won their 11th straight road game, 14-10.

Another close game for the Dukies and another game of missed opportunities and miscues for the offense.

Duke took the opening drive but on the third play, quarterback Sean Renfree threw an interception. The Hokies took the ball, but on their fourth play, quarterback Logan Thomas threw his own interception. Duke got the ball back and drove to the VT 25 yard line. Then Juwan Thompson fumbled. The Hokies took advantage and took 5:49 off the clock and scored to take a 7-0 lead (a Thomas 2 yard touchdown pass).

When Duke got the ball back with 4:14 left in the first quarter, they drove deep into VT territory. They carried the momentum into the start of the 2nd quarter and scored on Desmond Scott’s three-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7.

Unfortunately that momentum didn’t carry to the defense right away, as VT ran eight plays and four minutes off the clock to score and take a 14-7 lead. Josh Oglesby rushed in for the 1-yard TD run. On that drive, Oglesby ran for 42 yards.

Renfree was intercepted again on Duke’s very next possession, but so did Thomas for VT.

» Continue reading “VT Continues Road Winning Streak at Duke”

Tanner Price threw a 66 yard touchdown pass to receiver Chris Givens at the 7:14 mark in the fourth quarter as Wake Forest came back to defeat Duke, 24-23. That pass was the first completed pass by Price for yardage in the second half.

The eventual game-winning touchdown pass by Price came 22 seconds into their 4th quarter drive. It also came right after Will Snyderwine gave Duke a 23-17 lead with a 19-yard field goal (he was 3-for-3 on the day).

The first half went Wake Forest’s way as they led 17-3 at the half. Givens caught five passes for 82 yards, his longest of 32 yards. Duke quarterback Sean Renfree was 12-for-12 heading into their final drive of the first half. Unfortunately he had thrown for just 40 yards.

In the final drive of the half, Renfree was 4-for-7 for 32 yards, but they had to settle for a Snyderwine 26-yard field goal (eight plays for 37 yards in 1:10 minutes). Three offensive penalties for 30 yards didn’t help. However with just eight seconds left, Wake Forest picked up a 15-yard pass interference penalty, which led to the field goal.

At the half, Renfree was 16-for-19 for 92 yards. Leading rusher Juwan Thompson had just two carries for 19 yards. Leading receiver Conner Vernon caught three passes for just 14 yards and Donovan Varner had two catches for just six yards. Cooper Helfet caught three passes for 42 yards. The big catch came in that final drive (a 25 yard catch).

» Continue reading “Price Sends Duke to Heartbreaking Loss”