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Duke came closer than it has in a long time to upsetting a nationally ranked opponent. Close isn't good enough anymore for the Blue Devils.
Duke shut out No. 15 Virginia Tech in the second half but couldn't come up with enough plays down the stretch in a 14-10 loss to the Hokies on Saturday.
''We know how good we are. Not many people may see it, but we know how good this team is, and we know that we can hang with anybody in this league,'' Duke receiver Conner Vernon said. ''We proved it out there today. ... It's tough. Losses like these aren't easy to get over.''
Sean Renfree was 17 of 35 for 204 yards, but was intercepted three times for the Blue Devils (3-5, 1-3). They couldn't overcome four turnovers and lost their third straight overall and 44th in a row against nationally ranked teams. Duke hasn't beaten a Top 25 team since 1994.
Unlike so many of the losses during that streak, this one was competitive throughout. Duke had a golden opportunity to take the lead late after Jamison Crowder returned a punt to the Virginia Tech 34 with just under 7 minutes left.
''I was just saying, `They better not win this game. We better not lose this game,''' Tech running back David Wilson said.
The Blue Devils marched into the red zone in five plays, but on fourth-and-2 from the 15, Renfree rolled right on a bootleg and was dropped by Kyle Fuller for a loss of 3 yards with 4:37 remaining. Coach David Cutcliffe said running back Juwan Thompson was the primary receiver on that play but he slipped.
''They bit the run like we thought,'' Cutcliffe said. ''We just tried to avoid them, and Sean just got stuck.''
Duke forced a punt and got the ball back with 1:43 left, but Barquell Rivers intercepted Renfree's fourth-down pass with 55 seconds left.
Wilson rushed for 148 yards, and Logan Thomas was 17 of 28 for 190 yards with two interceptions and a 2-yard touchdown pass to Eric Martin. Josh Oglesby added a 1-yard scoring run for the Coastal Division-leading Hokies (8-1, 4-1).
Entering as 15-point favorites, they were sluggish and inefficient throughout, yet came up with enough plays to claim their fourth straight victory. Virginia Tech rolled up 433 yards while allowing 326 to Duke.
''Every week's not going to be just magnificent, and this week certainly wasn't magnificent for us,'' coach Frank Beamer said. ''But sometimes when you can get through a game when it wasn't so good and get a win, that's big in the big picture.''
The Hokies remain unbeaten in 14 matchups against ACC teams in North Carolina as members of the conference. They also broke the league record of 10 straight road wins set in 2000 by Florida State and matched six years later by Virginia Tech.
Desmond Scott had a 3-yard touchdown run and Matt Daniels had two interceptions for Duke, which pulled within four points midway through the third quarter on Will Snyderwine's 26-yard field goal. He could have made it a one-point game with 12:27 remaining, but he hit his 29-yard attempt off the right upright.
Wilson, the ACC's leading rusher, had his sixth straight 100-yard game and has hit triple digits eight times this season for Virginia Tech. He accused the Blue Devils of ''doing dirty stuff'' at the bottoms of piles - specifically, ''pinching, punching, reaching through the face mask'' and grabbing at his groin, he said.
The Hokies were playing for the first time without leading tackler Bruce Taylor. He suffered a season-ending right foot sprain last week against Boston College and became the fourth defensive player - and third starter on that side of the ball - lost for the season.
Neither team looked particularly sharp during a first half in which the teams combined to turn it over five times in a 20-minute span, with Renfree and Thomas each throwing two interceptions during that stretch.
The Hokies rolled up 301 yards before the break, but turned it over twice, missed a 29-yard chip shot and kept Duke's only touchdown drive of the day alive with three 15-yard penalties.
Duke's first two possessions ended with turnovers, and the Hokies made the Blue Devils pay for the second one. Virginia Tech scored first after going 85 yards in 12 plays, with Wilson's 39-yard run through the right side setting up Thomas' short scoring flip to Martin with roughly 4 minutes left in the first.
Scott tied it at 7 with his short touchdown run on the second play of the second quarter after those repeated flags on Virginia Tech kept giving the Blue Devils first downs.
