Virginia Tech was up one with three minutes to go against Duke and had the ball around midfield. They faced a 4th-and-16, but their defense was chugging along, holding Duke to just 20 yards on their last three drives. They had the opportunity to punt and seal a win. Instead:
Virginia Tech’s awful fake punt at an awful time was awful
There was no good reason to run this fake punt. They also ran it poorly.
Via ESPNU
It’s not clear if this was called by Frank Beamer, who gave personal protector Derek DiNardo an earful on the sidelines. Punter AJ Hughes never had a chance of even making the line of scrimmage, let alone picking up 16 yards. Although his sprinting lefty throw found a receiver, it didn’t matter: Duke got the ball in great position.
Then a few plays later, Virginia Tech picked up an awful personal foul:
Via ESPNU
This set up Duke kicker Ross Martin with a potential game-winner -- but after hitting every field goal all year long entering today, he missed.
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