Hokies prepare for rainy conference opener against Duke

ROANOKE, VIRGINIA - Trouble is headed to Virginia Tech this weekend, and it&#39;s not Duke.<br> <br> Hurricane Ivan, a massive storm currently punishing the Cuba with 160 mph winds, is expected to sweep into the United States and possibly Virginia by Saturday when the Hokies (1-1) play the Blue Devils (0-2) in Tech&#39;s first Atlantic Coast Conference game.<br> <br> ``We have a 60 percent of chance of rain on Saturday, but we really don&#39;t know how that will impact the game,&#39;&#39; Jim White with the National Weather Service in Blacksburg said. ``It&#39;s too far out to predict its path.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> White said the National Weather Service may issue predictions about flood conditions in Virginia later this week.<br> <br> Coach Frank Beamer said he tries not to worry about possible storms a part of the game he cannot control. The best thing the Hokies can do is ``prepare yourself to get your assignment down,&#39;&#39; he said. ``Both teams are going to have to fight the elements.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Center Will Montgomery said he&#39;s actually looking forward to a storm because the rain and mud and slipping and sliding makes football extra fun.<br> <br> ``We&#39;re going to go out there ... and just roll around for a while,&#39;&#39; he said.<br> <br> Hokies fans aren&#39;t likely to be deterred by another hurricane either.<br> <br> Thousands of Tech faithful tailgated for hours in the whipping wind and rain on Sept. 18, 2003 as Hurricane Isabel brushed past Blacksburg. Lane Stadium was sold out, and only a few thousand ticket holders stayed home as the Hokies beat Texas A 35-19.<br> <br> STILL UNRANKED: Despite routing Western Michigan 63-0 and holding their own against top-ranked Southern California, the Hokies have yet to gain much respect from the nation&#39;s sportswriters.<br> <br> The Hokies remain unranked in the new AP college football poll, even after a week of shuffling in which Kansas State, Missouri, Clemson and Oregon fell out.<br> <br> Quarterback Bryan Randall said he doesn&#39;t mind being unranked.<br> <br> ``Everybody&#39;s excited, I think, by being under the radar and being able to come up and bite people,&#39;&#39; Randall said. ``We&#39;ve been bitten in the past couple of years.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The Hokies have soared in the polls each of the last three seasons, ranking among the top five teams each time, before last-season swoons sent them tumbling. Randall said it&#39;s nice to not have to deal with inflated expectations this year.<br> <br> ``I think right now we&#39;re hungry,&#39;&#39; he said. ``We&#39;re hungry about going out there and getting back to that top 25.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> BEWARE OF THE SLUMP: The Hokies defense and special teams were as stingy as ever last week, holding the Broncos to 272 yards of offense and blocking two kicks.<br> <br> It was Virginia Tech&#39;s third consecutive shutout victory in the series.<br> <br> Now, Beamer said, the challenge is to keep that level of intensity.<br> <br> ``Yesterday, at practice, our defense got a little lax,&#39;&#39; Beamer said Tuesday. ``We can&#39;t do that. ... If you think great things are going to happen during the Duke game just because they happened during the Western Michigan game, that&#39;s a big mistake.&#39;&#39;