BLACKSBURG, Va. - Late in the first quarter, after another Duke drive stalled, Alex Feinberg trotted on to the field to punt.
As Virginia Tech's vaunted punt-block team charged at Feinberg's right foot, the punter barely got the punt off in time. The punt came out low, and the Hokies' Eddie Royal picked up the bouncing ball at the Duke 42 yard-line. He made a few moves, and took off toward the left sideline.
With the help of a few crushing blocks, Royal weaved through what seemed to be the entire Blue Devil team before cutting back across the field and diving over the front right pylon for a touchdown.
This one play demonstrated the theme of the game between Duke and 14th-ranked Virginia Tech-that the Hokies were physically and athletically superior to the still-winless Blue Devils.
"Their athletes made plays-it's very simple," head coach Ted Roof said. "They've got as good a skill group of athletes as there are in the country."
On the Blue Devils' first offensive play from scrimmage, already trailing 6-0, quarterback Thaddeus Lewis was sacked for a loss and had to come out of the game for a few plays just to get his wits back.
Perhaps still shaken from that first hit and two ensuing roughing the passer penalties against Virginia Tech, Lewis went down for good early in the second quarter after a vicious hit from Hokie rover Aaron Rouse.
After completing a pass to tight-end Nick Stefanow, the freshman was knocked hard to the ground by Rouse and did not return to the game after being diagnosed later with a concussion.
Replays showed that the hit-which resulted in the third roughing the passer penalty called against Virginia Tech in the first half-bordered on what some may consider a dirty play.
"Everything is so fast," Rouse said. "I felt like he was going to run the ball. He started running towards me, and I ran towards him at the last minute. I was already committed. Once I'm committed, it's kind of hard for me to pull off. If I could have pulled off I would have."
Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer said his player was apologetic and that he didn't think the hit was intentional. Nonetheless, Beamer added that the play could have been avoided.
"If you have to take more than one step on that quarterback, you have to pull up," he said.
But outside of controversial late hits, the Hokies manhandled the Blue Devils throughout the course of the afternoon. Virginia Tech was consistently more aggressive, constantly pressuring Lewis and backup quarterback Marcus Jones, who replaced Lewis in the second quarter.
"They're a very fast team," Jones said. "I'm lucky to come out in one piece."
The Hokie defense-which gave up an average of only 85 yards rushing per game in its first two contests-allowed Duke only 58 yards on the ground and sacked the Blue Devil quarterbacks eight times.
As Virginia Tech dominated the game physically, it also gave Duke fits in the open field. Royal's punt return was a prime example of this, but throughout the game, the Hokie receivers and running backs consistently broke tackles and made Blue Devil defenders miss in the open field.
On one Hokie drive in the first half, tailback Branden Ore was met in the backfield by a Duke defender on three consecutive plays, but each time he was able to spring free for a substantial gain.
"When they got into open space, we had a tough time corralling them," Roof said. "As a result, they made some big plays, but we have to tackle better."
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