Halftime report: Duke-Georgia Tech

It was all Duke for the first half

Georgia Tech opened the game with a 75-yard touchdown drive. Tech closed the half with a 75-yard touchdown drive. In between, not much went well for the Yellow Jackets.

In the five drives between the two scores, Tech gained a total of eight yards. In the meantime, Duke scored 38 straight points, and the rout is on here at Wallace Wade Stadium.

Quentin Harris had two completions of more than 40 yards to set up first-quarter scores, a welcome sight for Duke, who has struggled to move the ball early in the last two games.

Duke’s running game has also been humming. Duke has rushed for four touchdowns: two by Deon Jackson and one by Eli Pancol on an end around in the triple option. Mataeo Durant had a career-high 38-yard that replay determined was six inches shy of the goal line, so Harris kept it for the fourth rushing score of the game.

David Cutcliffe said that getting time for his young running backs to get them ready for game action was a priority. We’ve already seen freshmen Jaylen Coleman and Jordan Waters on the field for touchdowns. They had a total of 22 snaps heading into the game. Neither has carried yet, but, assuming the bottom doesn’t fall out for Duke in the second half, we should see them both get opportunities to carry the ball.

Making matters even bleaker for the Yellow Jackets, leading tackler David Curry was ejected after the linebacker was flagged for targeting in the second quarter.