Duke’s trip to Georgia Tech ended with a miss, but Manny Diaz made the call that gave the Blue Devils their best shot to walk out of Atlanta with something.
Down 28-25 after Georgia Tech grabbed the lead with under a minute remaining, Duke answered with a six-play, 59-yard march to get back within range. The Blue Devils had already spent the night hanging around despite an 11-point third-quarter deficit, staying alive with timely third- and fourth-down conversions.
Then came the biggest decision of the game. With eight seconds left, Duke faced 4th-and-3 at the Georgia Tech 16-yard line and had one timeout left.
Diaz could have pushed for the end zone and tried to win it in regulation. Instead, he turned to true freshman kicker Gavin Strange for a 33-yard attempt to force overtime.
Strange, who had replaced starting kicker Cosme Salas while Salas was out against the Yellow Jackets, had already gone 1-for-1 earlier in the game. He connected from 35 yards for his first career field goal, but this time the kick went wide.
It’s easy to second-guess a choice when the result doesn’t cooperate, but this one was the safer play and the right one. Strange showed plenty of nerve just stepping into that moment. And Diaz had the Blue Devils in position to extend the game rather than gamble on a lower-percentage shot at the end zone.
The truth is, these situations get judged by the result more than the process. Make the kick, and the conservative call looks smart.
Punch it in for the win, and the aggressive route becomes the headline. Miss either way, and the decision gets picked apart.
But in this case, Diaz chose the move that kept Duke alive.
The loss still leaves Duke at 4-1 overall and 1-1 in ACC play, and now next week carries even more weight. The Blue Devils host North Carolina, which is 3-2 and also 1-1 in the league after a road win over Pittsburgh.
Duke’s remaining schedule still gives it a real chance to win just about every game left. But that first conference loss changes the math. Another stumble would put a much different ceiling on this season, and the margin for error is already getting thin.
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