The Blue Devils may have to "sleep with one eye open" following their bye week in order to survive Metallica's "Enter Sandman" in the hostile confines of Lane Stadium.
After a tough 30-20 loss on the road last week against Miami, Virginia Tech returns home for its homecoming contest against No. 23 Duke at 3:30 p.m. Saturday looking to return to form in the ACC. But despite how assured a homecoming victory once was in a matchup against the Blue Devils—especially at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Va.—the Hokies are facing a different quality of team than ones they have played in years past.
“They have talented kids. They’re a different Duke than when I first came here and when [we] got in the ACC. I have great respect for what they’ve done down there,” Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer said in a press conference Monday. “I used well-coached a lot. It really, really does apply in this case. We have to have great preparation and play great to have a chance to win this one.”
After suffering key injuries and multiple setbacks throughout the course of the season that contributed to falling below .500, Virginia Tech is poised to shake up conference play with redshirt senior quarterback Michael Brewer back at the helm. Brewer had been sidelined since breaking his collarbone in a week one loss against Ohio State—a game in which he threw for 156 yards and two touchdowns before exiting—but the Lake Travis, Texas, native returned in the second half last week against Miami in relief of redshirt junior Brenden Motley, tossing a touchdown on 3-for-4 passing with 65 yards.
Although Motley will not make the start for the Hokies, he is likely to see game action as a dual-threat quarterback during the game. So far this season, he has thrown for 1,155 yards, rushed for 220 yards and accounted for 14 total touchdowns.
“Both of [the quarterbacks] have been available, both of them will be available,” Duke head coach David Cutcliffe said. “If you go back to the opening game [against] Ohio State when they [were] both healthy, they both played. That’s what I expect to see. I think they’re both really good quarterbacks. They’re a little different, there’s no question about that, but they both can throw it and they both can run it.”
The Blue Devils not only have to deal with multiple quarterbacks, but they will also have to account for multiple weapons on the offensive side of the ball from Virginia Tech. Both Brewer and Motley have Isaiah Ford—the ACC’s leading receiver in touchdowns with seven—and tight end Bucky Hodges—who registered 57 receiving yards with one touchdown in Durham last season—as top targets down the field.
In the backfield, running back Travon McMillian also poses a threat for Duke’s stout defense. The redshirt freshman has a team-leading 418 yards on the ground and is averaging 7.1 yards per carry this season, despite making only two starts.
“Travon [McMillian] can outrun you,” Beamer said. “I think he has a knack for running. He can run tough. He did both of those Saturday [against Miami].”
On the other side of the ball, the Hokies still present a major defensive threat, despite the loss of cornerback Kendall Fuller to knee surgery and the dismissal of safety C.J. Reavis in the offseason for conduct-related issues.
Even without Fuller and Reavis, Virginia Tech still has the second-most takeaways in the ACC with 13, including seven interceptions. True freshman safety Adonis Alexander leads the team with three picks—good for fourth in conference—and has tallied 40 tackles. Alongside him in the secondary, junior cornerback Chuck Clark has proven problematic for opposing offenses, recording a team-high 60 tackles.
“Our defense is going to continue to get better,” Beamer said. “We weren’t counting on [Fuller and Reavis], who were going to be in the NFL, not being a part of that secondary. That’s a setback…. I think the potential for the future looks exceptionally bright.”
With ball-hawking tendencies on defense, the Hokies will look to focus on ball security on offense. In its three wins this season, Virginia Tech is plus-six in turnover margin, but is minus-four in its four losses. Facing a Blue Devil defense that is coached to aggressively scrap for the ball, winning the turnover battle could mean winning the game.
At the same time, coping with the 12th man at Lane Stadium is always a tough challenge for visiting squads. Since 1995, the Hokies are 107-26 at home. But if any team is poised to shake up Virginia Tech on the road, it is Duke—the Blue Devils are 11-1 in their last 12 true road games, which is the most true road wins in the ACC since the start of 2013.
“For practice we have a crowd noise put in [and] the little Hokie noise that they have in their stadium,” Duke offensive tackle Casey Blaser said. “We play ‘Enter Sandman’ multiple times throughout practice. We work on our silent cadence, just trying to get all that timing down, because in game time we expect it to be that loud.”
Given the bye-week preparation, the Blue Devils will enter Blacksburg on their toes, looking to shake off the Sandman and replicate the outcome of their 13-10 road victory from 2013 en route to the Coastal Division title.
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