No. 12 Georgia Tech starts 7-0 for first time since 1966, pulls away from mistake-ridden Duke

ASSOCIATED PRESS

With No. 2 Miami losing to Louisville Friday night, the ACC truly feels up for grabs. No. 12 Georgia Tech and Duke played hot potato with their chances to make a run to the conference title game Saturday afternoon.

Duke's first two drives reached the Georgia Tech 1- and 12-yard lines but resulted in 0 points because of ball security issues. Georgia Tech, equipped with a top-11 rushing offense in college football, didn't cross the 100-yard barrier on the ground until past the midway point of the fourth quarter. 

But the Yellow Jackets prevailed, just as they did in overtime late last month at Wake Forest.

Georgia Tech running back Malachi Hosley spun past Duke safety Caleb Weaver and gave the Yellow Jackets (7-0, 4-0 ACC) an insurance touchdown. Quarterback Haynes King added another with his 10th rushing score of the year, sealing what turned out to be a 27-18 win in Durham, North Carolina. 

The Yellow Jackets are 7-0 for the first time since they started 9-0 in 1966.

Missed opportunities haunted Duke (4-3, 3-1 ACC) at home. The last one was a 46-yard field goal attempt that sailed wide right with 2:57 to go. A make would have cut Duke's deficit to seven before King's garbage time touchdown.

Duke dominated the first half, outgaining Georgia Tech (7-0, 4-0) 238-110. But a bunch of those yards felt empty after the Blue Devils left back-to-back drives empty-handed in the first quarter.

Quarterback Darian Mensah fumbled at the mesh point of a zone-read play on second-and-goal from the doorstep of the Yellow Jackets' end zone.

Georgia Tech safety Omar Daniels picked up the loose ball and went the distance for a 95-yard scoop-and-score to swing the pendulum and establish a 7-0 Yellow Jackets lead.

Duke's next drive ended with holder Kade Reynoldson muffing the snap on a field goal attempt. 

Turnovers have dictated the Blue Devils' season so far. Their turnover margin was minus-6 though their first three games of the year, which included losses to then-No. 11 Illinois and Tulane. But during Duke's three-game ACC win streak, it was plus-11 in that department.

Although Duke technically committed only one turnover Saturday, botched exchanges — one on offense and one on special teams — cost them 10 points.

The Blue Devils did, however, score a touchdown just before intermission. That's when Mensah located tight end Landen King from 20 yards out to tie the game at 7-7.

Duke was knocking on the door again during its first series of the second half. The Blue Devils drove to the Georgia Tech 1-yard line. The Yellow Jackets responded with three straight stops at the goal line, with redshirt senior defensive lineman Jordan Van Den Berg creating knockback each time. 

The Blue Devils settled for a chip-shot field goal, leaving more points on the table.

That was the story of the day for a Duke team that, despite its two losses in non-conference play, still had a clear path to the ACC championship game — not anymore, though.

Georgia Tech's storybook season, on the other hand, is alive and well.