Column by Scott German
For those loyal Virginia fans that made the trip to Connecticut two weekends ago and watched in dismay as the Cavaliers were mauled by the Huskies 45-10, and then headed south to the Tar hell state yesterday to watch the same outcome in Durham, I have a bridge for sale I’d enjoy speaking to you about.
Fueled by a swarming defense that forced six turnovers the Duke Blue Devils completely destroyed Virginia 31-3, and in the process earned their first Atlantic Coast Conference win since 2004. Twenty-five straight conference defeats, and it all came to a grinding halt Saturday in ancient Wallace Wade Stadium against what appeared to be a completely uninspired Cavalier football team.
Duke started the game sluggish and toiled with the Wahoos to a 3-all standoff at intermission. But it was completely evident that two different teams exited their respective locker rooms to begin second-half play. The Blue Devils’ intensity on defense was evident as they consistently surrounded Virginia’s running backs and receivers, while the Cavaliers looked every bit the part of a disinterested bystander.
Duke broke the standoff midway through the third quarter on a Jay Hollingsworth run and quickly added another TD on a 30-yard pass play, making it 17-3 with less than three minutes remaining in the third. Virginia mounted nothing remotely close to an offense the remainder of the game, and the Dookies’ smelling blood tacked on two more scores for good measure.
Adding insult to injury Duke’s win yesterday also marked the first time since 1989 the Devils’ held a conference opponent to no touchdowns. and broke a nine-game losing streak to UVa.
After the loss Virginia quarterback (at least for Saturday) summed up the defeat this way. ‘It can’t get much worse than this.” If yesterday’s effort (?) was any indication of things to come, then to quote ESPN analyst Lee Corso, “Not so fast, my friend.” It may very well get worse. Remember the 31-3 pounding was to DUKE! What lies ahead with the likes of Clemson, Maryland, Wake Forest and, uh, I almost forgot, VPI on the schedule.
As a wittness of Virginia football back to the Sonny Randle days, this current team has many similitaries to the Cavaliers of the ’70s. The ’70s that commonly produced losses by 40-50 points to medicore teams like East Carolina, Maryland, Wake Forest, oh my gosh, all three of those teams are lying wait. Let’s hope history does indeed not repeat itself.
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