Duke powers past No. 20 Georgia Tech, 34-20
DURHAM, N.C. — Shaquille Powell rushed for three touchdowns and Duke’s defense dominated No. 20 Georgia Tech in a 34-20 victory Saturday.
DeVon Edwards returned a kickoff 100 yards for a score while Powell scored on runs of 1, 4 and 30 yards for Duke (3-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Thomas Sirk was 17 of 25 for 114 yards with an 11-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Rahming.
Justin Thomas pulled Tech to 26-20 with his 12-yard TD run with 8:02 left, and the Yellow Jackets (2-2, 0-1) had two chances after that to reclaim the lead.
They were stuffed on four downs deep inside Duke territory, a series before Thomas fumbled at his own 39 after a hit from Jeremy Cash with 2:12 left.
Powell then took a fourth-and-1 handoff up the middle for the 30-yard touchdown run that iced Duke’s second straight win over a ranked Georgia Tech team.
Duke managed 75 total yards and two first downs in the second half, but its improved defense shut down a rushing offense that’s typically one of the toughest to stop.
Tech averages 377 yards rushing — second-best in the FBS — but managed just 173 against the Blue Devils, who allow only 93 yards rushing per game.
Some consolation for the Yellow Jackets: In each of the past two years, the loser of this matchup has rebounded to win the Coastal Division.
Thomas finished 6 of 21 for 143 yards with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Jeune for Georgia Tech, which forced three Duke turnovers but only converted them into 52and 48-yard field goals by Harrison Butker. The shorter of those pulled Tech to 19-13 with 7:07 left in the third.
Edwards took the ensuing kickoff at the goal line and burst through the right side for his fifth career score on a kick-return. Only one active player — UTEP’s Autrey Golden (six) — has more.
The Blue Devils led 19-3 after one quarter after holding Tech to 14 total yards and scoring on three straight drives in the opening 15 minutes.
Powell’s two shorter touchdowns — including one on the final play of the quarter — sandwiched Sirk’s quick-strike pass to Rahming. Ryan Smith’s 69-yard punt return to the 1 set up Powell’s second TD.
Thomas’ scoring pass to Jeune with 30 seconds left in the half trimmed Tech’s deficit to 19-10 at the half. Boise State 56, Virginia 17: Jeremy McNichols padded his Bowl Subdivision touchdown lead by scoring on a 2-yard run and a 10-yard reception, giving him 10 touchdowns for the season. The Broncos (3-1) showed no signs of losing a step after losing starting quarterback Ryan Finley to a broken ankle last week in a 52-0 victory over Idaho State.
The tone was set on the first play from scrimmage for Virginia (1-3).
Matt Johns dropped back to pass, and as the pocket collapsed around him, he attempted to flip the ball over his shoulder. Three-hundred-pound defensive tackle Justin Taimatuia intercepted it and lumbered 21 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead after 16 seconds.
McNichols’ 47-yard run on third down set up his first touchdown, on a 2-yard run. Johns’ second interception, by Darian Thompson on a deep ball, set up a four-play drive to Tyler Rausa’s 51-yard field goal. The game was barely 7 minutes old and the Broncos led 17-0. Indiana 31, Wake Forest, 24: Nate Sudfeld threw for 205 yards and two touchdowns, and Indiana improved to 4-0 for the first time since 1990 by holding off Wake Forest Saturday.
Jordan Howard added 168 rushing yards and a touchdown for the undefeated Hoosiers, who head into next week’s Big 10 showdown against No. 1 Ohio State riding a five-game winning streak.
Sudfeld, who finished 19 of 34 passing, threw touchdown passes of 6 yards to Simmie Cobbs Jr. and 28 yards to Ricky Jones in staking Indiana to a 17-10 halftime lead.
Howard, who entered Saturday’s game as the nation’s rushing leader with 507 yards, added a 2-yard scoring run in the third quarter.
Kendall Hinton, making his first start at quarterback, ran for two touchdowns and threw for a third for the Deacons (2-2).
North Carolina 41, Delaware
14: Mitch Trubisky came off the bench and threw four second-half touchdown passes to help North Carolina beat Delaware Saturday.
Trubisky completed 17 of 20 passes for 312 yards, all career-high marks. He also added 39 rushing yards on six attempts.
Mack Hollins caught touchdown passes of 33 and 64 yards for the Tar Heels (3-1), who closed the nonconference portion of their schedule with three consecutive wins.
Trubisky took over for starting quarterback Marquise Williams on North Carolina’s final possession of the first half and played the rest of the game.
Williams, who was sacked for an 11-yard loss on his final play, spent the second half on the sideline. He walked gingerly but showed no other sign of injury as he conversed with teammates and coaches during the final two quarters.
Thomas Jefferson rushed for 163 yards and two touchdowns for the Blue Hens (1-3).
Boston College 17, Northern
Illinois 14: Troy Flutie threw a touchdown pass in his first career start and Jon Hilliman had a tiebreaking 21-yard scoring run to lift Boston College over Northern Illinois on Saturday.
Flutie, the nephew of 1984 Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie, a Boston College graduate, completed 5 of 11 passes for 92 yards with one interception. It was his second career TD toss. His uncle had 67 from 1981-84.
Hilliman carried 24 times for 119 yards for the Eagles (3-1).
Joel Bouagnon rushed for 56 yards on 16 attempts, including a 2-yard TD for Northern Illinois (2-2). Drew Hare completed 11 of 25 passes for 81 yards and Aregeros Turner took a kickoff back 86 yards for a TD.
The Huskies moved to BC’s 35 in the closing two minutes, but their drive stalled with three straight incompletions.
It was just the second ever meeting between the schools.
Louisville 45, Samford 3: Lamar Jackson threw one touchdown pass and ran for two more scores to lead Louisville to a 45-3 rout of Samford on Saturday night.
Jackson finished with 184 yards rushing, a school-record for a quarterback. He scored on keepers of 14 and 13 yards in the first six minutes of the game. His 73-yard run set up Brandon Radcliff’s 2-yard touchdown run to make it 21-0. Jackson finished 15 of 22 for 212 yards passing, including a 36-yard touchdown to James Quick.
Louisville (1-3) used two early turnovers to set up scores. Cornerback Trumaine Washington forced a fumble on the second play from scrimmage and Jackson ran for a score two plays later. Washington then intercepted a Michael Eubank pass less than a minute later to spark an 80-yard drive that put the Cardinals up 14-0.
Anthony Pistelli kicked a 32-yard field goal for Samford (2-2).