On Duke's final possession of the first half, there were barely any Blue Devils lined up on the sideline watching their teammates. Most of them were sitting slumped on the bench, sucking wind.
If there is a whirlpool anywhere near the visiting locker room here at Bobby Dodd Stadium, Duke's defense might want to sneak in. They have to be exhausted. It's 75 degrees and sunny here and they've been on the field for 17 minutes, 10 seconds.
The 3-0 score couldn't possibly be any more deceiving, as the Yellow Jackets should be up by at least two touchdowns by now. They've been inside the 10-yard line twice in the first half, and Georgia Tech is controlling the clock and getting big plays.
Jonathan Dwyer has already escaped for runs of 27 and 25 yards, and the Blue Devils allowed a 32-yard passing play. Georgia Tech's play-calling has been outstanding. Meanwhile, Duke's offense is going nowhere. The Blue Devils don't even have a first down yet and just seven yards rushing.
Yet because of Duke's defense, Georgia Tech has nothing to show for their 215 yards of total offense but a 20-yard field goal. It was the first time Georgia Tech hasn't scored a point in the first quarter since last year's game against Georgia.
Georgia Tech starting quarterback
Josh Nesbitt didn't even dress for this game, but backup
Jaybo Shaw made a seamless transition into the starting role. Shaw became the first true freshman to start at quarterback for the Yellow Jackets since Reggie Ball in 2003. Shaw has completed 5 of 9 passes for 80 yards.
It's going to be nearly impossible for Duke's defense to keep this up another half, so the Blue Devils have to get their running game going in order to get more than negative yardage out of their passing game. That all goes back to the matchup of Duke's offensive line against a defensive line laden with future NFL talent.
