Duke Football: Blue Devils fall out of AP Top-25 after ugly loss
It was a big task, and many thought the Duke Football team would be able to handle it but they were sadly mistaken as the Blue Devils have dropped out of the AP Top-25 after losing to Virginia Tech.
It was supposed to be an outstanding night for those in Duke blue.
The No. 22 Duke Blue Devils were 4-0 and looking to become 5-0 for the first time since 1994, hosting the Virginia Tech Hokies who had just lost to Old Dominion while losing their starting quarterback due to a fractured leg.
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The Blue Devils were getting their starting quarterback back in Daniel Jones who returned from a broken clavicle in just about three weeks, but the Blue Devils threw up a stinker on Saturday night at Wallace Wade Stadium.
Duke fell to Virginia Tech 31-14 and the score really didn’t seem that close.
The Duke defense couldn’t get off the field on third down and the secondary finally started to show the limitations they have with all of the injuries they have sustained.
As for the Duke offense, well, Daniel Jones looked relatively good. His receivers didn’t help him by dropping three would be touchdowns, running their routes one yard short of the line to gain on third downs, and very little production out of the offensive line and running game.
No matter how you put it, Duke is now on the outside looking in of the AP Top-25 poll and they have fallen all the way to sixth place in the ACC Coastal Division despite their 4-1 record due to being 0-1 in the ACC.
The only team below the Blue Devils in Georgia Tech, who is 0-2 in the ACC and 2-3 overall.
The Yellow Jackets will be the next opponent for Duke on October 13 as they head into a bye week.
Despite having a tough game and falling out of the Top 25 poll, there are many things for the Blue Devils to correct, but there is still plenty of hope and excitement for the Blue Devils in this season as they look to have one of the best seasons in program history.