Quotes: Virginia Tech 34, Duke 26

Duke Head Coach David Cutcliffe
On the disappointing loss:
"Well it is. The bottom line, if we play better, we win the game. I know that sounds stupid, but let me explain myself. We did a lot of thing that we had to do going in to win the game. We were tit for tat with them on both lines of scrimmage for most of the game. I thought our defense got beat down a little bit there late. Most of their rushing yards came in the last two possessions. We were equal in the battle of the line of scrimmage, which had me greatly concerned. We made some plays on offense and came close to making some plays on defense. They had a guy that caught six balls and averaged 24 yards a catch and another guy caught three balls and averaged 31 yards a catch; that will get you beat. We need a little better production from our part on third down. Offensively, we didn't get it done and didn't get off the field when we had a chance."

On the kicking game:
"The kicking game was good, but not great because we kicked the ball out of bounds and gave them the ball on the 40 yard line. We had to squib one to get it on the 38. I don't like to play with that kind of field position."

On playing Virginia Tech:
"When you play Virginia Tech, you have to get favorable field position, because they are too good to give them a short field offensively. When we had to go the whole field, for the most part, we struggled. We had some tremendous drives, but it comes down to playing smart football and we are better than how we played today."

On the fans today:
"I'm so proud of the Duke faithful. We have such a good, tight following that come every week, but there are a whole lot of Duke fans that are missing some good football. That's a little frustrating. They will come around. I believe in them, I trust them, I love them. These kids deserve to come out of that tunnel and see some blue. These are ACC football games. This is what we come to Duke for. We are not a second-tier program. We are an ACC team in a BCS conference. That is why these kids come to Duke."

On the feeling after loss:
"It was sickening. 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. That is the only really negative thing about this game because we got better today, but today is not good enough. We want to win, and tomorrow we should get better and explode as a football team into the next week."

On QB Thaddeus Lewis' play and young players:
"Conner (Vernon) is a heck of a player and we know that Thad is. I would like to see a few less wasted plays. I know Thad is better than that, but he is back in his rhythm and playing like we know he can. That took a long time with the shortened camp that he had. He is just right on the edge; it's a fine line. He did a better job of giving the receivers a chance and trusting them. He did a better job of showing some touch. I'm really proud of Thad and the way he is competing."

Senior Quarterback Thaddeus Lewis
On being a leader and keep fighting:
"That was the plan going into this game that [head coach David Cutcliffe] gave us. Before the game, he gave a speech and said to fight to the last minute. We went out there and we know we can compete with these guys. We showed that today."

Junior Kicker Will Snyderwine
On contributing in a big way:
"I feel like I grew out there today. It was a pretty big step in my development as a player. We would like to convert some of those field goals into touchdowns, but I was pleased with my performance with field goals, but I need to work on my kickoffs."

Junior Tight End Brandon King
On the play-action touchdown pass:
"It was in the game plan all week. As soon as the play was called, I knew we could get a first down, but I didn't expect a touchdown right away, but it was a really good play call by Coach Roper."

On using the opportunity to score:
"On that play, it was good to get a touchdown. On some other plays, maybe we needed to seize some opportunities late in the game. We had to settle for some field goals instead of scoring touchdowns."

Virginia Tech Head Coach Frank Beamer
On the success through the air:
"We knew they would take the run away and so you have to be able to throw the ball. That happened to us two years ago down here I think. I thought for the most part we did a good job of that today."

On his team being ready to play Duke:
"I thought we played hard. I think Duke has a good program. You look at those defensive guys, up front they have some size, their linebackers are good. Offensively their quarterback is putting the ball on the money most of the day. I think Duke is a good football team. I don't think that's the old Duke football team. I think that's the new Duke football team."

On Ryan Williams' play this afternoon:
"We had a couple of nice calls by our offensive guys and our blocking was good. Good running overall. Oglesby pumped it in there a couple of times too with some good runs. We really needed that."

On Duke's fake punt:
"They were so close I thought we should play defense. Instead, we sent out our punt returner. We're looking for the fake, but it's three yards and you're playing base defense. It's frustrating. I should have figured that out."

On progress of receiving corps:
"I think we did better. We tried to get the ball down the field against Duke today and that's going to be good in our offense I think."

On Boykin's touchdown catch:
"I thought at first the guy [Duke cornerback Leon Wright] had an interception. He's [wide receiver Jarrett Boykin] a big guy, he's strong and he's going to make some big catches."