Slept On It: Duke

Finally.

Finally, this Hokie defense was able to eliminate the back-breaking big plays that have plagued this team throughout the season.

Finally, the much-maligned J.C. Coleman was able to pick up the slack of the faltering Hokie rushing attack and remind everyone of that quick burst he possesses when turning the corner with confidence.

Finally, this Hokie team was able to overcome an early deficit, fight back to take a late lead and hold on until the final whistle.

If there is one thing the 2014 Hokies have succeeded in this season it has been the way in which they have transformed the fanbase into a collection of cynics. We've seen this team fall into a multiple-possession deficit within the first 10 minutes, only to methodically climb back and manage to grab defeat from the jaws of victory. We've seen them get literally and figuratively run over by big backs, quick backs and quarterbacks. We've seen them make boneheaded plays and a comedy of mental errors late in games, causing all of HokieNation to sport Frank Beamer-esque looks of disbelief as we watched another winnable game escape our grasps.

Saturday we witnessed each of those scenarios, and you would be lying if each time didn't cause you to think, "Here we go..."

The Hokies don't deserve to win this game.

That's the thought that continued to creep into my head throughout Saturday's tilt with Coastal-division leader Duke.

Seemingly unable to stop a Blue Devil offense that had five plays of fifteen yards or more through the first 7 minutes, the Hokies quickly dug themselves a ten-point hole.

Nursing a one-point lead late in the fourth quarter, confusion between the coaches and Derek DiNardo led to a baffling fake punt pass that brought back dark memories of the 2012 Sugar Bowl.

Two plays later, Ken Ekanem let his emotions get the best of him and earned an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that put Duke on the verge of field goal range. Sure, the flop of the Blue Devil offensive lineman was brilliant enough to make a world class diver like Mario Balotelli applaud, but that doesn't excuse the lack of poise exhibited by Ekanem in a crucial moment.

Based on what we have witnessed this season, it wasn't entirely surprising to see the Hokies on the verge of self-destructing. It is exactly this type of masochism I have almost come to expect when watching this team play. But each time on Saturday, they were able to bear down.

For the first time since mid-September, the Hokies were able to block out the previous play — success or failure — and focus on the next snap. Rather than allowing the negatives to snowball, they showed incredible composure in situations where they had previously unraveled. That's not something you can coach. That's character, and it has been sorely missing from this team for the better part of the season.

The victory was by no means a thing of beauty, but does anyone really care? If anything, Saturday's win was almost vintage Virginia Tech.

The Hokies gained more yards on the ground than through the air; they scored all 17 of their points off of turnovers; and they showed incredible fire in the most dire circumstances, attacking Duke quarterback Anthony Boone with reckless abandon to close out the victory.

Heading into the stretch run — the proverbial "fourth quarter" of the 2014 season — this was exactly the type of win the Hokies needed. The more I think about it, the happier I am that they won ugly. Would I have loved to have seen this team put everything together, resulting in simultaneous breakout performances from the plethora of young talent on this team? Absolutely. But we already know those types of performances exist on this roster; we have seen flashes of that dominance throughout the season, albeit in an incoherent manner.

What we have failed to see over the last two months is the mentality necessary to be elite. Blowout victories tend to elicit unfair, broad brush opinions about how the opposition possibly came out flat or may have been overconfident. Winning the way Virginia Tech did, stepping up late to take the lead and hold off a solid Duke squad, is confidence inspiring for any team, young or old. It's that reminder that you can look adversity straight in the eye, unafraid of what comes next.

This program has been walking a dangerously thin line, between turning the corner with a championship-caliber team and falling into prolonged mediocrity. That's a scary place, where tomorrow you could find yourself in college football purgatory with the Washingtons and Marylands of the world.

With two games left in the regular season, Saturday's performance has the potential to serve this team well as they closeout arguably the most polarizing season in Frank Beamer's career. Sure, we all hope it acts as a Pulp Fiction-style shot of adrenaline straight to the chest, reviving the dwindling swagger of a once proud program. The reality is it may simply serve as a stepping stone in the rebuilding process. However it ultimately resonates with this team, I think we are all in agreement that it felt really good to experience a win again.