Hokies Squeak Past Duke Blue Devils 24-21 and Overcome Adversity in the Secondary

Virginia Tech moves to 7-2 (5-1 ACC) on the season after gutsy performance on the road.

[Michael Shroyer]

It may not have been the most aesthetically pleasing game to watch, but Justin Fuente was upbeat after the Hokies escaped Duke with a 24-21 victory to hold serve in the ACC Coastal.

"Proud of our kids and the way they finished the ballgame," Fuente said. "We knew it would be tough coming in here. Duke is much better than their record. Very, very well coached; (they) play hard. Awfully happy to find a way to win a game. We knew it was gonna be hard from the start. Faced some adversity and responded. Happy to go home with a win."

In a game that saw its fair share of both good and bad from both sides of the ball, perhaps the biggest play of the day came in a very familiar form: a blocked field goal by Greg Stroman that led to a touchdown return by Adonis Alexander.

However, Alexander noted that one play was part of the grander picture.

"I think every play has a significance on the game," Alexander said. "I don't think just one play can make a game."

While the scoop-and-score certainly factored into the outcome of the game, perhaps another special teams play impacted the season as a whole.

Late in the second quarter, Stroman went back to field a punt, and after not calling for a fair catch, was hit immediately and had to leave the game. Stroman was taken to the locker room and diagnosed with a sprained ankle.

That injury forced Alexander into action at cornerback, eliminating the three-man rotation Bud Foster had employed throughout the season.

Foster was optimistic of the way his defense reacted to the injury and commended Alexander for his performance.

"I thought Adonis came in and did a nice job," Foster said. "That's a part of it. We're kind of thin at that spot right now, too, but those guys, they stepped up and played well."

Losing a starter in the secondary — one that has been mentioned as the best defensive back in the ACC — isn't ideal, but the loss of rover Terrell Edmunds midway in the fourth quarter exacerbated the situation. Edmunds was ejected on a targeting call after a hit that knocked Duke running back Shaun Wilson out cold.

While Fuente said that he understands the necessity of the call for the safety of players, he also played devil's advocate by pointing out that, in the moment, it's hard to make an adjustment to avoid a player who has lowered their body to brace for impact.

Foster was less political after the game, refusing to comment, as to not face disciplinary action.

"We'll look and we'll move forward," Foster said. "It's a call from them. I would make a statement — probably wouldn't be the right one, so I'm not gonna say it."

Because the targeting ejection occurred in the second half, Edmunds must sit out the first half of the Georgia Tech. In his absence, Foster will evaluate several players in practice week, including Deon Newsome, Der'Woun Greene, and Jahque Alleyne.

"We've got some guys back there that have an opportunity and are gonna get an opportunity," Foster said. "They've gotta step up...Those will be guys that we look at, particularly (with) Newsome and Jahque (having) worked at that spot as a backup. Chuck Clark can play a little bit there. Der'woun's playing a little bit there. We're gonna get our best guys on the field to give us an opportunity to win."

And while it may not have been very pretty, Isaiah Ford made it point to thank the Virginia Tech fans who made the trip and neutralized Duke's home field advantage.

"We've gotta give credit to Hokie Nation," Ford said with a smile. "At times it sounded like Lane Stadium. It was really impressive. Like I've said, 'Every game's a home game when you play here.'"

Justin Fuente

ON IF ANYTHING CHANGED THE SECOND HALF THAT LED TO DUKE'S DEFENSE CLAMPING DOWN:

"Nothing changed. They did a good job of mixing up their calls. They really didn't do anything."

ON HIS VIEW OF THE TARGETING CALL:

"On the field, it happened so fast. I didn't have any — Terrell (Edmunds) was just a blur coming down in there to make the tackle. I saw a couple of the replays; I understand the rule. I understand the intent of the rule. Because of the rule, there are going to be some times when good football plays are punished in the name of safety. I understand — we understand that. Those are the rules. We play by them. I certainly don't think it was deliberate or malicious by Terrell. He's a good football player. The running back was low and he was trying to go low to tackle him. Those things sometimes happen. I get it."

ON THE DEFENSE STEPPING UP AFTER THAT CALL:

"I was pleased with the way the team responded after that event. That was an opportunity to let the air out of your balloon, so to speak. It certainly did not happen. The defense responded. The offense got the ball and ran the clock out to finish the ballgame. We took what could have been a really difficult situation — the kids did a really great job responding to that."

ON WHAT HE SAW ON THE BLOCKED FIELD GOAL:

"We try to scheme it up every week. It wasn't anything in particular. It was very difficult to block one; you come awfully close a lot and not get one. We had been close before in other games. Good job by the guys inside getting push and shorten the edge. Obviously (a) nice job by (Greg) Stroman."

ON IF THERE'S ANY UPDATE ON GREG STROMAN:

"No."

ON IF THERE WAS A REASON NIGEL WILLIAMS DIDN'T PLAY:

"He was ready to go."

ON THE ROLE OF THE EDMUNDS BROTHERS IN THIS DEFENSE:

"First of all, I know that they have played well for us all year. I don't think it can be overstated the class that those two kids have. Great family, great work ethic; obviously they're talented athletes. They're an absolute pleasure to coach and be around on a daily basis. I'm glad to see people recognizing them for playing well, because they have worked incredibly hard and done things the right way on a daily basis."

ON IF HE'S WORRIED ABOUT JEROD EVANS GETTING 18 CARRIES:

"You guys are a lot more concerned about who carries the ball. I've learned that much in my short time here. You guys want us to rush for 150 yards and you want to pick who gets the yards. Some of those were on third downs. Their package on third and long can cause you a lot of problems. We felt like we would need to run a couple of quarterback draws to try and get the pressure picked up and try to hit it in there. That led to a little bit larger number, in terms of carrying the ball. We don't want him carrying it too much, but when it's fourth down and two, and the games on the line and you're facing a third down package like that, we felt like it was something that needed to happen."

ON HIS EVALUATION OF THE RUSHING DEFENSE TODAY:

"Certainly it was far from a perfect game. Their quarterback kept the ball on the ground game a few times on the power read and it gave us some problems, certainly. We certainly expect our guys to play better."

ON THE DECISION TO GO FOR IT ON 4TH DOWN THAT LED TO THE EVANS TOUCHDOWN RUN:

"It was actually a pass — it was a naked (bootleg.) Duke stuffed the edge and — I'm not really sure how exactly how it all unfolded — but he just kind of put his foot in the ground and got upfield."

ON THE FAN PRESENCE TODAY:

"It's really cool to work at a place that really values what we're trying to do. It's great for the kids to go on the road and see that many people here rewarding them for all the hard work they've put in. It's cool, in my estimation, for the kids after the win to go celebrate with them a little bit and try to let them know that we appreciate them traveling and spending money and coming to help us win the ballgame. That was another fantastic showing. I'm just thankful that we get to send them home happy. It was real close there for a little bit."

Bud Foster

ON IF TERRELL EDMUNDS WILL BE OUT THE FIRST HALF AGAINST GEORGIA TECH:

"As far as I understand, yes."

ON HOW HE FELT THE DEFENSE RESPONDED TO STROMAN'S INJURY AND HOW THEY ADJUSTED:

"I thought Adonis (Alexander) came in and did a nice job. That's a part of it. We're kind of thin at that spot right now, too, but those guys, they stepped up and played well. In this game, my hat goes off to Duke and Dave (David Cutcliffe), they did a great job. They had to win. We knew it was gonna be a dogfight in here and a tough ballgame. Our kids did a great job just going to the next play. That's all you can do at this level; you go to the next play and play to the best of your ability. They're gonna make some plays. It's a chess match. They did a couple of things, we did a couple things, but I did think our kids — down the stretch — we stepped up a couple of times. They had field position and they tried to drive and we end up getting a couple of big plays. Right there after Terrell's taken away from the game, I think the kids responded on both sides of the ball. Just really proud. We knew it was gonna be hard, this being the fourth game of five on the road, it shows a lot of character from our kids to come out and compete and come away with some big wins."

ON IF HE WANTED TO DIAL IN THE PRESSURE AFTER THE TARGETING CALL:

"We did. Just wanted to make them kind of — make them have to make a quick play. We had dialed up our pressure, they were able to get somebody free. But they do a great job. You guys saw it, anytime you brought some things, they've got a quick release. They know where to go. Dave does a great job, he has a great system. And we have a great system. It's a hard fought game by two teams. I'm proud of our kids and how we played. To come away victorious, it's big. I know this, we're 7-2 and 5-1 in the league. Really proud of how the kids have played. Hasn't always been pretty, but we're finding ways to get it done. That's one thing we haven't done the last couple of years. Really proud of our seniors and our leadership, and how our kids are fighting. Can't say enough about them."

ON THE CHALLENGE OF DEFENDING A DUAL-THREAT QUARTERBACK:

"Man, we finally won, right? You guys talk about we never win with a quarterback that runs for 100 yards. Really, our end position — we're so dinged up right now. We got a gear for what they were doing, but our ends — we wanted our three-techniques to pad back and keep the ball front-side. Our ends were bending and working on the dive and we wanted them to take the quarterback. It's just fundamental football, it goes back to day one. We had a call one time, we were gonna blitz, they changed the call and shifted it back and the end didn't get the call. We went back to base defense. He should have been playing the quarterback and he bent for the dive. Those are things that, mistakes that we can't make. It didn't cost us (today). Those are communications that we've gotta do a better job as a group to make sure we've got 11 players on the same page."

ON WHY NIGEL WILLIAMS DIDN'T PLAY TODAY:

"Did he not? I get in there (in the zone) and don't know. We had a couple guys — Vinny (Mihota), he tried to play early and was limited with his movement. The kids are trying hard. I think Nigel made that decision. He just felt like (if) he can't be 100 percent, he's not gonna help the football team. I appreciate his honesty. That's important for us. We need to get him back this week. A big body inside (against) their type of offense, I'd like to have a guy that can win the line of scrimmage and he's a guy that was doing that early in the season for us."

Adonis Alexander

ON HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS FOR THE DEFENSE TO GET THE STOP AFTER EDMUNDS WAS EJECTED:

"That's our brother. To see him go out, we were ready to go win the game for him."

ON HOW HE FELT HE PLAYED AFTER THE STROMAN INJURY:

"I feel like there's only room for improvement. I think I played pretty well."

Isaiah Ford

ON IF DUKE FOCUSED ON THE PASS DIFFERENTLY THAN THEY HAD SEEN ON FILM:

"They did a great job of their game plan. Coming in, we knew there would be a different amount of things, as far as last week. It was what you see is what you get. They did a good job of disguising plays and going out and executing. Just had to make plays. We made enough to win the game."

ON WHAT THE CALL WAS ON HIS THIRD DOWN CATCH:

"It was man to man (coverage). It's funny because we were running routes, the quarterbacks and the wideouts, and we ran that play (in practice) and Coach Fuente said, 'On third down, we'll win the game.'"

ON WHAT ROUTE IT WAS:

"It was a slant."

ON IF WYATT TELLER OWES HIM A BEER FOR NEGATING THE TOUCHDOWN CATCH:

"I didn't see it, but as soon as I came to the locker room, he gave me a big. I assume he knows he messed up."

ON IF ESCAPING A CLOSE GAME IS PART OF A LONG SEASON:

"I think the elite teams and good teams, where we wanna be, those teams find a way to win. No matter how ugly it looks. When adversity hits, they find a way to win. That's what we did."

ON WHAT HE TOLD STROMAN AFTER THE INJURY:

"That I love him and that I was gonna make sure we were gonna win the game. Greg's one of my best friends on the team. I spend a lot of time with him off the field. The progress that he's made has been tremendous in helping us this year. He's been one of the heart and souls on our defense. We feed off of him. Just told him to keep his head up."

ON IF HE REQUESTED THE BALL AFTER THE NEAR-CATCH ON THE SIDELINE:

"I requested the ball a couple of times. We got the look that we wanted to have and Coach (Brad) Cornelsen did a good job of calling them. Jerod gave me the chance; I had to go get it."

ON THE EDMUNDS BROTHERS:

"We knew that both of them would be really good ballplayers. Coming in (to Virginia Tech) in the same class as Terrell — him being my roommate — to see the strides he's made going from corner to safety, and how he's been an all-ACC caliber player right now, I think he might be the best safety in the country with how he's playing now. And his little brother Tremaine (Edmunds) — I don't know if I can call him a little brother — we knew that he was gonna be a monster last year when he didn't get to play as much. They are two of the big players we have on defense."

ON BUCKY HODGES' ONE-HANDED CATCH:

"I see it all the time. In practice, if it's him or Cam (Phillips) or me — or even C.J. Carroll — we make a lot of those types of plays in practice. It was nothing that I haven't seen before."

ON IF IT'S FRUSTRATING TO NOT HAVE ANY TOUCHDOWNS IN THE PASSING GAME:

"At the end of the day, we got the win. That's all that matters. Our main goal is to go 1-0 each week and this week that's what we did. Whether that's throwing 10 touchdown passes or none or running the ball, it doesn't matter. However we've got to get it done is what we're gonna do."

Ken Ekanem

ON IF HE'S HAPPY TO SURVIVE AND ESCAPE WITH A WIN:

"Yeah. I think we did a good job of responding to a tight game. We knew these guys were fully capable of giving us a dogfight. It was a good game overall, but they capitalized on a lot of run plays when we didn't execute. That's all stuff that's fixable."

ON HOW TRICKY THE DUKE RUNNING GAME IS TO STOP:

"It's just a lot of things, it's a lot of variables. A lot of guys not fitting in their gaps. We've just got to do a lot better job of zoning and just doing your job and not someone else's job. I messed up on the goal line on their last touchdown. I have to do a better job as well. There's a lot of things we've got to fix."

ON IF THE STRUGGLES TODAY ARE ALARMING LOOKING AHEAD TO GEORGIA TECH:

"Not really. Georgia Tech's a whole different beast. You've gotta play with a different mindset. Guys are gonna be doing stuff that they've never done before. Not only that, but we've gotta step up to the challenge and come out and execute and bounce back."

ON THE MINDSET AFTER EDMUNDS GETS EJECTED:

"I think we did a good job of reacting to the sudden change. With one of our brothers out of the game — and the first half next week — we acted pretty well. You've gotta play for our brother. Did a very good job of getting all juiced up and obviously a little bit angry, so it gave us a little bit of an edge coming out of that to get a stop."

ON HOW MUCH ATTRITION ON THE DEFENSIVE LINE ATTRIBUTED TO TODAY'S PERFORMANCE:

"We've got guys banged up here and there and trying to limit those people. Make sure that we're good to go for Georgia Tech. Just gotta be smart with a lot of the players. It's kind of tough out there, but we're hanging in there and we're all working really hard in the training room and rehab with all of the injuries and stuff. Hopefully it'll clear up against Georgia Tech."

ON IF THE TARGETING RULE IS FRUSTRATING:

"It's a tough call. It could have gone either way. I talked to the refs about it and they were on the fence about it. It's a tough call. I'm not a ref."

ON IF HE KNEW INSTANT REPLAY COULD REVIEW TARGETING IF IT HADN'T BEEN CALLED ON THE FIELD:

"I didn't know. I thought they had to call it on the field during the play."

ON HOW NOT HAVING EDMUNDS WILL IMPACT THE DEFENSE FOR GEORGIA TECH:

"He's a hell of a player. I think we'll do a good job of replacing him. We've got guys — I think we'll do a good job. We've got a lot of guys that do a good job of stepping up to perform."

Jerod Evans

ON IF HE'S HAPPY TO SURVIVE AND ESCAPE WITH A WIN:

"I would say that. We made a lot of mistakes, but it's always good to get the win. Coach (Fuente) said it was gonna be one of those games. We were preparing for that. It's always good to get a win."

ON IF IT'S FRUSTRATING TO NOT THROW A TOUCHDOWN PASS:

"I think I've told y'all before, it doesn't matter how we get the 'W', as long as we get the 'W'. If I have the best stats on the team or in a game and we lose the game, I'm more frustrated that we lost the game than my stats. The stats really don't mean anything if you don't get the 'W'. That's my main focus — that's our main focus — to go 1-0, not stats. We went 1-0 today. That's a great feeling."

ON IF HE FELT THE TARGETING CALL RALLIED THE TEAM TOGETHER:

"Most definitely. We were scratching and clawing the whole time and I think that's what did it. Scratching and clawing and rallying around that call with Terrell, cause we know how much he means to us. I think that was a turning point in the game."

ON IF IT WAS A SIGN OF MATURITY TO CLOSE OUT A CLOSE GAME:

"We've had our share of ups and downs through the season (and) panicking through the highs and lows of a game. Knowing that we were better, but once we were down, we kind of went into the tank. I think that experience helped us with today a lot, for sure. We have a lot of veteran leadership. Plus the younger guys have seen that happen before, going into the tank. With the veteran leadership, we didn't allow that to happen. We were calm out there the whole time. Frustrating that we weren't executing like we know we're capable of doing, but at the same time, we got the 'W'. It was definitely maturity on that part."

ON WHAT WAS GOING ON WHEN IT SEEMED FORD WAS TELLING THE COACHES HE WANTED THE BALL:

(Said with a huge grin) "Nothing."

ON IF TELLER OWES HIM A BEER:

"No. Wyatt plays with extreme passion and emotion. What I try to get to Wyatt is that even though you play with that, you can play with a sense of understanding and calmness. He's either going 100 or he's going 0. I'm trying to get him to understand it's ok to go 100, but be smart about going 100. You never wanna take somebody's passion. You never wanna take somebody's emotion away, especially when you love something. That's what I'm trying to get to Wyatt. I think as the season goes on, and next season — that's a little far ahead — he's understanding that he can play passionate and not make boneheaded moves, in a sense. You don't wanna try to coach it too much. So no, he doesn't owe me a beer or pizza. But he probably will try to give me one for that mistake."

ON IF HE KNEW IT WAS TELLER THAT PUSHED HIM INTO THE END ZONE:

"To be honest, I don't know. He's always around, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was him."

ON WHAT HAPPENED ON THAT PLAY:

"I think they did a great job — as a gameplan — on our strip-motion, of keying it. I just saw three guys float to one guy, so I thought it would be a bonehead move for me to throw there. So I was just trying to make something happen out of nothing."

ON IF HE'S SEEN HODGES MAKE ANY ONE HANDED CATCHES LIKE THAT BEFORE:

"I haven't seen that, but it doesn't surprise me. It does not surprise me one bit. If any of those guys, whether it's Isaiah, Cam, or Bucky, does something spectacular, that doesn't jump me out of my seat or make me feel any type of way. As the season goes along, hopefully we get them the ball more so they can showcase that."

ON THE FAN PRESENCE TODAY:

"This is obviously my first year at the ACC level. (It's the) first time ever having a group of fans travel on the road and make it a home game. You had a little bit at UNC in the hurricane, but this game was different. They had third-and-whatever on every drive and you could hear our crowd screaming. I'm thinking we're at home. I'm looking at the middle of the field and there's the D in the middle and I was like, 'Woah.' It was spectacular. I'm amazed that we have so many genuine, loyal fans to the program."

ON IF HE KNEW TREMAINE GOT THE SACK AFTER TERRELL WAS SENT OFF:

"I did not. Peas in a pod; they're around each other 24/7. Especially how the defense set up, Terrell has Maine's back in the sense of responsibility. It's two brothers doing what they do."

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Hokies, Local Soccer, AFC Ajax, Ravens

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My wife takes the kids and leaves the house while I watch my Hokie games.........nuff said

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How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Jet Sweep

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Warning: this post occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)..

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-What we do is, if we need that extra push, you know what we do? -Put it up to fully dipped? -Fully dipped. Exactly. It's dork magic.

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-What we do is, if we need that extra push, you know what we do? -Put it up to fully dipped? -Fully dipped. Exactly. It's dork magic.

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"Everyone has a plan 'till they get punched in the mouth."

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"Take care of the little things and the big things will come."

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30 years after starting grad school at Virginia Tech, I finally defended my dissertation and earned my PhD.
Don't give up on your dreams.

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30 years after starting grad school at Virginia Tech, I finally defended my dissertation and earned my PhD.
Don't give up on your dreams.

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Exit light. Enter night. Enter the Hokies.

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Exit light. Enter night. Enter the Hokies.

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"Take care of the little things and the big things will come."

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The Orange and Maroon you see, that's fighting on to victory.

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Warning: this post occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)..

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Never Forget #1 Overall Seed UVA 54, #64 UMBC 74

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"...sticks and stones may break my bones but I'm gonna kick you repeatedly in the balls Gardoki!"

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A decade on TKP and it's been time well spent.

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I told him I’d crawl on my hands and knees to be the DL coach at Virginia Tech. Now, all of a sudden, I’m sitting in this chair and I told him I’d still crawl on my hands and knees to work here. I just want to be here.
JC Price

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A decade on TKP and it's been time well spent.

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Best duos in Hokie history: Hall & Adibi, 3rd & Tyrod, Georgia & Liz

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No, I *don't* want to go to the SEC. Why do you ask?

We don't love dem Hoos.

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30 years after starting grad school at Virginia Tech, I finally defended my dissertation and earned my PhD.
Don't give up on your dreams.

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30 years after starting grad school at Virginia Tech, I finally defended my dissertation and earned my PhD.
Don't give up on your dreams.

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Wet stuff on the red stuff.

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Even when you get skunked; fishing never lets you down. 🎣

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No, I *don't* want to go to the SEC. Why do you ask?

We don't love dem Hoos.

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A decade on TKP and it's been time well spent.