Virginia Tech will go on the road for the first time this season Saturday at Pittsburgh. It hasn’t been too much of a disadvantage for it lately.

The Hokies have won a school- and ACC-record 13 consecutive true road games, the longest active streak in the country (Oregon is next at 11). Tech hasn’t lost a true road game since Oct. 17, 2009, when it was beaten at Georgia Tech.

“I think the thing we’ll talk about it this week, you’ve got to play the same way regardless of what day it is, what time it is, where you are,” head coach Frank Beamer said. “Trying to play with the same consistency. We’ve been a fairly good road team. We’ve got to see if this year’s football team has that characteristic of being constant and consistent.”

Ten of the Hokies’ wins in that time have been against ACC team, with three coming in non-conference play — twice at East Carolina and once at Marshall.

The Hokies take and us-vs.-the world mentality on the road.

“I feel like when we travel on the road it’s kind of just us together,” linebacker Jeron Gouveia-Winslow said. “When we go in other people’s stadiums, we don’t have the home crowd like we do at home to help us out. I feel like as a team you definitely have to come closer together and I think it helps us build our chemistry.

“This week, first game on the road will really tell us how focused we’re going to be together and how well we can play together.”

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Here are some more notes and quotes from Tuesday’s press conference …

• Center Andrew Miller will be one to watch this week after he suffered an ankle injury that forced him out in the second quarter after 25 plays against Austin Peay. He did not appear to be out there at practice Monday. “He’s going to try to practice today,” Beamer said. “We’ll have his status on the report on Thursday.” If Miller can’t go this week, Caleb Farris would be next in line to play. A sophomore from Lexington, Farris played 40 snaps in Miller’s place last weekend and graded out at 82 percent.
• Wide receiver D.J. Coles might have been at practice Monday in a blue jersey, but Tech has assured everyone he is still done for the year with a knee injury. “We’re just keeping him with the football team, keeping him involved, and get him a little work out there,” Beamer said. Fellow receiver Dyrell Roberts can empathize. He missed most of last year after breaking his arm in Week 3. “I know what he’s going through and things like that, but he’s staying strong and getting through his rehab and looking forward to getting back and tearing it up next year,” Roberts said.
• Beamer said redshirting running back Trey Edmunds this season is the “best thing for him.” The coaches had been on the fence as to whether or not the freshman would have a role this year. Edmunds dressed the first two games but did not play. With Michael Holmes, J.C. Coleman, Martin Scales and Tony Gregory at running back, it’s too difficult for him to get on the field. “There’s no question about his ability to play and what a terrific player he’s going to be,” Beamer said. “Right now, I think the four backs have worked out well. Hopefully they can stay healthy. He’ll be there if something should happen we could visit that situation.” Beamer said Edmunds probably won’t dress for the rest of the season.
• Roberts responded quizzically when he was told by a reporter that he was still listed as the second-team kick returner. “For real?” he said. It sounds like even though he’s not the primary kick returner anymore, he can still be brought out in special situations. “I told you before the season started, it’s set like, certain games,” he said. “Like I knew going into it that some games I’d be doing kick returns, some games I’d be doing punt returns, and some games I might not do it at all, so I really don’t even ask the coaches anything about it no more. … If it’s me back there, I try my best to do the right thing. If not, I just focus on offense. That’s kind how the ball rolls right now. I don’t really think about it.”
• It might have happened what seems like ages ago, but Beamer hasn’t forgotten those last three games against Pittsburgh from 2001-03, which the Panthers swept. “We talked about it yesterday,” Beamer said. “The last three games up there they beat us 38-7, 28-21, 31-28 and I think we were favored in all three of them. That’s part of the history.”
• Antone Exum told us yesterday that rover Kyshoen Jarrett is one of the more frequent dancers in the locker room, bound to bust a move when somebody puts on some music. Jarrett confirmed it today. “I’m comfortable with everybody on the team,” he said, laughing. “When it’s time to have fun after practice and everybody’s trying to get stress free, the music comes on, I’ll dance. It’s just fun.”
• I’ll have more on Jarrett in a story for tomorrow’s paper, but Gouveia-Winslow was surprised at how much of a big hitter the 5-foot-11, 195-pound sophomore is. Jarrett has got Tech’s Hammer Award two straight weeks for laying big hits. “He goes in there and throws his body around,” Gouveia-Winslow said.