Duke head coach Mike Elko pleased with the Blue Devils defense in first half against Virginia

The Duke Blue Devils dominated the Virginia Cavaliers for much of the first half on Saturday evening, holding a commanding 21-7 advantage heading into the locker room at halftime. The Blue Devils offensive attack had nine plays of 10 or more yards in the first half, including finishing 3 for 3 in the red zone. The Duke defense also stifled the Virginia offense in rainy conditions in Durham, North Carolina and the Cavaliers didn’t get on the board until 1:08 remaining in the second quarter. Mike Elko was quite pleased with his team’s defensive effort, and he was also happy with the performance of his signal-caller, Riley Leonard.

He praised his team’s defensive effort, but knows there is still plenty of football left. “Yeah, I thought we had a good half. I thought we made some plays. Obviously, we’re gonna have a whole ‘nother half. They’re gonna come in really strong in the second half. We’ve gotta be ready for them,” Elko said on the television broadcast.

He was happy with the performance of Duke quarterback Riley Leonard, who had one passing touchdown and one rushing touchdown in the first half, but still wanted to see more in the passing attack. “Yeah, I thought he managed it well. We have to do a little bit better job in the throw game. I thought he got some runs going. He did a really good job with his feet. We’re gonna have to throw a little better,” Elko said before heading into the locker room.

Leonard scampered for 30 rushing yards and a touchdown on just five carries in the first half. His longest run was a 17-yard run. Virginia star linebacker Nick Jackson was not playing in the first half due to being ejected in the second half of the Cavaliers’ previous game for targeting.