Hokies look to get to 3-0 against Duke

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Posted 6:31PM on Friday, September 15, 2006

The good news for Duke heading into Saturday's game at No. 14 Virginia Tech is that things can't get much worse for the Blue Devils. They've already lost two of their best chances to win, including a 13-0 blanking by Division I-AA Richmond in the opener. The bad news is that the Hokies hope to make things much worse. The Hokies (2-0) have averaged 36.5 points in easy victories against Division I-AA Northeastern and North Carolina, but they haven't really even gotten their offense cranked up yet. Part of it is conservative play calling to give quarterback Sean Glennon time to get comfortable, and part of it is Glennon's affinity for short passes. That could change this week, if the Hokies receivers get their way. Josh Morgan has caught only two passes in two games, and one was a 54-yard touchdown against Northeastern when he was wide open. He'd like more of that, and said he and his fellow receivers have been in Glennon's ear, calling for the ball. ``I think he just has to be confident and really trust everything and just play,'' Morgan said this week. ``I think it's time for him to just go out there and play. And when he goes out there and plays, just give us an opportunity to make a play.'' Glennon was 15-for-18 for 222 yards against Northeastern, but with the Hokies defense dominating against the Tar Heels, his 10 completions went for just 66 yards. ``We've got to do better than that,'' receiver David Clowney said. ``I've been real anxious. My toes are itching, my fingers are itching. That's all I've been wanting. The last two games, that's all I want just one deep ball.'' Clowney said he hasn't been one of the guys imploring Glennon to look for him, figuring the sophomore has enough to worry about, but Morgan takes the opposite approach, frequently returning to the huddle with news that he was open. Again. ``I just said, `Man, you missed me again. Just stick with me. Just trust me,''' he said. ``A couple of times I told him, `Just throw it up. I'm going to go get it.''' Coach Frank Beamer said he'd like to see Glennon throw downfield more, too, but in the first two games, the Hokies really haven't needed to show too much on offense. Besides Glennon, they also have a young offensive line, one that should be bolstered by the return of left tackle Brandon Frye this week. Right tackle Duane Brown said the line is meshing more each week, and the offensive production will follow. ``If we keep playing our game, eventually some things will open up,'' he said. In Morgan's mind, though, the sooner that happens, the better. ``We've got big games, and you can't be one-dimensional against big teams in big games like that,'' he said. ``As an offense, we've just got to ... open everything up.'' On the other side, coach Ted Roof is focusing on the positives. After their embarrassing loss to Richmond, the Blue Devils led Wake Forest 10-0 at halftime last week, but lost 14-13 when Joe Surgan's 28-yard field goal on the final play was blocked. The Blue Devils had drive 63 yards in the final 1:28. ``I think there was a lot of progress,'' Roof said. ``The shame of it was that it didn't result in a win, but it just continued to hammer home with our players the fine line between winning and losing. ... There's nobody that's jumping off the ship.'' Kickoff is set for noon. (Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)