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."
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