Georgia Tech Edges Duke 28-25 on Missed Last-Second Field Goal, Ending Blue Devils’ Unbeaten Start
Backup kicker Gavin Strange missed a 33-yard field goal wide left with eight seconds remaining as Georgia Tech beat No. 23 Duke 28-25 on Saturday, handing the Blue Devils their first loss of the season.
ATLANTA — Georgia Tech held off No. 23 Duke 28-25 on Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium, surviving a frantic fourth quarter after Duke backup kicker Gavin Strange missed a 33-yard field goal wide left with eight seconds remaining that would have sent the game to overtime.
Strange, a true freshman starting his first college game with regular kicker Cosme Salas sidelined, pushed the attempt left of the uprights to end a late comeback bid and hand Duke its first loss of the season. It was Georgia Tech’s sixth straight win over the Blue Devils.
Duke had taken its first lead of the game with 2:40 to play, going ahead 25-21 on a five-yard touchdown run by Nate Sheppard — his second score of the day — to cap a 70-yard, 12-play drive, according to Duke Wire.
Georgia Tech answered behind quarterback Alberto Mendoza. Aided by a late-hit penalty that helped the Yellow Jackets move into Duke territory, Trelain Maddox rushed in his third touchdown of the day with 54 seconds left to put Georgia Tech back on top, 28-25.
Duke’s last drive comes up short
The Blue Devils drove back down the field in the final minute, with a 42-yard reception by Sheppard moving them inside Georgia Tech’s 20-yard line, according to the Duke Chronicle. But Duke could not reach the end zone, setting up Strange’s missed kick.
Georgia Tech led throughout much of the afternoon. The Yellow Jackets opened the game with a 78-yard scoring drive, then stretched the lead to 21-10 early in the third quarter on a 60-yard touchdown run by Maddox. Duke clawed back on an eight-yard touchdown catch by Jared Richardson and a two-point conversion, then tied the game at 7 in the second quarter on a Sheppard touchdown before Strange’s 35-yard field goal sent the teams to halftime with Georgia Tech ahead 14-10.
Duke (4-1, 1-1 ACC) returns home to face North Carolina on Saturday in Durham. Georgia Tech (2-3, 1-1 ACC) snapped a two-game skid with the win.
Reporting based on coverage by Duke Wire/USA Today, the Fayetteville Observer and the Duke Chronicle.
