BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech football team is back on the field this Saturday, Oct. 3, as they play their initial road game of the season at ACC foe Duke.
Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ACC Network.
Tech opened 2020 with a 45-24 victory vs. NC State at Lane Stadium Saturday night, which saw the Hokies rack up 345 yards on the ground and the defense register two takeaways. Kicker Brian Johnson notched three field goals in the contest and now owns a streak of 15 straight.
The Blue Devils enter Saturday’s game at 0-3 after falling to Virginia 38-20 this past Saturday afternoon.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Saturday, October 3, 4 p.m., Wallace Wade Stadium; Durham, N.C. at Duke (0-3).
Duke head coach: David Cutcliffe (13th Season, 19th Season overall); record at school: 72-71; Career: 116-111.
Series: Tech leads 17-10; last: Sept. 27, 2019 (L, 10-45).
Broadcast: ACC Network; play-by-play: Chris Cotter; analyst: Mark Herzlich; sideline: Tiffany Blackmon.
Radio: Virginia Tech Sports Properties; play-by-play: Jon Laaser; analyst: Mike Burnop; sideline: Wes McElroy
- The Hokies travel to Duke (10/3) for their first ACC road contest of the 2020 campaign as Tech seeks to avenge a 45-10 loss last season at Lane Stadium (9/27/19).
- Virginia Tech is 10-6 in ACC road contents under head coach Justin Fuente, including 4-0 in conference games played in North Carolina (2-0 vs. Duke, 2-0 vs. UNC).
- Tech’s last trip to Durham pitted an unranked Hokies squad against No. 22 Duke (9/29/18). After trailing 7-3 at the end of the first quarter, Tech rattled off 21 unanswered points in the second and third quarters en route to a 31-14 win.
- Tech is 13-3 against Duke in ACC play and hasn’t lost back-to-back games to the Blue Devils since 1950-51.
TECH DOMINATES THEIR STATE
- Virginia Tech owns a 9-1 record against teams from the state of North Carolina under Fuente.
- VT owns a combined 35-8 all-time record in ACC play against teams from the state of North Carolina: 13-3 vs. Duke, 13-3 vs. UNC, 5-1 vs. NC State and 4-1 vs. Wake Forest.
KEY SCORING STATS ON HOKIES, BLUE DEVILS
- VT is 24-5 when scoring 30+ points under Fuente and 11-0 when scoring 40+ points.
- Duke has lost 16 of its last 17 contests when allowing 30 points or more, including nine straight losses.
- VT owns a 29-2 mark under Fuente when leading at half.
- VT is 31-2 when holding opponents to 21 points or fewer dating back to the start of the 2015 season (6-1 in 2019).
- Duke is 4-26 when scoring 21 points or fewer dating back to 2015, including nine straight losses.
- VT has won 25 straight games when limiting opponents to 17 points or fewer (6-0 in 2019).
- Duke has lost 17 straight games when scoring 17 points or fewer.
- After last season’s loss vs. Duke (9/27/19), Tech is 7-3 in its last 10 games, hitting the 30-point mark in eight of those contests and averaging 35.3 points per game over that span.
DYNAMIC RB ADDITIONS SHINE IN VT DEBUT
- Kansas transfer running back Khalil Herbert registered 104 rushing yards with a 37-yard touchdown to go along with 46 receiving yards vs. NC State Saturday. He also had 45 yards in kickoff returns. It marked his fourth career 100-yard rushing performance.
- Herbert ranks second in the ACC in all-purpose yardage (195.0 yards per game), trailing only Georgia Tech’s Jahmyr Gibbs (197.0 yards per game). He is also second in rushing (104.0 yards per game) behind Louisville’s Javian Hawkins (104.3 yards per game).
- Despite missing practice time prior to the game, running back Raheem Blackshear ran for 31 yards with an eight-yard TD vs. NC State Saturday.
- Tech’s 314 rushing yards vs. NC State Saturday marked only the third time since VT joined the ACC in 2004 that the Hokies had racked up 300+ yards on the ground in an ACC game. VT also did it with 317 yards at NC State (10/2/10) and 333 yards at UVA (11/19/05).
- Tech’s 314.0 yards per game rushing avg. ranks second in the nation behind only Army (320.0 yards per game). Miami (232.3 ypg) is the next-closest ACC squad in rushing yards per game.
BURMEISTER WINS FIRST VT START
- Oregon transfer QB Braxton Burmeister made his initial start for Tech vs. NC State in place of QB Hendon Hooker, who was unavailable. Burmeister became the fourth different opening game starter under Fuente, joining QBs Jerod Evans (2016), Josh Jackson (2017-18) and Ryan Willis (2019).
