Duke vs Virginia Tech: TV, betting odds and fast facts to impress your friends
Think about being a college athlete this fall in the throes of a pandemic, and the challenges it presents.
Some football teams — Duke, to name one — have had no positive COVID-19 results. Others like Virginia Tech, Duke’s opponent this week, have had some issues and had players held out of practice and games. It varies.
A common problem: getting back up to game speed.
“The challenge to me and what I see on our team is conditioning levels,” Duke offensive guard Casey Holman said this week. “We lost a lot of time in spring practice. We lost a lot of time in the weight room. Guys had to take it upon themselves over the summer, over the spring even, to get themselves in shape.
“We’re just now getting to the point where we feel like we’re in college football condition. Usually we would have felt that at the beginning of (fall) camp, going from our summer conditioning into camp. That’s been the biggest challenge and we’re overcoming it every day and we’re still overcoming it.”
As Duke coach David Cutliffe has said, the Blue Devils went 129 days between organized workouts. That’s a lot of missed time and although Cutcliffe doesn’t blame his team’s 0-3 start on it, the Blue Devils have had to play catchup from a conditioning standpoint.
Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente said his players did a “great job” in conditioning in the 100 or so days they were home during the summer, saying, “I was really pleased with our team when they came back.”
And yet ...
“We did not have a traditional summer, nor did anybody else, which I think affected our conditioning level,” Fuente said. “I think you could see that in practice pretty early in fall camp. But then the last several weeks the way we’ve been forced to practice raised a little bit of an alarm, too. We’re not able to practice as long. You don’t have as many people out there and we have to adjust.”
The Hokies had to postpone their game against Virginia and then were missing 23 players Saturday in their opener against N.C. State. But Fuente said finally playing a football game gave his team an “emotional charge” that contributed to their fast start in a 45-24 win.
How to watch on TV: Duke vs Virginia Tech
The game has a 4 p.m. kickoff and will be televised by the ACC Network.
College football betting odds: Va. Tech a big favorite
Virginia Tech is a 10.5-point favorite, according to espn.com. The over/under is 54.
Fast facts: Noah Gray closing in on Stan Crisson
* Duke and Virginia Tech have played the past 17 years but Duke hasn’t won in Durham since 1981, when Dennis Tabron’s pick-six interception gave the Blue Devils a 14-7 win.
* Costly turnovers? Duke has had 12 in the past two games and Boston College and Virginia converted them into 27 points.
* Duke tight end Noah Gray, who has 13 catches in the first three games, is closing in on a school record. With 89 career receptions, he is nine shy of Stan Crisson’s career total of 98 catches by a tight end.
* Here’s a stat Duke fans will not want to see: Virginia Tech is 13-3 against Duke in ACC games and has not lost back-to-back games to the Blue Devils since 1950 and ‘51. Duke won last year 45-10.
* The Hokies’ 314 yards rushing last week in 45-24 win over N.C. State were the most for Virginia Tech in an ACC games since a 317-yard game in 2010 — against the Wolfpack.
* Hokies running back Khalil Herbert, a transfer from Kansas, once had a 291-yard rushing game for the Jayhawks against West Virginia in September 2017. Herbert had 104 yards last week.
* The last time the Blue Devils started a season 0-3 it did not end well for Duke. In 2006, the Blue Devils finished 0-12.
* If Virginia Tech is leading at halftime the Hokies are almost a lock to win. They’re 29-2 under coach Justin Fuente.
* Virginia Tech’s next game is against North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Oct. 10. A year ago, quarterback Quincy Patterson came in after an injury to Hendon Hooker and led the Hokies to a 43-41 six-overtime win.
