Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Duke Football: 3 Biggest Defensive Problems in Loss to Georgia Tech

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Duke football fans saw a lot of good and bad football against Georgia Tech, but on the defensive side of the ball it was mostly the latter.

The Duke Blue Devils looked to be on the wrong side of a route when the first half against Georgia Tech ended, and despite a nice comeback by the offense, it was the Duke defense who let the Yellow Jackets get the win.

You can recap the good by the Blue Devils very easily.

Quarterback Daniel Jones had a productive day, particularly running the ball (73 yards) and getting it in the hands of his tight ends Daniel Helm and David Koppenhaver, who combined for 9 catches, 123 yards and two touchdowns.

Jones finished the day 22 of 36 for 305 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, and really looked poised against the Yellow Jackets.

But the game was a tale of two halves. The first half – where Georgia Tech utterly dominated Duke in nearly every facet of the game, helped along by two Blue Devils turnovers – and the second half, where the Blue Devils looked to reverse their fortunes (at least on offense).

The defense was a problem most of the day, and here are the biggest takeaways from this heartbreaking road loss.

Oct 29, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets running back Marcus Marshall (34) runs the ball against the Duke Blue Devils in the first quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Stay In Your Lane

One of the biggest things about defending the option is the ability for defenders to stay in position and guard their lane. Don’t chase the ball or the ball-carrier, just stay with your man and guard your position.

Despite having faced Georgia Tech’s triple-option attack for the last 8 years, Duke seemed unprepared to face Paul Johnson’s team.

Duke linebackers were caught looking the wrong direction, and the defensive line was dominated to the point of holes between the tackles being wide enough for two Georgia Tech backs to run through.

The Jackets amassed 341 rushing yards, at a gaudy 7.3 yards per carry, 195 of those yards coming from quarterback Justin Thomas.

As well as the Jackets run the ball, it’s almost excusable to allow them that kind of yardage. But if you are going to let the Yellow Jackets beat you, at least let them beat you by running the ball.

Oct 29, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets quarterback Justin Thomas (5) stiff arms Duke Blue Devils defensive end Dominic McDonald (51) in the first quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Secondary Woes

A team who is known for running the ball 90 percent of the time was able to tally 264 passing yards against the Blue Devils, including several deep bombs by Thomas, with the longest being 50 yards.

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Not only did Duke allow Thomas to run the ball effectively (which isn’t surprising), they allowed the 5-foot-11 playcaller to look like Doug Flutie when he dropped back. It seemed every time Thomas had a few seconds in the pocket, he was able to find a wide open receiver.

Georgia Tech wideouts averaged 18.9 yards per catch, with Clinton Lynch leading the way with 30.3 yards per catch. If that’s not a huge failure on the part of the secondary, then nothing is.

The Duke safeties and defensive backs were caught looking in at the line of scrimmage far too often instead of keeping in stride with wide receivers who don’t really possess lightning speed.

If you lock down outside receivers in a triple-option offense, it limits what plays can be called. Georgia Tech had a wide-open playbook today.

Oct 29, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets running back Qua Searcy (1) attempts to make a catch against the Duke Blue Devils in the third quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Giving Up Too Many Big Plays

Georgia Tech gains of 50, 82, 33, 46, 40, 22, 50, 46 and 21 yards on single plays were the story of this game. Although Georgia Tech was only 6 of 12 on 3rd down, it was when and how those conversions took place that really hurt Duke.

Whether against the pass or the run, the Duke defense gave up far too many plays of 10 yards or more – 14 of them to be exact – that kept drives going or were just long touchdown plays.

There were several instances in the game where had the Blue Devils been able to hold on 3rd and long it would have prevented a score. Some of the problems can be attributed to bad positioning by the defense, but most of it was just poor fundamental tackling.

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Justin Thomas made a living of slicing between the tackles for huge yards against Duke, and that’s a problem that could really cost the Blue Devils in the next few weeks.