By BRYAN STRICKLAND

bstrickland@heraldsun.com; 419-6671

DURHAM -- When Duke traveled to Blacksburg a year ago to face Virginia Tech, the Blue Devils had no reason to be confident.

Each of the first four meetings since the Hokies joined the ACC had been lopsided, producing a combined score of 175-31. To make matters worse, Duke was without starting quarterback Thad Lewis.

But over the course of three cold, drizzly hours, Duke took some steps toward burying that haunting history. The Blue Devils eventually came up short, but those who return for this year's game no longer will be short on hope against the Hokies.

"That just tells guys to not let the name of the school fool you -- everybody is human," said Lewis, who will be in action today when Duke welcomes Virginia Tech (noon, WDNC 620-AM). "We can play against anybody on any given day. We had some success against them last year, so who's to say we can't have the same success against them this year?"

Even with backup quarterback Zack Asack struggling mightily in the passing game a year ago, Duke trailed just 7-3 heading to the final two minutes.

"Some plays were just that close to busting one," Duke center Bryan Morgan said, "and all we needed was a big play."

Instead, the Hokies came up with the big play, salting away a 14-3 victory when Macho Harris picked off an Asack pass and took it 23 yards for a touchdown with 1:23 left.

Rest assured, however, that the Blue Devils (2-2) aren't the only ones who remember the close call.

"We had a real hard time with them last year, and their quarterback didn't play in that one," Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said. "We understand we had better get ready to play a heck of a football game against Duke."

Some things, however, have changed since the 2008 meeting, and most aren't good signs for the Blue Devils. Virginia Tech hoisted the ACC and Orange Bowl championship trophies shortly after edging Duke a year ago, but the Hokies were just 6-4 and unranked headed into that game.

This week, the Hokies (3-1, 1-0 ACC) are ranked No. 6.

"There's some confidence gained from playing in that game, but this is a better Virginia Tech team than that team, so we obviously have to be a better Duke team," said Duke coach David Cutcliffe, who hasn't exactly been talking like his Blue Devils are better than they were a year ago. "We lost a lot of players off that team. We had a team last year that, at that point, was one of the most physical teams in our conference.

"This is a more difficult matchup for us."

Cutcliffe called the current Virginia Tech team , which ranks second in the ACC with 30.8 points per game, "Beamer-Ball Plus."

"They're the very same defensively, ... and they've got that same kicking game," Cutcliffe said. "They're playing much better offense.

"They're better balanced. They can run it, and they can throw it. They're running some option; they're spreading the field. They're making you defend more things."

All of Duke's film study this week made that abundantly obvious, but the mental images that the Blue Devils have of the 2008 game still could be important.

"We can do it, but talk is cheap," Lewis said. "We have to go out there and perform."