Hokie fans may shouldn't check Duke off as an easy victory.
The Blue Devils may have the worse record in the Atlantic Coast Conference (1-5), but they're still responsible for big wins over Virginia and the previously ranked Vanderbilt Commodores.
Head coach Frank Beamer recognizes that the era of Duke as doormat in the ACC may soon be over.
"Beating teams like Virginia and Vanderbilt shows Duke is a team that plays hard," Beamer said.
Even with the two solid victories, the Blue Devils are currently on a three-game losing streak against ACC opponents. Last week, they suffered a rough 31-7 loss against the Clemson Tigers and in the process lost star quarterback Thaddeus Lewis to a sprained ankle.
Lewis' status for the game against the Hokies is still questionable. With him potentially out of the lineup, the Duke offense could suffer. Lewis currently leads the ACC in touchdown passes with 14 and is ranked third in passing yardage per game, averaging 189. Duke wide out Eron Riley might be much less effective as a result of Lewis' absence. Riley has seven touchdown receptions on the year and averages 63 yards receiving per game.
Leading the Blue Devil offense if Lewis is unable to perform would be junior Zack Asack, who saw significant playing time last weekend against Clemson. Asack finished the game completing 10 of 22 passes for 61 yards along with one touchdown and two interceptions. In his entire career at Duke, Asack has totaled seven passing scores and 10 picks.
More pressure will be put on Asack and the passing game now that running back Clifford Davis is out. Asack -- also a threat to run -- must find a way to move the football against a Hokie defense that is coming off a solid performance last week against the Miami Hurricanes. The Hokies' defense allowed just one touchdown and forced the Hurricanes to settle for three field goals.
Quietly leading the Hokies' defense in total tackles this season is Purnell Sturdivant, who has 71. The statistics may not show how much improvement the Tech defense has made, but the senior linebacker has recognized the significant improvement.
"As the season went on, we developed more chemistry on defense," Sturdivant said. "Just because we lost last weekend, we still played great defense."
The Hokies' defense will be up against a Duke offense that has averaged 22 points per game this season, with much of it through the air. Tech's pass defense has been up and down all season, intercepting opposing quarterbacks nine times this season while allowing 10 touchdowns.
On the offensive side of the ball for Tech, Beamer has not announced whether he will use the dual-threat quarterback system with Tyrod Taylor and Sean Glennon or plug Taylor back in as the full-time starter.
Glennon finished the game against the 'Canes throwing for 98 yards, and completing six of eight attempts, while Taylor threw for 75 yards to go along with 43 yards rushing and two touchdowns with his legs. The offense overall struggled the entire game, only managing 250 yards of total offense followed by six punts.
Tech was unable to establish the running game against the Hurricanes' front seven -- only producing 77 yards on the ground. Freshman tailback Darren Evans only managed 43 yards on 17 carries in the defeat. Beamer and the offensive coaching staff recognized the problems with the running attack after watching the game film.
"We didn't block consistently enough, and we just lost the individual battles upfront," Beamer said.
The Hokies will try to duplicate their rushing performance of two weeks ago against the Maryland Terrapins when they produced 273 yards. The Duke defense currently ranks 10th in the ACC when it comes to rushing defense, allowing 145 yards per game. If the Tech offensive line wins the battle upfront, Duke could be in for a long game.
Anchoring the Blue Devils defense is senior middle linebacker Michael Tauiliili, who is the ACC leader in tackles with 111 on the season already. Tauiliili will try to keep the Hokies' rushing offense out of the end zone as Tech has 17 rushing touchdowns on the year.
After losing their third consecutive road game, the Hokies return home, as the remainder of their regular season -- including the finale versus Virginia -- will be played at Lane Stadium. The players know it's a comforting feeling to play in front of the home crowd.
"Anytime you get to play at home it's big," said redshirt junior safety Dorian Porch. "Getting back to playing in front of our fans is good for us."
The contest against the Blue Devils will kick off around 5:30 p.m. and can be seen on ESPNU.