Georgia Tech 28, Duke 25: Trelain Maddox scores three, the last with 54 seconds left

Georgia Tech needed only 10 carries from Trelain Maddox to hand Duke its first loss. Maddox scored three times, the last a 1-yard run with 54 seconds left, and the Yellow Jackets won 28-25 at Bobby Dodd Stadium on Saturday.

Duke had just taken its first lead of the night at 2:40 of the fourth quarter. Georgia Tech answered in just under two minutes, and Duke had no time to respond.

The Blue Devils won most of the counting stats. They had more yards, 418 to 383, more first downs, 28 to 21, and held the ball for 35:26. Neither team turned it over. The difference was Georgia Tech's big plays and its last drive.

How it was won

Georgia Tech struck first at 8:47 of the first quarter. Alberto Mendoza found Jordan Allen for a 5-yard touchdown, and Aidan Birr added the kick for a 7-0 lead.

Duke tied it on the first play listed in the second quarter, a 5-yard Nate Sheppard run at 14:20 with Gavin Strange converting. Maddox put the Jackets back in front with a 5-yard run at 7:37. Strange's 35-yard field goal at 3:47 cut it to 14-10 at the half.

Maddox broke the game open at 10:29 of the third quarter with a 60-yard touchdown run, making it 21-10. Duke came back at 3:18. Walker Eget hit Jared Richardson for an 8-yard score, then threw to Jonah Burton for the two-point conversion to get within 21-18.

Sheppard's second 5-yard touchdown run, at 2:40 of the fourth, gave Duke a 25-21 lead. Georgia Tech then drove for the winner, and Maddox finished it from a yard out at 0:54.

Sheppard carried the Duke offense. He ran 27 times for 99 yards and two scores, and caught 7 passes for 91 yards. Eget completed 26 of 41 for 259 yards and a touchdown. CJ Campbell Jr. added 46 yards on 6 carries, and Jayden Moore had one catch for 42 yards. Duke converted 10 of 17 third downs.

Mendoza was efficient for Georgia Tech, completing 23 of 30 for 218 yards and a touchdown. Allen was his main target, with 10 catches for 99 yards. Maddox finished with 81 yards on his 10 carries. Justice Haynes added 69 yards on 14 carries, and Isaiah Fuhrmann caught 2 passes for 27 yards. The Jackets were 4 of 10 on third down and ran 165 yards on the ground to Duke's 159.

Against the number

Duke closed as a 4.5-point favorite. Georgia Tech covered and won outright.

The moneyline closed at Duke -205 and Georgia Tech +170, so the home side paid as the underdog.

The total closed at 45.5. With 53 points scored, the game went over, with the last two touchdowns coming inside the final three minutes.

Full pricing history is on the game page.

What's next

Duke falls to 4-1. Before this game it had beaten Tulane 17-3, Illinois 31-27, Stanford 35-7 and William & Mary 62-7. The Blue Devils host North Carolina on Saturday, October 17, on ESPN2.

Georgia Tech improves to 2-3. Its earlier losses were 14-13 to Colorado, 45-24 to No. 18 Tennessee and 34-27 at Stanford, with a 44-11 win over Mercer in between. The Yellow Jackets play at Virginia Tech on Saturday, October 17, on ACC Network.