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No.15 Virginia Tech edges Duke

Oct 29, 2011 - 9:56 PM Durham, NC (Sports Network) - Logan Thomas passed for 190 yards and a touchdown while David Wilson ran for 148 yards, as No. 15 Virginia Tech escaped Durham with a 14-10 victory against Duke.

Thomas was intercepted twice, but Josh Oglesby ran for the decisive score in the second quarter and the Hokies (8-1, 4-1 ACC) held on to maintain their lead in the conference's Coastal Division.

They have won four consecutive games and have a bye next week before playing at Georgia Tech.

Sean Renfree passed for 204 yards but was picked off three times as the Blue Devils (3-5, 1-3) dropped their third in a row.

Virginia Tech earned the victory -- or perhaps more accurately, avoided the loss -- despite numerous missteps.

Thomas was picked off deep in Duke territory on the Hokies' opening possession, and again early in the second quarter in the Blue Devils' end zone.

But between those turnovers, the Blue Devils had missteps that helped Virginia Tech take the lead.

Following Thomas' first interception, Duke running back Juwan Thompson fumbled in Tech territory and the Hokies took over at their own 15. Six rushes by Wilson, including a 39-yard gain, helped bring the ball to the Blue Devils' two-yard line. Thomas then found tight end Eric Martin for a score on 3rd-and- goal with 4:14 left in the first quarter.

Duke responded with its lone touchdown -- a three-yard run by Desmond Scott on the second play of the second quarter.

But the Hokies found the end zone on the ensuing drive, despite starting deep in their territory again. They began from the 10, but Thomas' 32-yard pass to Jarrett Boykin got the ball across midfield, and Oglesby's 31-yard run had the ball at the one. He reached the end zone on the next play to make it a 14-7 game with 10:20 left in the half.

Virginia Tech had another chance to score when Renfree was intercepted on Duke's next touch, giving the Hokies the ball at the Blue Devil 30. But Thomas then threw his second interception.

The series of errors continued for the rest of the half.

Virginia Tech's Tyler Weiss missed a 29-yard field goal with a little less than four minutes left in the half, and Will Snyderwine didn't make a 38-yard try on the following Duke drive.

Thomas then fumbled the ball away and Snyderwine missed a 57-yarder on the final play of the first half.

"We just didn't take advantage of some opportunities, and when you do, the game gets different," said Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer. "We didn't and it stayed tight, and the tighter it gets, the more they get into it."

Snyderwine managed to get a 26-yarder through the uprights midway through the third quarter, but neither offense had much success for the rest of the game. After Snyderwine made his field goal, the teams combined to punt on six of the next seven possessions. The exception was Snyderwine's missed 29-yard attempt early in the fourth quarter.

Duke was threatening to score with about five minutes left in the game, when they had the ball in Virginia Tech territory. But on 4th-and-2 at the 15, Renfree was tackled for a three-yard loss. That was the Blue Devils' last good chance to grab the lead.

"We had a good game plan thought out and we were able to execute some of it," said Duke wide receiver Conner Vernon. "We just couldn't finish it at the end. We had a tough break in special teams, but for the most part we hung on until the end and we had multiple chances to finish it and we couldn't."

The Blue Devils' last chance at all came with under two minutes left, when they took over at their own 20. They moved to the 40, but Renfree was picked off on fourth down to secure the outcome.

Game Notes

Thomas completed 17-of-28 passes, while Renfree completed 17-of-35...Scott rushed for 72 yards to lead Duke...Virginia Tech was penalized nine times for 94 yards.