Courtesy GoDuke.com
ATLANTA – The Duke football team rallied from an early 10-point deficit but eventually fell, 24-14, at Georgia Tech on Saturday, Oct. 5. The Blue Devils (5-1, 1-1 ACC) trailed 10-0 and 10-7 midway through the third quarter before taking a lead with a 65-yard touchdown by Sahmir Hagans, but two scoring drives by the Yellow Jackets (4-2, 2-2 ACC) in the fourth quarter led to the eventual 24-14 final tally.
Hagans, a redshirt junior, took a short pass from redshirt sophomore quarterback Maalik Murphy and dashed 65 yards for the go-ahead score with 2:53 to play in the third quarter. Graduate wide receiver Eli Pancol accounted for Duke’s first touchdown on a 20-yard strike from Murphy with 26 seconds left in the first half.
Duke’s defense was paced by redshirt junior linebacker Tre Freeman’s 11 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Georgia Tech took its opening drive 60 yards on 16 plays and reached the endzone on a two-yard burst from Zach Pyron for a quick 7-0 advantage.
- The Yellow Jackets made it a 10-0 advantage with a 23-yard field goal with 10:02 remaining in the second quarter. Duke’s defense held strong on the drive as the Jackets had first-and-goal from the Blue Devil eight-yard line before being held to three points.
- Duke clawed back with a touchdown to make it a 10-7 game with 26 seconds left in the opening half. Taking over at midfield after forcing a Georgia Tech three-and-out, Duke covered the 50 yards on seven plays with Eli Pancol catching a 20-yard TD pass from Maalik Murphy to cap the drive.
- The Blue Devils opened the second half with a career-long 67-yard kickoff return by Peyton Jones, but an offensive pass interference flag stalled the drive and forced a Duke punt. Duke’s next drive also halted inside Yellow Jacket territory as an 81-yard effort came up just short on fourth down, returning the ball to GT at its own 10.
- Duke would not be held down on its next drive as Sahmir Hagans took a Murphy pass 65 yards for a touchdown on the first play and put the Blue Devils up 14-10.
- The hosts responded with two touchdown drives, taking a 24-14 lead with just over six minutes remaining in the contest.
- Duke got into Georgia Tech’s half of the field on the ensuing drive, but a missed field goal relinquished possession back to the Yellow Jackets with under four minutes remaining.
UP NEXT
- The Blue Devils are open next Saturday before returning home to face Florida State on Friday, October 18. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN.
For more information on Duke Football, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching “DukeFOOTBALL”.
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