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Pair of veteran wideouts leads Duke upset bid

The heads of Virginia's defensive unit probably still are spinning from the tail whipping delivered at the hands of Virginia Tech Saturday. Yet there will be no rest for the battered Cavalier secondary when Duke comes into town this weekend.

Although the Blue Devils (0-4, 0-1 ACC) boast a less-than-impressive record thus far this season, the team features two of the ACC's top 10 receivers in senior Scottie Montgomery and junior Richmond Flowers. Duke also utilizes what's been called a Florida-style offense, implemented by former Gator assistant coach Carl Franks, which mixes three different quarterbacks into the offense for unique looks.

"We know they like to pass the ball," Cav cornerback Tim Spruill said. "Their receivers know how to get open and they're going to put the ball in the air."

The receiving duo of Montgomery and Flowers already has compiled a combined total of 437 receiving yards this season and the pair has two years of experience playing together. And although no individual in the Duke quarterback trio of Bobby Campbell, Spencer Romaine and Kevin Thompson has stood out this season, the combined effort could hit Virginia right where it hurts.

"I feel like we began to breed some confidence last week in the second half - things began to click a little bit," Flowers said. "This offense has a lot of talent. If there's a time when we're going to be confident and break out, this is as good a week as any."

Montgomery now is sixth in the league in receiving yards with 225, with Flowers tied for eighth at 212 yards. Such statistics are all the more impressive considering Duke quarterbacks have a combined 40.8 completion percentage and eight interceptions.

"It's true that it's hard to get into a rhythm when you're using different QBs because one guy might do something completely different that the other, but you can't have excuses," Montgomery said. "You just have to find a way to get into the rhythm of the football game and get the job done."

While the composition of the Duke offense has been inconsistent over the past few years, the two wideouts have grown accustomed to playing across from one another.

"You can count on [Montgomery] making something happen on the other side and he can count on me too," Flowers said. "Whereas we haven't had a steady quarterback, we've been together on the field all the time. We're both speed receivers but Scottie may be more of a finesse wideout with quicker moves. ... We both make big plays."

Similar big plays have been breaking the back and the spirit of the Cavalier defense in recent weeks.

"We need to make sure we don't have many breakdowns," said Spruill, who was victimized by the big play Saturday. "We have to cut our mistakes down to a minute number."

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