Maalik Murphy threw three touchdown passes to Eli Pancol, including two that went for more than 75 yards, and overcame several mistakes as the Duke Blue Devils outlasted Virginia Tech for a 31-28 victory Saturday night in Durham, N.C.
Pancol had 188 receiving yards on five catches as Duke (8-3, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) won its second game in a row.
Bhayshul Tuten’s 29-yard run and backup quarterback William Watson III’s two-point conversion run with 9:19 remaining trimmed Virginia Tech’s deficit to 31-28.
Duke was in position to seal the win with a first down at Virginia Tech’s 16-yard line, but a fumble gave the Hokies life with 1:44 to play. Virginia Tech gave the back on downs.
The Hokies fell behind 14-0 before rattling off 17 consecutive points. But the Blue Devils were relentless in compiling 396 yards of total offense.
Virginia Tech (5-6, 3-4), which has lost three straight, started Collin Schlee at quarterback over Kyron Drones, who was out with a lower-body injury.
Murphy completed 17 of 35 attempts for 332 yards and three interceptions.
Schlee connected with Ali Jennings on a 65-yard touchdown to trim the Hokies’ deficit to 14-7 with 4:28 left in the first quarter. Ayden Greene ran 21 yards for a touchdown on a reverse and John Love kicked a 24-yard field goal to give Virginia Tech a 17-14 lead with 7:55 left in the first half.
Duke recovered to take a 21-17 halftime lead on Murphy’s 7-yard pass to Pancol with 5:41 left in the second quarter.
On the first possession of the second half, the Blue Devils drove 74 yards to extend their lead to 28-17 on Star Thomas’ 2-yard run. After Joshua Pickett’s fourth-down interception, the Blue Devils increased their lead to 31-17 on Todd Pelino’s 42-yard field goal with 3:24 left in the third quarter.
Duke jumped out to an early lead thanks to two touchdown passes. After forcing a punt, the Blue Devils scored on their first snap when Murphy’s heave to Pancol went for 86 yards. On their next possession, Murphy threw a short toss to Pancol, who turned it into a 77-yard touchdown to give the Blue Devils a 14-0 lead.
–Field Level Media