Virginia Tech turned three Duke turnovers into 17 points, and Blue Devils placekicker Ross Martin missed a 40-yard field goal with 2:26 to go, allowing the Hokies to escape with a 17-16 win in Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C., on Saturday.
Duke (8-2, 4-2 ACC) led 10-0 in the second quarter and was driving in the red zone when quarterback Anthony Boone was intercepted at the Tech 2 by Deon Clarke. The Hokies (5-5, 2-4 ACC) drove 98 yards in 12 plays to get on the scoreboard, punching it in on a 10-yard pass from Michael Brewer to Isaiah Ford that made it 10-7 Duke.
A pair of Martin field goals would give the Blue Devils a 16-7 lead, and a Brewer interception in Virginia Tech territory seemed to open the door for Duke to take control, but Boone was hit on a third-down pass attempt, and Derek Di Nardo plucked the ball out of the air and returned it 51 yards to the Duke 8.
The Hokies had to settle for a 35-yard Joey Slye field goal on the final play of the third quarter that cut the deficit to 16-10. Then on the ensuing kickoff, Duke returner DeVon Edwards fumbled, and Dahman McKinnon recovered for Virginia Tech at the Duke 31.
Five plays later, Brewer connected with Bucky Hodges on a 15-yard TD pass that gave Tech its first lead of the afternoon.
Duke took advantage of a failed fake punt to get the ball to the edge of the red zone in the final three minutes, but Martin, who had not missed a field-goal attempt all year before missing a 51-yarder in the second quarter, was wide left from 40.
The Blue Devils defense forced a Tech punt, giving the offense one last chance, but the Hokies defense held on a fourth-down pass to end it.
Virginia Tech won despite a subpar day from its offense, which generated only 293 yards. Duke gained 324 yards total offense, but the three turnovers were backbreakers, and Boone had a pedestrian day throwing the ball, completing 19 of his 41 pass attempts for 185 yards.
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