Cavaliers find their groove, prove far too much for Blue Devils
After weeks of being the “Cardiac Cavs,” No. 20 UVa left little doubt on Saturday in Wallace Wade Stadium, posting a 34-17 win that wasn’t nearly as close as that score might imply.
The Wahoos rolled through the Blue Devils, doubling them up not only on the scoreboard but also in total yards 540 to 255.
By the time the home team got its first TD of the night and broke a seven-quarter streak for UVa’s defense of not allowing one, there was 10:23 left on the clock.
Before then, Virginia (9-2, 6-1 ACC) made it look easy for most of the game and did it without likely All-ACC linebacker Kam Robinson, who played just three snaps due to an earlier injury he couldn’t shake off after the half. Returning from a concussion that changed the trajectory of last week’s loss to Wake Forest, Chandler Morris had a huge outing. He went 23 for 35 passing for 316 yards and two TDs. He also threw two picks, the second of which Duke returned for a score late in hopes of making things interesting.
But the Cavaliers came back on the next drive and set up a 42-yard field goal from Will Bettridge that made it a three-score game with 5:42 left that ended the threat. UVa slammed the door eight plays later when its defense forced a turnover on downs with 3:39 remaining.
The Hoos jumped out to the lead thanks to a 14-play, 75-yard scoring drive to open the game, capped by a J’Mari Taylor 5-yard TD run with 8:13 left in the first quarter. That 6:47-long drive was the type of offensive production UVa had earlier in the season. After Todd Pelino made a 49-yard FG for Duke with 5:33 left in the second quarter, Virginia had another long possession, this time a nine-play, 75-yard drive that ended when Morris hit Sage Ennis for a 12-yard TD.
Bettridge’s first FG of the night, a 44 yarder, pushed it to 17-3 as the half expired.
After forcing a Duke punt on the first series of the second half, UVa again found pay dirt at the end of a long drive. This time, the 10-play, 87 yarder took 5:08 off the clock and was capped by a 20-yard TD pass from Morris to Trell Harris. And any doubt about the rout that was unfolding in Durham was left by the wayside when Taylor took a run 78 yards to the house with 2:27 left in the quarter and the Cavaliers up 31-3.
By the time Duke (5-5, 5-2) got that first score, the only thing left to sort out was the margin.
Morris didn’t help when his desperation pass on 3rd down was corralled by Tre Freeman, who returned it 18 yards for a score with 9:30 remaining. But that’s the Wahoos went to work, got the Bettridge field goal, and then the ball back to salt the thing away.
UVa, whose defense limited Duke’s high-octane offense to just 42 yards rushing and forced six punts in the game, got 224 yards on the ground. Taylor finished with 133 of them on 18 carries to go with his two TDs. Harrison Waylee added 62 yards on 16 carries.
Harris had a huge night for the Hoos, catching eight passes for 161 yards and a score. Cam Ross had seven catches for 63 yards as well.
Duke’s Darian Mensah was limited to 18-for-35 passing for 213 yards and one score. Nate Sheppard had 12 carries for just 43 yards in the loss.
Virginia, which was 4-for-4 in the red zone and 12 for 19 on 3rd down, now heads into the bye week in desperate need of some rest as guys like Robinson, Morris, and a slew of others get a chance to recuperate before the Nov. 29 showdown at home against arch rival Virginia Tech with the ACC Championship game very much in the picture.
