Game Commentary

If football games could be won based on stats alone, then Duke would be sitting at 3-3 heading into next weekend's contest against Wake Forest with a chance to climb above the .500 mark for the first time in recent memory this late into the season.

After all, a much improved Duke team outplayed Virginia in nearly every key category, earning more first downs (24 to 17), monopolizing the running game (158 yards to two yards), amassing more total yards (414 to 317), having a better third-down conversion ratio (7-of-19 to 2-of-13) and dominating time of possession (35:59 to 24:01).

However, rather than giving the homecoming crowd of over 17,000 a victory that would have seemed improbable, if not impossible, just one year ago, the Blue Devils sealed their fate with numerous mental mistakes that left fans groaning and the team thinking about what could have been.

Example No. 1: Duke leads Virginia 13-6 in the first half after driving 80 yards on 11 plays for a touchdown with under two minutes remaining in the second quarter. The Blue Devils appear to have the Cavaliers in a third-and-11 situation at their own 34-yard line, but defensive end Micah Harris, who had played a very strong first half, is called for a personal foul and Virginia has an automatic first down on the 50-yard line.

Later on that same drive, it's third-and-six with one minute left before halftime. Virginia quarterback Matt Schaub throws an incomplete pass at the Duke 35-yard line. Instead of a fourth-and-long situation, Duke is again called for a penalty, this time pass interference. Automatic first down. Three plays later, touchdown.

They could have gone into the locker room with a 13-6 lead, but the Blue Devils shot themselves in the foot twice and let the Cavaliers steal the momentum.

"The defense played really well early," Duke head coach Carl Franks said. "There were some key penalties that allowed Virginia to score on that last drive. We felt like if we could quit making some little individual mistakes we'd be in pretty good shape."

Unfortunately for Franks and his players, Duke's mental lapses were far from over.

Example No. 3: Virginia has the ball with just over five minutes remaining in the game at its own 44-yard line. Schaub hands the snap off to running back Alvin Pearman in what appears to be a basic sweep to the right. After a few strides, Pearman tosses a lateral to Schaub, who then hits a wide-open Michael McGrew for a gain of 54 to the Duke 2-yard line.

At a time when the Blue Devils desperately needed a defensive stand, they fell victim to the so-called flea-flicker play.

"We were playing man coverage and the guy who was supposed to be covering slowed down," Franks said. "He figured it was a run and didn't stay in coverage like he was supposed to. Hopefully the young guys will learn from their mistakes. Unfortunately, their learning experience results in the other team getting opportunities."

The Blue Devils deserve credit for proving willing and able to fight back after such disheartening errors, something which teams in recent years could not seem to do. They managed to keep the game close by responding with a scoring drive of their own, but, when they need to stop Virginia on its final series, they were again hampered by a key penalty that allowed the Cavaliers to wind down the clock.

Duke proved itself capable of competing with respectable teams like Virginia, but, if the Blue Devils want to start winning some of these close contests, they will have to avoid the type of mental miscues that doomed them Saturday.