Inside the Numbers: UVA holds on, defeats Duke, in ACC thriller

Season-best performance by Virginia offense UVA put up a season-high 502 total yards in its 42-34 win over Duke on Saturday.

The biggest part of the damage came on big plays. Using our definition of runs of 8 yards or more and passes of 10 yards or more, Virginia had 20 big plays for 419 yards.

For the game, UVA gained 6.9 yards per play, running 73 plays from scrimmage.

 

Big numbers for Matt Johns Quarterback Matt Johns threw for a career-high 344 yards on 24-of-33 passing, with two touchdowns, an interception and a 174.2 passer rating.

The passer rating was the second-best for Johns in his career. He had a 195.6 passer rating in Virginia’s 35-29 win over William & Mary in Week 3.

Over the past three weeks, Johns is 78-for-116 (67.2 percent) for 884 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions.

For the season, Johns is 229-for-365 (62.7 percent) for 2,639 yards, 19 TDs and 15 INTs.

Johns has a good shot at breaking Matt Schaub’s single-season passing yards record next week. Schaub threw for 2,976 yards in 2002.

Johns would need to pass for 348 yards to break Schaub’s mark.

 

Another big day for Smoke Junior tailback Taquan Mizzell had 61 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries and 43 yards and a touchdown on five catches.

For the season, Mizzell has 645 yards rushing on 152 carries (4.3 yards per carry) and four touchdowns and a team-leading 68 catches for 671 yards (9.9 yards per catch) and four touchdowns through the air.

 

D plays like sieve again Duke gained 287 yards in the second half and had 485 yards total offense for the game.

It wasn’t the seventh time in 11 games that the Virginia defense has given up 400+ yards.

The 385 passing yards was a season-high for a Cavs opponent, and the third time this season that an opponent has thrown for 300+.

 

Bright spot: run defense Duke gained 100 yards rushing on 31 carries, after averaging 118.5 yards per game rushing coming in.

 

Sack exchange The UVA front seven had a season-high five sacks Saturday. The Virginia D had recorded a total of five sacks in their previous four games.

 

Turnover margin Duke had one more turnover, 3-2, but Virginia converted each of Duke’s three turnovers into touchdowns, and had a 21-3 advantage in points off turnovers.

That margin was a bit mitigated by a Duke special-teams touchdown on a first-quarter kickoff return.

– Compiled by Chris Graham