Extra point: Duke football vs. Virginia

After picking up one of its biggest wins in school history against Notre Dame, Duke couldn’t maintain the momentum in a 34-20 loss against Virginia at Wallace Wade Stadium Saturday. The Blue Devils were unable to recover from six turnovers by quarterback Daniel Jones as they fell back below .500 at 2-3.

Revisiting the three keys to the game:

• Contain Virginia’s prolific offense: After holding the Cavaliers scoreless through 14 minutes, the Blue Devils had trouble containing Virginia quarterback Kurt Benkert and the long ball for the final three quarters. Benkert’s 84-yard pass to David Eldridge midway through the second quarter was one of five passes for more than 25 yards allowed by the Blue Devils, and Duke surrendered multiple passing touchdowns for the second straight week.
• Continue to Emphasize the Ground Game: With Jela Duncan out due to an ankle injury, Duke was never able to have the running success they experienced against Notre Dame last weekend. The Blue Devils’ 106 rushing yards were not enough to keep head coach David Cutcliffe from leaning on the passing game, where Daniel Jones struggled, throwing a career-worst five interceptions.
• Carry Momentum Over From the Big Win: Following back-to-back losses against Wake Forest and Northwestern, many thought Duke’s season would turn around after a huge win against Notre Dame in South Bend. This loss against Virginia will be tough to swallow since it was the second-to-last game the Blue Devils were favored to win for the rest of the season based on ESPN's Football Percentage Index. If Jones and Duke are unable to turn things around against Army next weekend, it will likely be a rough last few weeks for the Blue Devils in 2016.

Three Key Plays:

• 13:53 remaining, second quarter: After Virginia marched down the field to cut the Duke lead to one point at 7-6, the Blue Devils' offense was rolling. Following three straight completions, including a five-yarder to tight end Davis Koppenhaver on fourth-and-two from the Virginia 40-yard line, Jones threw his second interception of the game to Bryce Hall at the Cavaliers' 35-yard line. This gave momentum back to Virginia early on, and Duke’s offense could never fully recover.
• 6:01 remaining, second quarter: The Cavaliers got the ball back deep in their own territory following Jones’ third interception of the first half, and Benkert connected with David Eldridge for an 84-yard pickup on third-and-10. The deep pass set Virginia up at the Duke 2-yard line, and running back Albert Reid found the end zone for the Cavaliers two plays later, as Virginia took its first lead of the game at 13-10 and never relinquished it.
• 4:24 remaining, fourth quarter: Trailing 27-20 for the majority of the fourth quarter, the Blue Devils' defense stopped the Cavaliers to give Jones a chance to lead Duke down the field and tie the game. However, starting from his own 2-yard line, Jones was sacked by Jordan Mack and fumbled on the second play of the drive. Eli Hanback recovered the ball in the end zone for Virginia, which took a commanding 34-20 lead with 4:24 left in the game.

Three key stats:

• Daniel Jones throws four interceptions in the first half: Despite passing for more than 300 yards and completing more than 60 percent of his passes, Jones was plagued by his judgment again. His four early picks set the tone for a mistake-filled day for the Duke offense, and his fifth interception of the game in the fourth quarter brought his season total to eight through five games.
• Virginia averages 2.2 yards per rush: After allowing Notre Dame to rush for more than 150 yards last weekend, Duke stepped up its pressure on the defensive end, holding the Cavaliers to just 80 yards on 36 carries. But this freed up space for the Cavaliers downfield in the passing game, where they racked up more than 330 yards against the Blue Devils’ secondary.
• Virginia outscores Duke 21-0 in points off turnovers: Despite outgaining Virginia 430-416 and picking up 25 first downs to the Cavaliers' 16, the Blue Devils’ could not get the victory. Duke was doomed by its inability to play a clean game, with its six turnovers giving Virginia several short fields to work with. The Blue Devils only forced one giveaway, which their offense could not capitalize on.

And the Duke Game Ball goes to…Ben Humphreys:

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