Noah Gray: "We stuck to what we were taught"
Duke struggled on offense for the first quarter of Friday’s game in Blacksburg. Then tight end Noah Gray started touching the ball.
The first time Gray, Duke’s leading receiver on the season, was targeted was on Duke’s first snap of the second quarter. He picked up a pass interference penalty on Virginia Tech, giving Duke a first down for the first time in the game.
Gray’s next touch was a 16-yard touchdown pass. He added another touchdown on the next drive.
By the time the 45-10 victory was over, Gray had 50 yards on a team-high six catches. He had lined up tight to the line, as a slot receiver, and even as fullback.
Gray didn’t take credit for triggering Duke’s second-quarter rally.
“I don’t think there was a difference (from the first quarter),” he said. “We stuck to what we were taught all week and just kind of ran with it. Things weren’t working in the first quarter. Virginia Tech played us hard. They came out swinging.”
Gray also shrugged off any credit for his 16-yard touchdown reception.
“The defense made a tremendous play to give us the ball right there,” he said. “During the play, the offensive line did an amazing job protecting Quentin, and Q had a great throw.”
The win was a bit of payback for the Hokies’ 31-14 win at Wallace Wade Stadium last year, knocking Duke from the ranks of the undefeated. But Gray didn’t want to talk revenge.
“We worked hard in the offseason to prepare week by week for games like this,” he said. “We weren’t thinking about last season.”
