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Virginia Tech is back in the Top 25, winners of five straight and entering the stretch run with designs on winning another Atlantic Coast Conference title.
More than anyone else, the No. 23 Hokies have quarterback Tyrod Taylor to thank.
The senior leads the ACC in passer rating, and is 14th nationally. He's thrown 12 touchdowns and just three interceptions while completing 62.4 percent of his throws.
Taylor also is eighth in the ACC in rushing, has two runs of more than 70 yards, and he's just the second quarterback in league history to throw for 7,000 yards and run for 2,000.
Offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring said with Taylor's season more than half over, people need to appreciate that he is nearing the end of a remarkable career.
''If we're not careful, we're going to miss an outstanding performance by a terrific young man,'' Stinespring said of the Hampton native, who has started games in all four seasons.
''In about five or six games, there's going to be a young man that's going to walk through that tunnel into Lane Stadium, then walk back out for the last time,'' Stinespring continued.
''We've been privileged to have a great, front-row seat to a great show.''
On Saturday, Taylor and the Hokies (5-2, 3-0 ACC) host Duke (1-5, 0-3), and Blue Devils coach David Cutcliffe is glad it will be the last time he has to game plan against Taylor.
''I don't think there's any question, as I look at it, because he has such a great arm,'' Cutcliffe said. ''There are some guys out there running the ball really well at quarterback right now, ... but this guy is the best dual-threat guy in the country. No doubt.''
It was Taylor's experience and abilities, along with a returning host of skill position playmakers, that had the Hokies thinking national championship when the season began.
But the offensive line didn't cooperate, and a very young defense was still learning. A 33-30 loss to No. 2 Boise State in the opener was followed by a 21-16 shocker against James Madison, making the Hokies just the second ranked team to lose to a team from the FCS.
It also made Taylor realize his final season was slipping away, and fast.
''I hate losing, so whatever I can do to help the team win, that's what I'm gong to go out there and do,'' he said this week. ''I guess the coaches put it in my hands, allowed me to go out there and make plays with my arm and with my feet, and I just tried to take advantage.''
Teammates and coaches says there's no doubt what brought the turnaround.
''We all know he's a great,'' tight end Andre Smith said after Taylor broke off a 71-yard run to set up the Hokies' first touchdown, then led a 20-point fourth quarter rally in a 41-30 win against North Carolina State. ''He's trying to get the whole thing jump-started.''
Taylor scored on a 72-yard burst the following week against Central Michigan, then threw three first-half touchdown passes last week as the Hokies rolled over Wake Forest, 52-21.
''The beauty of Tyrod is over the years, he's worked tremendously hard in all facets of the game,'' Stinespring said, from his approach as a leader to his awareness of the offense, attention to what makes him a more efficient passer and his ability to distribute the ball.
''What's his biggest strength? I think it's that he doesn't have a weakness,'' he said.
Others would say it's his leadership, established over the past two summers as he organized seven-on-seven workouts, and driven home with his cool demeanor under pressure.
''He's the leader of the offense,'' wide receiver Dyrell Roberts said. ''He's the quarterback, so he's the general out there. We feed off of him and the plays he makes.''
Often, they also win because of the plays he makes.
Taylor knows his running ability often overshadows his passing, but he's bidding to lead the ACC in passing efficiency for the second year in a row. With 323 yards of offense against Wake Forest, he joined Clemson's Woodrow Dantzler as the ACC's only 7,000-2,000 players.
To discount his passing skill, Cutcliffe said, is to not know the game.
''He's a pure drop-back quarterback,'' the Blue Devils' coach and offensive guru said, ''and then all of a sudden he can terrorize you as a running back. You just don't see that very often. He's a guy who has got a future at quarterback. There's no doubt in my mind.''
For Taylor, the only future he's thinking about is the one that arrives Saturday.
