Tech ducks Duke's bid for an upset

DURHAM — For many years, Virginia Tech has staked its reputation on running the football and playing shutdown defense.

So when that didn’t work Saturday, the sixth-ranked Hokies had to find another way to win.

They took to the air, passing for 327 yards, and answered Duke’s suddenly potent offense score for score in a much harder than expected 34-26 win at Wallace Wade Stadium.

“We’re a team here at Virginia Tech,” junior defensive end Jason Worilds said. “We win in all facets of the game, and (the offense) came through for us. When the defense was down, they put points on the board and that really came through.”

The Blue Devils (2-3, 0-1 ACC) ran up 397 total yards, the second-most allowed by Tech in an ACC game, and came up with several big pass plays in an offensive showcase not often seen on this side of Tobacco Road.

But the Hokies (4-1, 2-0) were able to come up with some big pass plays of their own to thwart an upset bid by Duke, which was trying to end a 37-game losing streak against ranked opponents.

Quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who threw for a career high 327 yards on 17 of 22 passing tossed a 36-yard touchdown pass to Danny Coale in the first quarter and connected with Jarrett Boykin on a 28-yard scoring strike in the second.

And when things got dicey in the fourth quarter — Duke closed to within 27-19 on Will Snyderwine’s fourth field goal with 7:08 remaining — Tech found some success on the ground and ran down the clock.

Sophomore tailback Josh Oglesby, often the odd man out in the Ryan Williams-David Wilson-Oglesby running back triumvirate, rushed for 39 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

“I just felt like I got to do my part today,” Oglesby said. “Those were my first touchdowns, so it definitely felt good. Seems like every time I’m in, we get a penalty or I get taken out. It felt good to go ahead and stick it in before something happened.”

Duke tacked on a late score and tried an onside kick with 25 seconds left, but Tech senior Matt Reidy recovered and the Hokies ran out the clock.

“It was sickening,” Blue Devils coach David Cutcliffe said of the end result. “We don’t have moral victories. I told our team that. We are going to get better from this. We have to get better from this.”

Those who thought Tech’s defensive struggles were a thing of the past after last week’s resounding win over Miami were mistaken.

The Hokies made a multitude of mistakes and were victimized by five long pass plays.

“Were just giving up too many big plays, and that’s out of character for us,” Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster said.

The Blue Devils’ first touchdown provided a signal for what was in store for Tech’s secondary. Quarterback Thaddeus Lewis, a four-year starter who is in the top five of many of Duke’s career passing charts, connected with a wide-open Brandon King, and King ran the rest of the way for a 48-yard touchdown.

There was more. Lewis completed passes of 74 and 34 yards to wide receiver Connor Vernon, hit running back Desmond Scott for a 26-yard gain and connected with Donovan Varner for a 55-yard completion.

“Before the game, (coach Cutliffe) gave us a speech and said to fight to the last minute. We went out there and we know we can compete with these guys,” Lewis said. “We showed that today.”

Tech flashed a newfound dynamism on offense, racking up 477 yards — it’s fifth-highest total in an ACC game — and coming up with several big plays itself.

Take Taylor’s touchdown pass to Coale, who blew by cornerback Chris Rwabukamba and caught the ball in stride before crossing the goal line for his first college touchdown.

Taylor’s 28-yard scoring pass to Boykin was equally as impressive, though Taylor gave Boykin and his freakish physical tools much credit for the completion. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Boykin came over top Duke cornerback Leon Wright and wrestled the ball away as they both came down in the end zone.

The play was upheld after a review by the officials.

“I knew he was going to come up with it when they rolled over. If you’ve seen Jarrett’s hands … there’s nothing you can do to take a ball from his hands,” Taylor said of Boykin, who earned the nickname “meat hands” from his teammates for his enormous mitts.

Boykin, who had a career high 144 receiving yards and matched a career high with six receptions, came down with another big play in the third quarter when he caught a 62-yard pass from Taylor to convert a third-and-34 from the Hokies’ own 16.

That set up Matt Waldron’s 33-yard field goal, which gave Tech a 20-13 lead with 8:33 left in the third.

Tech’s passing success offset some struggles in the run game. Duke stacked the box to stop Williams, who entered the game with three straight 100-yard games. The plan worked until the fourth quarter, when Williams rushed for 55 of his 83 yards, and Oglesby broke off his long touchdowns.

“The plays that were being called (the first three quarters), they were stopping them,” Williams said. “Can’t really do anything about that. When you stack a lot of people in the box, their main game plan was to stop the run. They did that effectively, and we were able to pass the ball effectively off it.

“It was good. I played a good decoy today. Whether I’m running the ball or playing decoy, we still won, so I’m feeling good.”

That seemed to be the sentiment of all of Tech’s players and coaches after the game. The struggles were hard to swallow, but the win made it all worthwhile.

“We take Ws,” Worilds said, “no matter how they come.”