VT-Duke Preview
Virginia Tech (1-1, 0-0) makes its ACC debut Saturday, welcoming Duke (0-2, 0-0) to Lane Stadium at noon (Raycom/JP TV, XM 180).
The last time these two teams played was Bruce Smith’s senior season of 1984, when the then-independent Hokies knocked off the Blue Devils 27-0, holding them to a mere 68 yards of total offense. The Devils will hope to make things a bit different this year, but an already-tough assignment got harder last week as senior DE Phillip Alexander broke his leg during an interception return against Connecticut. That merely added to an already-long list: would-be starting RB Cedric Dargan, leading returning WR Senterrio Landrum, and CB/PR Kenny Stanford are all out as well. The QB situation is slightly better, as should senior Chris Dapolito go down, he would be replaced by sophomore Nebraska transfer Curt Dukes. The Devils average just under 300 pounds across the offensive line, so there’s at least some mass between the QB and Tech’s deep, skilled defensive line.
The Hokies’ starting lineup has stayed constant from last week, with one exception: the emergence of sophomore DE Noland Burchette has allowed the Hokies to keep Jim Davis at DT and slot Kevin Lewis ahead of his brother Jonathan at the other DT (which, with Tech’s customary line rotation, isn’t a major distinction; those three DTs should be considered essentially co-starters). The performance of RBs Cedric Humes and Justin Hamilton against a thin Duke defense may determine whether Mike Imoh will be asked to redshirt once he comes off suspension next week. My hunch is that he will play this year, as Tech has traditionally favored playing one straight-ahead runner and one scatback; the change-of-pace could be even more important this year with neither Humes nor Hamilton living up to the Shyrone Stith-Lee Suggs-Kevin Jones lineage of Tech move-the-pile RBs yet.
And then there’s the weather. It’s funny, last September 18th we were worried about another I-named guest; this year it’s Ivan that will be spinning out over the Appalachians as gametime approaches in Blacksburg. Reports as of Thursday night suggest that the worst rain should stay south of Virginia’s border with North Carolina and Tennessee, but the Tech grounds crew has prepared the surface for heavy rain anyway, using a process validated during Isabel. Last year, the Hokie offense went arch-conservative in the rain against Texas A&M. The VT coaching staff has even more incentive to do so this year, against a weaker opponent, and with several kinks in the running game yet to be worked out. Humes, Hamilton and John Candelas should plan to spend lots of quality time churning through the mud.
17 September 2004 / 0 Comments / Tags: football