Duke players said the bye week following their shutout loss to Virginia Tech reenergized and refocused them after their 0-3 start to the season.
But by the end of the first quarter Saturday, Virginia had capitalized on the Blue Devils' mistakes and deflated Duke's newfound confidence. The Cavaliers (2-3, 1-1 in the ACC) rode the momentum of a 17-point first quarter to a 37-0 victory in Wallace Wade Stadium, spoiling Duke's (0-4, 2-2) homecoming.
"It was very disappointing," sophomore Marcus Jones said. "We all thought we were going to make it better. We all thought we were going to come out and make a run for it. But things didn't go right today. I feel like we made some mistakes here and there, and one little mistake out of 11 guys might hurt us. We need all 11 guys on the same page."
On its first three offensive possessions of the game, Duke blundered, allowing the Cavaliers to start drives on the Blue Devils' defensive half of the field and post three consecutive scores.
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After the Blue Devils profited from an overturned Virginia interception on third down of the opening possession, Duke gave up a punt return to its 22-yard line, virtually negating the benefit of the overturned call. The Cavaliers scored four plays later when the Blue Devil defense bit on an end-around that turned into a pass play from wideout Emmanuel Byers to wide-open wideout Fontel Myers for a touchdown.
Desperate to get things going on the next possession, Duke attempted to convert a fourth-and-one on its own 29-yard line. But another Blue Devil error, when quarterback Thaddeus Lewis fumbled the snap, ended the play before it even started.
"I didn't think we had anything to lose," head coach Ted Roof said. "We've got to take some risks, and when we need six inches, we need to be able to get six inches. And we didn't. In hindsight, looking back, do I wish I punted the ball? Yeah. But you know what? I didn't."
Even with Virginia's field position, the Duke defense limited Virginia to a field goal, putting the Cavaliers ahead, 10-0, with eight minutes remaining in the first quarter.
The defense, however, would have little time to rest before it would have to march back out onto the field.
Unable to generate a first-down for the third consecutive series, Duke was forced to punt on fourth down from its own 10-yard line.
Charging virtually untouched up the middle, Cavalier defender Josh Zidenberg blocked Alex Feinberg's punt, giving Virginia the ball on the Blue Devil one-yard line. On the following play, Cavalier running back Jason Snelling punched into the end zone for the touchdown with six minutes left in the first quarter. The touchdown put Virginia up, 17-0.
Although the defense surrendered three scores on Virginia's first three possessions, the Blue Devils contained the Cavalier attack whenever Virginia started with the ball on its side of the 50-yard line. With the Blue Devils blitzing redshirt freshman quarterback Jameel Sewell and controlling the front line, the Cavaliers were unable to convert on a drive longer than 46 yards.
"We kind of felt going into the game that we were going to put all the pressure on the quarterback throwing and stopping the run plays," sophomore safety Glenn Williams said. "Once we got the defense in the right position, we were able to do that."
The offense, however, faltered again late in the first half. Facing third-and-11 on the Duke 23-yard line, Lewis fumbled the ball after a Virginia defender nailed him in the back. The Cavaliers recovered and exploited another Blue Devil mistake by scoring their third touchdown of the game in the closing minutes of the first half.
Confronting a 24-point deficit in the second half, the Blue Devil offense was still unable to find its rhythm. On the game, Duke rushed for negative-21 yards and passed for 121. Lewis turned the ball over five times, with two fumbles and the first three interceptions of his career.
The defense prevented the Cavaliers from establishing any long scoring drives in the second half. The first of Virginia's second-half touchdowns was again the result of field position, taking over on the Duke eight-yard line from an interception at the end of the third quarter.
The game closed like it started, with Virginia taking advantage of a Duke miscue. On its final offensive possession of the game, Duke fumbled the ball on its own 46-yard line with four minutes remaining. For the third time in four games this season, Duke was held scoreless.
Virginia then started another drive on the Blue Devil end of the field that resulted in a touchdown.
"It's obvious we can't make mistakes like that and beat anybody," Roof said. "We are going through some growing pains right now."
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