NCAAF Game Recap - Virginia Tech at Duke
Sat Oct 3, 2020 4:00 PM EDT

UVA
23
Clem
41
F
TxAM
24
Bama
52
F
SCar
24
Fla
38
F
Aub
6
UGA
27
F
TCU
33
Tex
31
F
Tuls
34
UCF
26
F
UNC
26
BC
22
F
SoFL
7
Cin
28
F
Ark
21
MissSt
14
F
OkSt
47
Kans
7
F
Okla
30
IASt
37
F
LSU
41
Vand
7
F
MIZ
12
Tenn
35
F
LT
14
BYU
45
F
NCSt
30
Pitt
29
F
Mem
27
SMU
30
F
Camp
14
Wake
66
F
ArkSt
23
CoCar
52
F
Bayl
21
WVU
27
F(1OT)
ECU
29
GASt
49
F
UTSA
13
UAB
21
F
N AL
7
Lib
28
F
Abil
23
Army
55
F
TxTch
21
K St
31
F
JacSt
24
FlaSt
41
F
Miss
42
KY
41
F OT
VaTec
38
Duke
31
F
UNCC
17
FlAtl
21
F
W Ky
20
MidTN
17
F
Navy
7
AF
40
F
GaSo
35
ULMon
30
F
SMiss
41
NorTx
31
F

Oct 3, 2020, 4:00 PM EDT

Final

1

2

3

4

T

Virginia Tech (2-0)

7

3

14

14

38

Duke (0-4)

7

0

7

17

31

Herbert, Virginia Tech beat Duke 38-31 for 2-0 start
Sat Oct 3, 2020 8:48 PM

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) Khalil Herbert ran for 208 yards and two touchdowns, including a 60-yard score with 2:20 left, to help shorthanded Virginia Tech hold off Duke for a 38-31 win on Saturday.

The Kansas graduate transfer's huge day included an 83-yard kickoff return that set up a short third-quarter scoring drive for the Hokies (2-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). They were down 21 players and two full-time coaches due to a combination of coronavirus and injury issues after similar trouble for last weekend's win against North Carolina State.

"I'm not sure I can put into words how difficult what we've been dealing with is," Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente said.

Herbert certainly helped on that front. His huge kickoff return came immediately after a third-quarter Duke touchdown for a 14-10 lead, while his other rushing score was a 23-yard sprint around the left side for a 31-21 lead with 9:58 left.

"His vision is amazing and he's really explosive when he finds that hole," said Braxton Burmeister, who scored on two keepers for the Hokies.

The Hokies' defense - with the secondary among the hardest-hit positions - also came up big by forcing a three-and-out after Burmeister lost a fumble to give Duke a chance for the lead with 4 1/2 minutes left.

Herbert took care of the rest, breaking loose around the left side again for the 60-yarder for a 38-28 lead while cracking the 200-yard mark to essentially seal this one.

Deon Jackson scored twice on the ground for the Blue Devils (0-4, 0-4), including when he shot up the middle for a 10-yard score that gave Duke a 14-10 lead with 11:27 left in the third.

But the Blue Devils didn't hold that lead long. Herbert answered with his huge kickoff return -- it was originally ruled a touchdown before a replay review confirmed he stepped on the sideline -- that set up a short go-ahead score from Burmeister.

Chase Brice threw for 271 yards and a touchdown for Duke, off to its worst start in 14 years.

"We have enough playmakers to win football games," Duke coach David Cutcliffe said. "It's the most unique time in college football, most unique time in my career, so I don't know what you have to do step by step. It's different what we're dealing with. You have to fight and you have to fight together."

THE TAKEAWAY

Virginia Tech: The Hokes have won twice despite some tricky circumstances. They were down 23 players and two full-time coaches for last week's win against N.C. State. That number dipped slightly this time, but their strong ground game did not. The Hokies ran for 314 yards last week then surpassed that total with 324 more against the Blue Devils.

"It definitely gives us some confidence," Herbert said, adding: "It's going to help set up the rest of our offense, so I think that definitely helps us down the road."

Duke: The Blue Devils entered this one with their worst start since a winless 2006 season before Cutcliffe's arrival, which transformed the program into a regular bowl participant after years of struggle. They were in this one until the final minutes, but couldn't take advantage of their best late opportunity.

"The only thing is to finish," safety Michael Carter II said. "We finish, we win the game."

FEWER TURNOVERS

The Blue Devils had been turning the ball over at an alarming rate, entering with 14 turnovers for the highest total of any Bowl Subdivision team. This time, the Blue Devils had just one - and not coincidentally had their best scoring output of the season - but it wasn't quite enough to pull this one out.

"We had too many self-inflicted wounds that stopped some drives and momentum that we need to clean up," Brice said. "Not turning the ball over as much gives us a chance to compete and win a game like that."

A BIG OPPORTUNITY

Virginia Tech defensive back Tyler Matheny got a chance for a big role in the shorthanded secondary. The redshirt sophomore had seven tackles and an interception on Brice's tipped pass.

UP NEXT

Virginia Tech: The Hokies visit No. 12 North Carolina next Saturday.

Duke: The Blue Devils visit Syracuse next Saturday.

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More AP college football: http://apnews.com/Collegefootball and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25

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Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap

Passing

VaTec Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
B. Burmeister 25 9 36.0 1 163 56 1 55.9
Duke Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
C. Brice 39 22 56.4 1 271 41 1 75.9

Rushing

VaTec Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
K. Herbert 19 207 10.9 60 2
R. Blackshear 15 59 3.9 13 0
Duke Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
M. Durant 11 86 7.8 27 0
D. Jackson 15 68 4.5 39 2

Receiving

VaTec Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
T. Robinson 2 85 42.5 56 0
T. Turner 3 47 15.7 36 0
Duke Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
J. Garner 3 84 28.0 41 0
N. Gray 6 51 8.5 17 1

Fumbles

VaTec F FL
T. Robinson 1 1
Duke F FL
M. Durant 1 0
C. Brice 1 0

Returning

VaTec KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
K. Herbert 3 50.0 0 83 0 0 0
T. Robinson 0 0 0 1 -17.0 0 0
Duke KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
J. Stinson 2 19.5 0 27 0 0 0
J. Calhoun 0 0 0 1 0.0 0 0

Punting

VaTec Punt Yds Avg LgPu
O. Bradburn 6 253 42.2 51
Duke Punt Yds Avg LgPu
P. Wilson 9 409 45.4 63

Takeaways

VaTec Int Yds InTD
T. Matheny 1 16 0
Duke Int Yds InTD
J. Stinson 0 0 0
J. Lewis 1 0 0

Team Stats Comparison

VaTec Duke
Points For 38 31
Total Yards 487 410
Rushing Yards 324 139
Passing Yards 163 271
Passing Completions / Attempts 9/25 22/39
Turnovers 3 1
Interceptions Thrown 1 1
Fumbles - Lost 2/2 2/0
First Downs 25 19
Penalties - Yards 3/20 8/76
Time Of Possession 04:04 56:56
Third Down Conversions/Attempts 7/15 5/17
Fourth Down Conversions/Attempts 1/1 3/3
Punts - Average Yards 0/0 0/0

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter VaTec Duke
Duke 03:23 TD Jaylen Stinson 0 yd fumble return (Charlie Ham kick) 0 7
VaTec 10:34 TD James Mitchell 12 yd pass from Braxton Burmeister (Brian Johnson kick) 7 7
2nd Quarter VaTec Duke
VaTec 11:46 FG Brian Johnson 21 yd FG 10 7
3rd Quarter VaTec Duke
Duke 03:33 TD Deon Jackson 10 yd run (Charlie Ham kick) 10 14
VaTec 05:43 TD Braxton Burmeister 2 yd run (Brian Johnson kick) 17 14
VaTec 10:01 TD Braxton Burmeister 14 yd run (Brian Johnson kick) 24 14
4th Quarter VaTec Duke
Duke 01:19 TD Noah Gray 17 yd pass from Chase Brice (Charlie Ham kick) 24 21
VaTec 05:02 TD Khalil Herbert 23 yd run (Brian Johnson kick) 31 21
Duke 08:16 TD Deon Jackson 1 yd run (Charlie Ham kick) 31 28
VaTec 12:40 TD Khalil Herbert 60 yd run (Brian Johnson kick) 38 28
Duke 15:00 FG Charlie Ham 39 yd FG 38 31

Game Information

Stadium: Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium, Durham, North Carolina
Attendance: 0
Game Time:
Weather: