Duke

And by summary I mean a minimal amount of words surrounded by pictures, tweets, and stats.

Game Summary:

Duke was able to overcome Virginia Tech's early 4-point lead (1st half, 18:42), and win by 32 points.

Statistical summary:

• Erick Green 22 points (39.28% of Tech's total points)
• Seth Curry 22 points
• Virginia Tech 1-16 (6.3%) 3-Point FGs
• Duke 12-17 (70.6%) 3-Point FGs

Cassell Guard Chant Effectiveness Summary:

Coach K on Seth Curry: " By the way, we know who his daddy is. He was right behind the bench."— Mark Giannotto (@HokiesJournal) February 22, 2013

Who's your daddy? *clap, clap, clap-clap-clap*

Coach K's underwear summary:

Bunched.

Dell Curry's Shoe Selection Summary:

Dell Curry rocking Maroon and Orange shoes. #Hokies twitter.com/vthokie/status…— Damian Salas (@vthokie) February 22, 2013

Both Virginia Tech and Duke lost over the weekend, and that's about where their similarities end. Duke is really good, and Virginia Tech...eh...not so much. The Hokies are trying to end their 8-game losing streak, while the Blue Devils are trying to weather the storm while Ryan Kelly is out, and catch Miami atop the ACC standings.

The top two guys in the race for ACC Player of the Year, Erick Green and Mason Plumlee, (you could easily argue Shane Larkin of Miami too) will face off tonight. Each is having an impressive year, with Erick leading the nation in scoring, and Mason averaging a double-double. If the Hokies want to win, stopping Plumlee will be the top priority.

The senior forward [Plumlee] ranks second in the ACC in both scoring (17.6 ppg) and rebounding (10.4 rpg). He is averaging 6.5 points more than he did last season, and his rebounding average has also increased.

Others might be surprised by how much he has blossomed, but he is not among them.

"I did see it coming," Plumlee said Tuesday in a phone interview. "To have the kind of year that I want to have, and I want to be even better going forward, you have to see it before you do it. So when I would think about it over the summer and in the preseason, I saw myself doing certain things on the court and putting up particular numbers."

This week Kevin talks to French and Joe about the Duke comeback and the upcoming battle with Clemson. Brian, who was previously suspended for threatening company policy via Twitter (known around the office as "The Benny's Threat") makes a cameo to talk about Duke and make his weekend prediction (as well as his annual Tajh Boyd is fat joke).

All that and more, on this week's episode of The Adventures On Whiskey Lane.

MP3 Download link: http://thekeyplay.podomatic.com/enclosure/2012-10-18T16_10_10-07_00.mp3

I apologize this is late this week. Stay in school, because day jobs are not as fun as history lectures. -- French

The homecoming game against Duke came at a critical time during Frank Beamer's tenure. While the talent deficiencies in key areas make it most likely that the Hokies are not a great bet to run the table, a loss to Duke would have shaken the aura of invincibility that Virginia Tech has over the weaker programs in the ACC. That aura often has weaker teams beaten before they step off the bus, and it has given the Hokies several wins over the last 8 years that have kept them relevant as a regional power. Now we come to the three measuring stick games for 2012, starting perhaps with the toughest matchup, the Clemson Tigers.

This team is not dead. In fact, after spotting Duke 20 points, they were reborn. This is what we expected to see on the field heading into the 2012 campaign. The defensive line was dominate. They played angry and answered the challenge put forth by the coaches during an intense week of practice. They created chaos and it led to turnovers, sacks, and busted plays. J.C. Coleman had over 180 yards on the ground and reinvigorated a stagnant running game. Marcus Davis showed off his athleticism and made big-plays.

People might say, "It's Duke," and to that I say, "Bullshit." That was a 5-1 team we just throttled. Duke threw haymakers to start the game and we answered the bell. That was the first time all season we played team football, and if we give that effort down the stretch, we'll have a chance in every game.

The coaches sounded like they were going to get away from the Nickel, but they used it a bunch (if I had to guess 75% of the game). Both Michael Cole and Detrick Bonner struggled, albeit less this week, in man-coverage. However, both had an interception and Bonner made a great play on the ball in the end zone in the fourth quarter. Although, I'd still prefer to see a base look. Towards the end of the game Tech was in base and Ronny Vandyke had nice coverage with Jarrett helping over the top and they forced an incompletion like clockwork.

This week on Adventures on Whiskey Lane, Brian and Kevin try to figure out what's been going wrong for the Hokies recently. It includes a lot of head scratching and thoughts of better years.

However, much like the team, Brian and Kevin turn their attention to a 5-1 Duke team (really) that's off to its best start in nearly 20 years.

What do the Hokies have to do to snap the skid? Find out that and more on this week's Adventure on Whiskey Lane!

MP3 Download link: http://thekeyplay.podomatic.com/enclosure/2012-10-11T19_55_47-07_00.mp3

As we approach the most dreaded Duke game in the history of Duke games, I sat down with Ben Swain of ACC Sports Journal. We trade witty remarks over 1,000 magical words about two teams trending in opposite directions, the faulty two quarterback system, the Blue Devil kicking game and what it's like to be even less than a little brother at your school.

I hope y'all enjoy our banter as much as the game on Saturday.

TKP: So...here we are. It's October, Duke is 5-1 while Virginia Tech sits at a paltry 3-3. The Hokies are favored, but I have also seen the line as low as a pick. This seems crazier than Nick Saban's daughter. I don't really have a question, just wanted to make a statement of how depressed I am..but for kicks, let's turn it into one. What's different about this Duke team?