Ryan Willis threw three touchdown passes in his first start for Virginia Tech to lead the Hokies to a 31-14 victory over No. 22 Duke in Atlantic Coast Conference play Saturday night at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C.

Willis, a redshirt junior transfer from Kansas, was 17-for-27 for 332 yards. It was Willis' third career game with 300-plus passing yards, but the first since 2016 in a game for Kansas against TCU.

Virginia Tech (3-1, 2-0 ACC) recovered from a stunning 49-35 loss a week earlier at Old Dominion. In that game, starting quarterback Josh Jackson fractured a fibula, leaving the QB duties to Willis.

Quarterback Daniel Jones was back in action for Duke (4-1, 0-1), completing 23 of 35 passes for 226 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Jones, a three-year starter, played less than three weeks since he underwent surgery for a broken collarbone suffered Sept. 8 at Northwestern. Quentin Harris had gone 2-0 as a starter in Jones' place.

The Hokies got out to a 24-7 lead in the third quarter. Duke's first possession of the second half ended with a failed fourth-and-3 run that netted only two yards near midfield.

Virginia Tech took advantage, scoring on Steven Peoples' 6-yard run on the next drive.

Duke drew closer when the Blue Devils converted a fourth down and scored two plays later. Running back Deon Jackson leaped into the end zone from 1 yard out. That made it 24-14 with 13:47 to play.

The Hokies struck back on a 10-play, 75-yard drive. One play after converting a fourth-and-1 to reach the Duke 10, Willis threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Phil Patterson.

In the first half, Willis hit Dalton Keene with a short pass, and the sophomore tight end turned it into a highlight-filled 67-yard touchdown play for a 17-7 halftime edge.

The first interception of Jones on the season - coming on a deflected pass -- led to a 28-yard field for Virginia Tech's Brian Johnson to open the scoring.

Duke responded on its next possession by driving 75 yards, with Jones connecting with tight end Noah Gray for a 23-yard touchdown play.

Duke was aiming for its first 5-0 start since 1994. The Blue Devils were playing as a ranked team for the first time since late October 2015.

--Field Level Media