Jeffrey Fitzgerald had a 23-yard touchdown last season on a fumble return at Duke.

For the third time in as many seasons, Duke had to replace four offensive line starters last year and it showed early. The Blue Devils were shut out in three of their first four games and averaged just 8.5 points per game in the first six contests. As the line gradually improved, so did the play of freshman quarterback Thaddeus Lewis. Duke improved in the second half of the season, averaging 22.6 points per game in its final five outings.

Duke not only returns all five starting linemen this season, but all 11 offensive starters plus the entire two-deep. One might see that as a positive but it looked like the same old miserable Blue Devil offense from last season against Connecticut.

The skill positions are littered with ACC-caliber talent, especially at wide receiver. Duke’s backfield trio of Re’quan Boyette, Justin Boyle, and Ronnie Drummer combined to rush for 894 yards and eight touchdowns behind a weak offensive line in 2006. Lewis entered this season with high expectations but got off to a rocky start a week ago so he is still a mystery. Much like it is for Virginia, the biggest factor that will determine success Saturday for the Duke offense is the play of its quarterback and the offensive line.

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