PLAYERS TO WATCH
–QB Ryan Willis is the new starter. He is a former Kansas quarterback who threw 2,530 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Jayhawks in the 2015 and 2016 seasons. He sat out last season at Virginia Tech due to NCAA transfer rules. He has appeared in two games this season, completing 13 of 25 passes.
“We turn to Ryan Willis and he performed pretty well last week when he went in there,” coach Justin Fuente said Monday. “He’s competitive and he’s been training and working for this opportunity and it’s up to everyone else to step up their game as well and help him out and support him.”
–RB Steve Peoples, listed as a co-starter at running back, is coming off a career-high 156-yard rushing performance against Old Dominion. That marked the best rushing day for a Hokie since J.C. Coleman’s 157 yards vs. Cincinnati in the 2014 Military Bowl. Peoples had an 87-yard TD run against the Monarchs as part of his big day.
–WR Damon Hazelton, a transfer from Ball State, has posted back-to-back 100-yard receiving games. He had 129 receiving yards vs. East Carolina and 154 (on five catches) against Old Dominion. He is averaging 25.7 yards on his 11 catches at Tech.
SERIES HISTORY: Virginia Tech leads 16-9, including a 6-0 mark since joining the ACC in 2004. The Hokies have outscored Duke 177-87 in ACC games.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “I told them, ‘I liked you guys a lot better when everybody told you that you were terrible. Everybody told you that you didn’t have a chance to win the first game, and all you did was work your tails off.’ And then we get to feeling all good about ourselves, and we get brought back down to earth. We got what we deserved.” — Coach Justin Fuente, on his message to the team after the upset loss at Old Dominion