Virginia Tech Football: Hokie Train Rolls On, Next Stop Duke

Virginia Tech (3-1, 1-0) hopes to keep the ball rolling in Week Five as the Hokies head to Durham, NC, to take on the Duke Blue Devils (2-2, 0-0).

The Hokies are on a three game winning streak, fresh of a mauling of Miami and back into the Top 10 in the nation.  Now the question is: Can they stay focused on the task ahead?

That's never been a real issue for Virginia Tech—the team is coached to never overlook an opponent.

Duke won't be the toughest game of the year by any means, but this is the type of game that can catch you off-guard in a heartbeat.

By beating Miami the Hokies grabbed hold of the Coastal Division, and need to ride out the rest of the season without a loss in the ACC to avoid a tiebreaker and avoid losing their grip on the Coastal Division.

Let's not forget that Virginia Tech had a poor performance last year against the Blue Devils, and that was at home in Blacksburg. It was a 7-3 game until the Hokies ran back a late fourth quarter interception for a touchdown.

So far this season Duke QB Thaddeus Lewis is putting up some pretty big numbers in the passing game with more than 750 yards and five touchdowns, and he has several receivers with 15 or more catches. The Virginia Tech secondary will have its hands full on Saturday.

At the same time, Virginia Tech has shut down two other quarterbacks who both came into their games with the Hokies on a roll. Both Zac Lee (Nebraska) and Jacory Harris (Miami) found out that Bud Foster's defense is a step above the rest.

The key for the Blue Devils is to stop the run and make Tyrod Taylor pass the ball.

That's hard to do when Virginia Tech has Ryan Williams, a redshirt freshman who has piled up close to 500 yards rushing and eight touchdowns in four games, putting him amongst the most prolific scorers in the nation so far.

If the last two games are any sign for what the Hokies have going, then they are finally finding a groove on both sides of the ball. If that trend continues, it could be ugly for the Blue Devils.

I am predicting a score of 42-10, with the Virginia Tech second string in the game for the fourth quarter.