Duke made Georgia Tech fans suffer for more reasons than the final score, the Blue Devils’ 41-23 victory Saturday afternoon at Wallace Wade Stadium. They forced them to endure watching Duke’s triple-option package convert plays, especially on fourth down to keep early drives alive.
In the final seasons of Paul Johnson’s 11 at Georgia Tech, fans began to grumble his triple-option that hadsenjoyed initial success was outdated and holding back the program. With Johnson’s retirement at the end of last season, fans saw the hiring Geoff Collins as refreshing. He ran a modern spread offense at Temple.
So they thought.
“I’ve always believed in it,” said Duke coach David Cutcliffe of the triple-option package the Blue Devils are using this year in addition to spread formations. “The thing about it is it gives us a physical edge. We spent a lot of time working on it, and we’re not backing down; not this year or next year.”
The change-of-pace has Duke (4-2, 2-1 ACC Coastal) suddenly back in the Coastal Division race when combined with the 17-9 loss that No. 20-ranked Virginia (4-2, 2-1 ACC Coastal) suffered Friday night to Miami. Georgia Tech dropped to 1-5 and 0-3 in the Coastal.
Virginia, the preseason division favorite, has been forced into a logjam at the top with Duke and North Carolina (3-3, 2-1 ACC Coastal). North Carolina and Pitt (4-2, 1-1 ACC Coastal) both had a bye.
The other irony is it was only a year ago that Sports Illustrated published a lengthy spread that the triple-option was all but dead in college football. Tell that to Cutcliffe, otherwise recognized as an innovative passing game mind that coached Peyton Manning as the offensive coordinator at Tennessee and Eli Manning as the head coach at Mississippi.
Cutcliffe said after the game adding a triple-option package had been in on his mind in recents, but he had a pocket passer the last three with Daniel Jones. When Jones announced after his junior redshirt last season he was leaving for the NFL (as, it turned, the sixth pick of the NFL draft by the New York Giants), Cutcliffe went to work revising the playbook.
“It’s been in the back of mind, and I told my coaches we’re moving forward with this in the spring ball,” he said. “We’re going to continue to work on it and grow it.”
Georgia Tech’s triple-option flashbacks began midway through the first quarter. At the time, the Yellow Jackets were leading 7-3 after both teams scored on their first possession.
But then Georgia Tech began trading punts for Duke scoring drives. Overall, the team statistics were even for the game – Georgia Tech, 75 plays, 379 total yards; Duke, 73 plays 373. Georgia Tech ran for 173 and passed for 206; Duke ran for 197 and passed for 176.
Here is where the triple-option made it a one-sided game: Georgia Tech failed to convert its two fourth-down conversions. Duke was three-of-three. Two were on first-half touchdowns to turn a 7-3 deficit into a 17-7 lead.
“It’s fun,” center Jack Wohlabaugh said of the triple-option package. “It’s putting two hands in the dirt and get after them. It’s old school football – try to move guys around. It’s a nice twist to our offense. There are some weeks we can hear the defensive linemen saying under their breath, ‘Come on. Don’t run this.’ It’s working for us. We’re wearing people down.”
On Duke’s second possession, a fourth-and-one conversion kept alive the drive with a first down at the Georgia Tech 32. Later, on second-and-goal from the 3-yard line, true freshman Eli Pancol, a wide receiver recruit from Pendleton, Ind., took a pitch from quarterback Quentin Harris to the left to score. Duke 10, Georgia Tech 7 with 1:18 left in the first quarter.
On Duke’s next possession, the Blue Devils had a fourth-and-goal at the 1. Deon Jackson lined up at fullback with Pancol and true freshman Jaylen Coleman, a running back recruit out of Porter Ridge in Matthews, lined up at the slots. Harris gave the ball to Jackson. Duke 17, Georgia Tech 7.
After another Georgia Tech three-and-out, the Blue Devils drove to a first-and-goal following Mataeo Durant’s 38-yard run out of a spread formation. With Pancol and Coleman as the slot backs and true freshman Jordan Waters, who was recruited as a wide receiver out of Fairmont High, positioned at fullback, Harris sneaked over for the score. Duke 24, Georgia Tech 7.
The rout was on.
The ball was spread around with Durant leading the team with 74 yards, Jackson 69 and Harris 38. Harris was 11-of-20 passing for 176 yards without an interception. Jalen Calhoun caught for balls for 68.
“It gives the defense headaches,” Harris said. “You can hear them yelling to the sideline, ‘They’re putting in the triple-option.’ They’ve got to make adjustments on the fly. It gives people fits. We’ll keep running it as long as it’s successful.”
