Duke @ Virginia Tech preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 29, 2011 ) Virginia Tech 14, Duke 10

Virginia Tech, coming off a stunningly poor performance on defense, will host much-improved Duke on Saturday. The Hokies allowed 533 yards in their 48-34 loss at North Carolina last week and have dropped three of their last four games. Virginia Tech, though, has defeated the Blue Devils 11 straight times and is 6-0 all-time against them at home. At 5-1, Duke is off to its third-best start since the ACC began in 1953 and has won four in a row for the first time since opening 1994 with seven straight victories. The Blue Devils erased a three-point deficit at halftime and scored the final 28 points in their 42-17 victory over Virginia last week.

TV: 12:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network, ESPN3.com. LINE: Virginia Tech -10

ABOUT DUKE (5-1, 2-0 ACC): Starting quarterback Sean Renfree missed the Virginia game with an elbow injury. He split reps in practice this week with sophomore Anthony Boone, who threw four touchdown passes and was 18-of-31 for 212 yards against Virginia in his first career start. Coach David Cutliffe said he will make a decision on who will start late in the week. Wide receiver Conner Vernon has a team-high 41 catches this season, a 13.5 yards-per-catch average and five touchdowns, and passed Clemson's Aaron Kelly to become the ACC's all-time receptions leader. He has 239. Duke, which with a victory becomes bowl-eligible for the first time since 1994, has outscored opponents 116-63 in the second half.

ABOUT VIRGINIA TECH (3-3, 1-1): The Hokies, who allowed their most points in an ACC game last week, are .500 after six games for the first time since 1992. North Carolina's Gio Bernard rushed for 262 yards, the most-ever gained by a running back against a Frank Beamer-coached team (250 games) at Virginia Tech. The defense has also been weakened by a pass rush which has eight sacks in six games after recording 41 in 2011. Quarterback Logan Thomas has completed only 52.8 percent of his passes with 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions and also has four rushing touchdowns. His top two targets are Marcus Davis (22 catches, 20.0 average, two touchdowns) and Corey Fuller (21, 19.4, three).

EXTRA POINTS

1. With a victory, Beamer will tie Tom Osborne for seventh all-time among FBS coaches with 255 wins.

2. Vernon needs 288 yards to become the ACC's all-time leader in receiving yardage. He trails Florida State's Peter Warrick (3,517), North Carolina State's Torry Holt (3,379) and Duke's Clarkston Hines (3,318).

3. Virginia Tech leads the series 12-7, including a 14-10 victory at Durham, N.C., last season and a 44-7 triumph at home in 2010.

PREDICTION: Virginia Tech 34, Duke 23