Cutcliffe: Saturday's win a testament to mental and physical toughness

Duke's 45-43 quadruple overtime win against Virgin Tech is already paying dividends, Duke head coach David Cutcliffe told reporters during a Sunday teleconference. He was especially proud of how his players rebounded from Virginia Tech’s 11-point comeback and Duke’s missed field goal late in the fourth quarter.

“We let a game that we pretty much had in hand slip through our fingers,” Cutcliffe said. “And then you have to go play four overtimes against a team that is playing at a high level…and they were outstanding in the second half. Our team was resilient and mentally tough and physically tough. Our guys are very energized today and anxious to get back on the practice field. I think they [are] enthusiastic.”

Redshirt junior quarterback Thomas Sirk registered one of the best performances of his career to help Duke handle the pressure of overtime on the road. Despite completing just 19 of his 39 passes, Sirk threw four touchdown passes and led the Blue Devils’ rushing attack with 109 yards on 18 carries.

The Glen St. Mary, Fla., native also authored his first game-winning drive of the year, finding tight end Erich Schneider down the left sideline in quadruple overtime for a touchdown and then taking the ball across the line himself for the game-ending two-point conversion.

“He did a tremendous job of managing the game, of throwing the ball [on] time, of running the ball in tough circumstances,” Cutcliffe said. “If you can go win on the road in your conference as a quarterback in a hostile environment…then you’re getting better as a quarterback.”

Cutcliffe has already looked to improve some of the defense’s several miscues in the second half. Throughout Duke’s first six games of the season, the Blue Devils had been good at getting off the field, forcing punts rather than extended drives and field goals rather than touchdowns. But in the second half Saturday, Duke allowed a 20-play, 95-yard touchdown drive that cut into its lead in the third quarter. Then, with the Hokies down 24-16, quarterback Michael Brewer constructed a 12-play, 83-yard drive to tie the game after consecutive pass interference calls against the Blue Devils on the two-point conversion attempt.

Duke also surrendered seven explosive plays Saturday and struggled to get to the sidelines, as the Hokies converted 50 percent of their third-down attempts. 

“We’ve been pretty good at preventing explosive plays. We’ve been great getting off the field on third downs and we didn’t do that well enough. So they were able to put together a 20-play drive that resulted in a score. We can always tackle better. We’ve got to contain the quarterback better,” Cutcliffe said.