Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Beat Duke Blue Devils 28-25

Trelain Maddox ran for three touchdowns and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets survived a fourth-quarter push from Duke Blue Devils to win 28-25 on Saturday, October 10, 2026.

Georgia Tech improves to 2-3 with the home win, while Duke falls to 4-1 despite outgaining the Yellow Jackets on the day.

Duke had the ball down three in the final minutes but Georgia Tech's offense, with Maddox doing the heavy lifting, had enough answers to close it out at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

Box score

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
Duke Blue Devils	0	10	8	7	25
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	7	7	7	7	28

See full player stats and game details

How it turned

Georgia Tech grabbed the lead early when Alberto Mendoza found Jordan Allen for a five-yard touchdown at the 8:47 mark of the first quarter, and the Yellow Jackets led 7-0 after one.

Duke answered in the second quarter behind Nate Sheppard's five-yard touchdown run, but Maddox punched one in from five yards out to push Georgia Tech back ahead. A George Strange 35-yard field goal with 3:47 left in the half trimmed it to 14-10 at the break, with Georgia Tech still in front.

The third quarter turned into a shootout. Maddox broke a 60-yard touchdown run to make it a two-score game, and Duke answered right back when Walker Eget hit J. Richardson for an eight-yard score, with Eget adding a two-point pass to J. Burton to cut the gap to 21-18 after three.

Duke tied the pressure up in the fourth when Sheppard scored his second touchdown of the day with 2:40 left, but Georgia Tech had the last word. Maddox capped his night with a one-yard touchdown run with 0:54 remaining, and that was enough to hold off Duke at 28-25.

Scoring plays

Q1 8:47 GT: A. Mendoza pass to J. Allen for 5 yds, for a TD (A. Birr KICK)
Q2 14:20 DUKE: N. Sheppard run for 5 yds, for a TD (G. Strange KICK)
Q2 7:37 GT: T. Maddox run for 5 yds, for a TD (A. Birr KICK)
Q2 3:47 DUKE: G. Strange 35 yd FG GOOD
Q3 10:29 GT: T. Maddox run for 60 yds, for a TD (A. Birr KICK)
Q3 3:18 DUKE: W. Eget pass to J. Richardson for 8 yds, for a TD (W. Eget pass to J. Burton GOOD for Two-Point Conversion)
Q4 2:40 DUKE: N. Sheppard run for 5 yds, for a TD (G. Strange KICK)
Q4 0:54 GT: T. Maddox run for 1 yd, for a TD (A. Birr KICK)

Top performers

Trelain Maddox was the story for Georgia Tech, carrying it ten times for 81 yards and three touchdowns. Alberto Mendoza went 23 for 30 for 218 yards and a touchdown through the air, and Jordan Allen did the bulk of the receiving work with ten catches for 99 yards and a score. Justice Haynes added 14 carries for 69 yards on the ground.

For Duke, Walker Eget threw for 259 yards and a touchdown on 26-of-41 passing with no interceptions. Nate Sheppard was everywhere, running 27 times for 99 yards and two touchdowns while also catching seven passes for 91 yards. CJ Campbell Jr. chipped in 46 yards on six carries, and Jayden Moore turned a single catch into 42 yards.

On defense, Luke Mergott led Duke with seven tackles, and Tae Harris matched that total for Georgia Tech with seven tackles of his own.

Top performers

Duke Blue Devils

Walker Eget (QB) — 26/41, 259 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT
Nate Sheppard (RB) — 27 car, 99 yds, 2 TD
CJ Campbell Jr. (RB) — 6 car, 46 yds, 0 TD
Nate Sheppard (RB) — 7 rec, 91 yds, 0 TD
Jayden Moore (WR) — 1 rec, 42 yds, 0 TD
Luke Mergott (LB) — 7 tkl, 0 sck, 0 INT