(Photos) Georgia Tech wheels past Duke 38-14

DURHAM, N.C. – Quarterback Vad Lee and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets proved to be too much for the Duke Blue Devils as they suffered their first loss of the season, a 38-14 decision, at Wallace Wade Stadium on Saturday.

Linebacker Kelby Brown (17 tackles) along with safeties Jeremy Cash (14 tackles) and Dwayne Norman (12 tackles) led the Blue Devils defense against a dominating run game that the Yellow Jackets employed in gaining 344 total yards while keeping possession of the ball for over 38 minutes in the game.

Blue Devils quarterback Brandon Connette (15-28, 122 yards) made only his second career start and struggled to find any consistency in keeping the offense moving, particularly on third-down opportunities.

“It was a good football game,” Duke head coach David Cutcliffe said.

“We had some unfortunate circumstances in a couple of places, but a good game. On offense, we clearly didn’t execute well, and then Georgia Tech wore on our defense a little, and they were opportunistic there.”

The combination of the defense being on the field too often, leaving too many yards on the field on offense, and costly defensive penalties all accounted for the Blue Devils not being able to execute effectively against the Yellow Jackets.

“Certainly a team like Georgia Tech that’s experienced in a lot of the right places and talented – they’re a good football team,” Cutcliffe continued.

“They’re an unselfish football team. They played well as a team – you’re not going to win. That’s basically what we did. I don’ think it’s an indication of our talent. Of course, not an indication of how good we can play. If we don’t like it, we’ve got to go get something done about it.”

Standing at 2-1 overall (0-1), the Blue Devils now prepare to host new Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponent, the Pittsburgh Panthers on Saturday.