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FOOTBALL

Duke Heads To Charlottesville To Take On Virginia

Two teams in the same division that have the same record with take on each other on Saturday when Duke makes the three hour and thirty minutes trip to Charlottesville to visit Virginia.

Both teams come into the game with a record of 4-2 while they’re 2-1 in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference while Duke is in second place in the division Virginia is third. “according to http://theacc.com/standings.aspx?path=football

Despite having the same record as Duke Virginia won’t be at full strength as they’ve lost Bryce Hall for the season. Virginia All-American cornerback Bryce Hall will miss the rest of the season following left ankle surgery.”according to https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2019/10/14/virginia-star-cornerback-bryce-hall-out-for-season/40316989/

Hall was injured while covering a punt in the second quarter of the Cavaliers' 17-9 loss at Miami on Friday night. The senior had surgery Sunday, and coach Bronco Mendenhall says the recovery timeline is uncertain. “according to https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2019/10/14/virginia-star-cornerback-bryce-hall-out-for-season/40316989/

This season Duke will look to bounce back from last season’s 28-14 defeat in Durham to Virginia while Virginia will look to get another win.

As for last season’s meeting,

Bryce Perkins rushed for two scores and threw for another as visiting Virginia defeated Duke 28-14 Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C. “according to https://goduke.com/news/2018/10/20/211776769.aspx

Perkins scored the game's first two touchdowns on the ground and his 16-yard pass to Evan Butts helped seal the victory as the Cavaliers improved to 5-2 and 3-1 in the ACC. The Blue Devils fell to 5-2 and 1-2. “according to https://goduke.com/news/2018/10/20/211776769.aspx

The Blue Devils trailed 14-0 at the break, but were right back in it on the first drive of the third quarter when Daniel Jones hit Chris Taylor on a slant, and the senior cruised 46 yards untouched for the touchdown. It was the first score of the season for Taylor and his third career receiving touchdown. “according to https://goduke.com/news/2018/10/20/211776769.aspx

Taylor finished with a career-high 97 yards on six catches, while Jones was 22-of-40 passing for 240 yards and a touchdown and two interceptions. Jones was Duke's leading rusher with 15 carries for 64 yards. “according to https://goduke.com/news/2018/10/20/211776769.aspx

Brian Delany booted a pair of third-quarter field goals to allow the Cavaliers to keep the Blue Devils at arm's reach, but Duke used some trickery to pull within six early in the fourth.”according to https://goduke.com/news/2018/10/20/211776769.aspx

Trailing 20-7 at the third-quarter break, the Blue Devils forced a punt and Jones did the heavy lifting on the ensuing drive to put Duke on the fringe of the red zone. Jones then handed off on an apparent end-around to T.J. Rahming, who tossed a 22-yard pass to Davis Koppenhaver to make it 20-14 with 10:46 remaining.”according to https://goduke.com/news/2018/10/20/211776769.aspx

The senior QB was 4-for-5 on the scoring drive for 29 yards and also ran for eight yards. “according to https://goduke.com/news/2018/10/20/211776769.aspx

The teams then traded punts before Virginia sealed its fourth straight win in the series with Butts' touchdown catch. The Cavaliers capitalized on good field position following a 29-yard punt return from Tavares Kelly, and three plays later it was 28-14 with 3:58 to play. “according to https://goduke.com/news/2018/10/20/211776769.aspx

Kelly racked up 72 yards on a pair of punt returns. Olamide Zaccheaus had 10 catches for 66 yards to lead Virginia, while Perkins was 20-of-32 passing for 189 yards.”according to https://goduke.com/news/2018/10/20/211776769.aspx

This season Duke will be looking for a different outcome while Virginia will be looking for the same outcome.

As for Duke’s previous game,

They handled Georgia Tech and bounced back from their loss to Pittsburgh.

Duke football scored 38 consecutive points in the first half to cruise to a, 41-23, victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday afternoon on Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium

Duke quarterback Quentin Harris went 11-of-20 for 176 yards through the air, rushed for another 38, and added a touchdown. Defensively, Koby Quansah and Brandon Hill both had 11 tackles apiece, while Victor Dimukeje earned a career-high three sacks on the day. “according to https://goduke.com/news/2019/10/12/football-strong-first-half-lifts-duke-to-41-23-victory.aspx

The three sacks for Dimukeje were tied for second in Duke's single-game history and are the most since 2016 and the most in an ACC game since 2003. “according to https://goduke.com/news/2019/10/12/football-strong-first-half-lifts-duke-to-41-23-victory.aspx

Georgia Tech (1-5, 0-3) opened the scoring by marching 75 yards down the field, including converting a 3rd-and-12 play en route to a 19-yard touchdown pass from James Graham to Jerry Howard Jr. for the early advantage.”according to https://goduke.com/news/2019/10/12/football-strong-first-half-lifts-duke-to-41-23-victory.aspx

Duke (4-2, 2-1) responded with 38 consecutive points to take a 38-14 lead into halftime. The Blue Devils outgained the Yellow Jackets, 268-93, heading into the break after Georgia Tech's opening score, getting 121 yards on the ground and 147 through the air. “according to https://goduke.com/news/2019/10/12/football-strong-first-half-lifts-duke-to-41-23-victory.aspx

After having to settle for a 33-yard field goal, the Blue Devils found the end zone in the final minute of the first quarter with an Eli Pancol rush to take a 10-7 lead. Pancol capped the 55-yard drive with a three-yard run to the left side of the end zone. The carry was the first of the wide receiver's career, marking his first rushing touchdown and his third overall score of the season. Three of Pancol's four touches this year have resulted in six points for the Blue Devils.”according to https://goduke.com/news/2019/10/12/football-strong-first-half-lifts-duke-to-41-23-victory.aspx

The Duke defense and offense continued to fire on all cylinders. The Blue Devils forced four punts and a turnover on downs and added four more touchdowns to extend its lead to 38-7 with 3:10 remaining in the second quarter. “according to https://goduke.com/news/2019/10/12/football-strong-first-half-lifts-duke-to-41-23-victory.aspx

Deon Jackson dashed into the end zone twice during that time, while Harris punched the ball in for six after Mataeo Durant was tripped up at the 1-yard line after a career-long 38-yard scamper up the middle. Durant finished the half with a team-best 62 yards on eight carries. The sophomore running back completed the afternoon with 74 yards.”according to https://goduke.com/news/2019/10/12/football-strong-first-half-lifts-duke-to-41-23-victory.aspx

Duke's special teams also got into mix, blocking a punt and running it back for another six points. Xander Gagnon came off the left edge to block the punt and Javon Jackson scooped up the ball for the 14-yard return – Duke's first blocked punt for a touchdown since 2012.”according to https://goduke.com/news/2019/10/12/football-strong-first-half-lifts-duke-to-41-23-victory.aspx

The scoring slowed in the second half for the Blue Devils as Duke took its foot off the gas and settled for a second field goal from AJ Reed. Georgia Tech landed in the end zone once and tacked on a field goal, but couldn't make up the 24-point halftime deficit.”according to https://goduke.com/news/2019/10/12/football-strong-first-half-lifts-duke-to-41-23-victory.aspx

Unlike Duke,

Virginia lost their previous game as they lost on the road to Miami.

No. 20 Virginia (4-2, 2-1 ACC) dropped its first ACC contest, 17-9, on the road at Miami (3-3, 1-2 ACC) on Friday night at Hard Rock Stadium.”according to https://virginiasports.com/news/2019/10/11/football-no-20-virginia-falls-17-9-at-miami.aspx

Virginia led with 318 total yards on offense but was unable to score a touchdown as kicker Brian Delaney (Chantilly, Va.) scored three field goals. Miami finished with 265 yards. The Cavaliers had the advantage in total plays (72-52) and time of possession (34:19-25:41).”according to https://virginiasports.com/news/2019/10/11/football-no-20-virginia-falls-17-9-at-miami.aspx

Quarterback Bryce Perkins (Queen Creek, Ariz.) passed for 244 yards and wide receiver Hasise Dubois (Irvington, N.J.) led the team with seven receptions for 93 yards. “according to https://virginiasports.com/news/2019/10/11/football-no-20-virginia-falls-17-9-at-miami.aspx

HOW IT HAPPENED
Miami opened the game with a touchdown on its first drive. Virginia hit its first field goal of the night at the end of the first half to trail 7-3 going into halftime. Neither team scored in the third quarter. UVA opened the fourth quarter with a field goal to cut it to 7-6. Miami responded with a field goal to lead 10-6 with 10:06 to play. The Cavaliers cut it to one again as Delaney hit a 44-yard field goal, but Miami took five minutes off the clock with a 10-play touchdown drive to put the game away.”according to https://virginiasports.com/news/2019/10/11/football-no-20-virginia-falls-17-9-at-miami.aspx

Kick-off is set for 3:30pm from Scott Stadium. The game will be televised on the ACC Network.