Duke Football vs. UVA Recap

By Kevin Fertig

The Duke Blue Devils prevailed over Virginia on Saturday in a back-and-forth battle in which the two teams combined to score over 100 points. Down one point with 40 seconds left, running back Desmond Scott ran the ball down the left side for a 35-yard touchdown that was upheld after review, giving the Devils a rousing 53-48 victory over Virginia’s Cavaliers. The game featured 14 touchdowns (including 6 in the last quarter) and each team gained over 450 yards. While the Cavaliers’ offense outperformed the Devils’, the Cavaliers hurt themselves on penalties and turnovers.

The Blue Devils started the game on fire, scoring two touchdowns in the first 5 minutes; the first was a 30-yard Sean Renfree shot downfield, the second a 2-yard run. Duke’s auspicious start could have been more dominating if it were not for an overturned interception call in Duke’s own end zone, allowing Virginia another chance to score. The Devils quickly recovered and on the next drive, after a series of short passes, Brandon Connette ran in for a 20-yard touchdown.

Duke struggled on both sides of the ball in the second quarter, allowing Virginia to convert on a 4^th and 2 on Duke’s 27-yard line and score two touchdowns in the quarter. Duke could only manage a field goal but still went into the break leading 24-21. The Devils opened the second half with a successful onside kick but couldn’t score on the subsequent drive. After Virginia took its first lead of the game 6 minutes into the 3^rd quarter, three Blue Devils, including QB Sean Renfree, were injured in a span of two minutes. As Renfree left, Connette took over, gouging the Cavaliers’ defense with several long runs and running Duke’s offense efficiently. The quarter featured a highlight-reel interception by Ross Cockrell in which he juggled the ball several times in the air before coming down with it. Duke ended the quarter leading 34-28.

The fourth quarter was a true seesaw slugfest, starting with yet another Duke interception (this time by Walt Canty) that led to another touchdown. But Duke’s defense struggled to contain the Cavaliers’ potent offense, most notably giving Virginia’s wide receivers too much room to make plays. After the Devils seemed to seal the game with 6 minutes to go with a 38-yard rushing touchdown by Renfree, Virginia came back with a touchdown of its own and recovered a Duke fumble at the Duke 27-yard line. Virginia subsequently took its last lead of the game and seemingly hit the last nail in Duke’s coffin when it pushed the Devils to a last desperate 4^th and 19 play on Duke’s own 22-yard line. Renfree came through in the clutch with a 31-yard pass down the middle and Scott sealed the dramatic win, giving Duke two consecutive wins and keeping its bowl possibilities alive.