BLACKSBURG, Va. – Last year’s 45-10 loss against Duke at Lane Stadium was a turning point for Virginia Tech.
But nearly one year later, that game is still on the Hokies' minds as prepare for the Blue Devils on Saturday.
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“We remember everything about that Duke game from last year,” said redshirt junior guard Lecitus Smith said. “How they came in and beat the crap out of us, they came in more ready and prepared.”
But after Saturday’s win over N.C. State, the Hokies showed just how prepared they can be. The ground attack tallied 314 yards, and according to Smith, it was also proof that the offensive line is coming together.
“300 yards sounds nice but I want to do it again and again and again,” he said.
“Hats off to the o-line, they do a great job up front, makes it easy for us,” said graduate student running back Khalil Herbert. “Going into the secondary before getting touched, that’s a dream for running backs, so it makes it easy for us.”
Duke is 0-3 heading into this weekend’s contest, but head coach Justin Fuente said their record doesn’t reflect their ability.
“We’re going to face a really good, talented defense that certainly understands their scheme and executes it at a high effort,” said Fuente.
More notably, their defensive line only allows opponents 3.72 yards per carry.
"When they get into their "I" package with 96 (Chris Rumph) walking around, that’s something we need to work on," said junior tackle Christian Darrisaw. “So we need to ID him, figure out where he’s at so we can slide and protect the quarterback for whatever side he’s on.”
Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m. at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham.
The game will be airing on the ACC Network.