First look: Duke football seeks win No. 8 under coach Manny Diaz against Virginia Tech
Duke has a chance for an historic football regular season firmly within its grasp, needing wins in the next two games to achieve it.
When the Blue Devils (7-3, 3-3 ACC) face Virginia Tech on Saturday at 8 p.m. to close their home season at Wallace Wade Stadium, it’s the first of two games to wrap up the regular season against teams lacking winning records.
After playing the Hokies (5-5, 3-3 ACC), Duke will close the regular season on Nov. 30 at Wake Forest (4-6, 2-4 ACC).
Since 1941, Duke has posted just two regular seasons with nine or more wins — when it went 10-2 in 2013 and 9-3 in 2014.
To accomplish it this season, the Blue Devils have to beat Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. With neither of those teams having the kind of season it wanted, the opportunity for this Duke team to finish 9-3 is strong.
The Blue Devils and Hokies enter their Saturday game with both having had a break last weekend. Neither has played since Nov 9, when Duke beat N.C. State, 29-19, and Virginia Tech lost 24-14 to Clemson.
Duke also aims to continue its strong play at Wallace Wade Stadium. The Blue Devils are 5-1 at home this season and 16-3 since the start of the 2022 season.
Key matchup: Duke RBs vs. Virginia Tech DLs
While the Hokies have been tough to score upon this season, they’ve done so by strangely being susceptible to opponent’s rushing game.
Virginia Tech enters Saturday’s game next to last in the ACC, allowing 158.5 yards rushing per game. Opposing runners have gained 3.98 yards per carry, leading to 13 rushing touchdowns against the Hokies.
Duke hasn’t always been the strongest rushing attack this season, but perhaps this could be a chance for the Blue Devils to find some success. The Blue Devils are No. 15 in the ACC in rushing yards per game (99.6).
That said, Star Thomas is having a fine year at running back for the Blue Devils. A transfer from New Mexico State, Thomas has rushed for 742 yards and five touchdowns.
For Duke to run the ball against Virginia Tech, the Blue Devils will have to contend with an old friend. Aeneas Peebles played four seasons at Duke along the defensive line before transferring to Virginia Tech to use his final season of eligibility.
A Knightdale High School graduate, Peebles has five tackles for losses, including three sacks, for Virginia Tech this season.
Player to watch: QB Maalik Murphy
Duke’s starting quarterback comes off a strong performance, when he lead the Blue Devils past N.C. State on Nov. 9. Murphy completed 22 of 31 passes for 71%, easily his best completion percentage in a game this season. He threw for 245 yards with two touchdowns and also collected his first career rushing touchdown.
The Hokies, though, are one of the toughest defenses in the ACC for a passing game to find success. Opponents have only completed 54.7% of their passes against Virginia Tech. That’s third-lowest in the ACC. The Hokies have intercepted nine passes while allowing just 206.1 passing yards per game, No. 4 in the ACC.
Vegas betting odds
Virginia Tech is a 1.5-point favorite over Duke with the over-under total at 46.5 points.
Virginia Tech at Duke
Teams: Virginia Tech Hokies (5-5, 3-3 ACC) at Duke Blue Devils (7-3, 3-3 ACC)
Where: Wallace Wade Stadium, Durham
Date: Saturday, Nov. 23
Time: 8 p.m.
TV: ACC Network
Stream: DIRECTV Stream, fuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, SlingTV