Maalik Murphy threw three touchdown passes to Eli Pancol, helping Duke beat Virginia Tech 31-28 on Saturday night, despite Murphy’s three interceptions. Pancol set a career-high with 188 receiving yards on five catches, and Duke (8-3, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) held on for its second straight win, even though they had only nine first downs until the final four minutes of the game.
“So many momentum shifts, so many mistakes,” said Duke coach Manny Diaz. “We certainly didn’t play our best. But we were resilient. … I don’t know if anybody would confuse that with excellence, but we were successful.”
Virginia Tech’s Bhayshul Tuten ran for 84 yards and scored a late touchdown, but the Hokies (5-6, 3-4) lost their third straight game.
With starting quarterback Kyron Drones out due to injury, Virginia Tech used Collin Schlee, who was injured in the first half. Schlee threw for one touchdown, and William Watson III came in, passing for 146 yards and scoring the final two points of the game with a two-point conversion run.
Duke managed to win despite turning the ball over four times. At one point, they were on Virginia Tech’s 16-yard line with a first down, but Star Thomas fumbled, and the Hokies took over with 1:44 left. However, they were unable to pick up a first down.
Duke started strong, leading 14-0 less than 6½ minutes into the game. Murphy’s 86-yard pass to Pancol came on the first play of the game, and they connected again for a 77-yard touchdown on the next possession.
“You couldn’t have scripted it any better,” said Diaz.
Virginia Tech answered with 17 unanswered points. Schlee connected with Ali Jennings for a 65-yard touchdown, and Ayden Greene ran for a 21-yard score. Jennings finished with 158 yards receiving.
“Just didn’t do enough things to contribute to winning,” said Hokies coach Brent Pry. “We gave them a head start. … We didn’t make them earn it early in the game like we needed to.”
