Virginia is in Durham on Saturday for a game with Duke that shapes up as an elimination game in the race for a spot in the ACC Championship Game.
The ‘Hoos (8-2, 5-1 ACC) are a 4.5-point underdog to the Dookies (5-4, 4-1 ACC).
The game is set for a kickoff in the 3:30 p.m. ET quarter-hour.
Details
Series: Virginia leads series, 41-34-0
Last meeting: Virginia, 30-27 (2023)
TV: ESPN2
SiriusXM Radio: SiriusXM 123 / SiriusXM 132 / SiriusXM 194 / SiriusXM 201
SiriusXM App: SiriusXM 956 / SiriusXM 963
Line: Duke -4.5
Over/under: 58.5
Projected final score: Duke 31, Virginia 27
Game Notes: Virginia and Duke enter Saturday’s matchup with just one conference loss apiece, each aiming to stay in contention for a spot in the ACC Championship Game. The Cavaliers lead the all-time series 41-34 and have dominated recent meetings, winning eight of the last nine, including a 30-27 victory in 2023.
Virginia looks to bounce back from a 16-9 home loss to Wake Forest, despite a strong defensive effort that held the Demon Deacons to just 203 total yards and only 64 through the air. The Cavaliers have been solid on the road this season with a 3-1 record, marking their first back-to-back years with at least three road wins since 1998-99.
Duke is also looking to rebound after a narrow 37-34 road loss at UConn. The Blue Devils are seeking their first win over a ranked opponent since opening the 2023 season with a 28-7 victory over #9 Clemson — and each of their last three wins over top-25 teams have come at Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium.
Led by quarterback Darian Mensah, Duke boasts one of the nation’s most explosive passing attacks, leading the ACC and ranking fourth nationally at 312.9 yards per game, while sitting 20th in total offense at 452.4 yards per contest.
UVA Football News
- UVA Football: What fans need to know about Duke heading into pivotal game on Saturday
- Update: UVA quarterback Chandler Morris ‘questionable’ for Saturday’s game at Duke
- UVA Football: Good question from reader on the status of the O line
- UVA Football Notebook: What’s wrong with the offense? Your guess, as good as anybody’s
- Thursday marks three years since the murders of three UVA Football players
Game Coverage
Update: 1:30 p.m. Chandler Morris will play. The final pregame availability report also didn’t list Drake Metcalf and Ben York as being out. Both had been probable last night.
Virginia on the board first: ‘Hoos drive 75 yards on 14 plays.
Picked up three third downs and one fourth down on the drive.
Morris: 6-of-8, 51 yards.
Score came on a 5-yard rush by J’Mari Taylor, who had a 25-yard catch-and-run to convert one of the third downs earlier in the drive.
UVA 7, Duke 0, 8:13/1st
Just J’Mari doing J’Mari things ↯
📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/IANKT2tQmO
— Virginia Football (@UVAFootball) November 15, 2025
Update: 4 p.m. Kam Robinson left the game with what looked to be an ankle injury. He ended up walking off under his own power.
End 1: UVA leads Duke, 7-0
The Duke offense has three three-and-outs. Virginia got the score on the first drive, stalled out on the second drive after a first down, then Morris threw an INT after getting the ball into plus territory.
Looked to me that Sage Ennis was being held on that pass, which is why he wasn’t able to make a play on the ball.
Still, bad read. Don’t loft one over the middle into a zone.
I’m mystified. Fourth-and-1, and you go with a tight formation, everybody bunched in, shotgun snap.
Why outsmart yourself and not use the wildcat with Taylor there?
Run that play until somebody stops it.
Duke is on the board: 11 plays, 33 yards, drive stalled at the UVA 32. Todd Pelino good from 49, and it would have been good from 55 or so.
Virginia is dominating this game statistically – 161-44 advantage in total yards – but it’s 7-3.
Big score right before the half: Sage Ennis 12-yard TD pass from Morris on a third-and-5 caps a nine-play, 75-yard drive.
Big third-and-14 pickup with a 21-yard pass to Jahmal Edrine.
UVA 14, Duke 3, 1:39/2nd
That’s Sage’s fourth TD this year 💯
📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/3WW0RtTfir
— Virginia Football (@UVAFootball) November 15, 2025
Quick strike before the half: After a Duke three-and-out, Virginia went 42 yards in six plays to get a 44-yard Will Bettridge field goal.
Had a TD called back on third-and-goal from the 8. Good call: Trell Harris did set an illegal screen, which is offensive PI.
Hard to believe that he wouldn’t get coached out of that.
Half: UVA 17, Duke 3
Quick first-half recap
When it was 7-3 inside of two minutes to go, with Virginia dominating the stats, it felt like a lot of what we’d seen the past few weeks.
Virginia has a 308-50 advantage in total yards.
Still feels like it should be more than 17-3.
Morris is 18-of-25 for 238 yards, a TD and an INT.
That INT was in plus territory, and there was a badly drawn up fourth-and-1 play at the Duke 33 that kept points off the board.
Darian Mensah is 5-of-11 for 26 yards.
Total plays: UVA 46, Duke 22.
UVA extends the lead: 10 plays, 87 yards, 20-yard TD pass from Morris to Trell Harris.
Offense was 3-of-3 on third downs on the drive.
The big play before the TD was 18 yards on third-and-10 to Cam Ross.
UVA 24, Duke 3, 6:49/3rd
HAVE. A. NIGHT. @HarrisQuentrell‼️
📝 Trell’s got a career-high 161 yards receiving on eight catches.
📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/oLRufOx2Mx
— Virginia Football (@UVAFootball) November 15, 2025
Through 3: UVA 31, Duke 3
After getting a stop in the red zone, a sack of Darian Mensah on fourth-and-goal at the 8, Virginia broke things open, with a 78-yard run by J’Mari Taylor on a third-and-2.
Morris checked out of the play call, went to an option pitch right, and Taylor outraced everybody.
Dominant performance for the ‘Hoos: 483-149 in total offense.
J’Mari Taylor goes 78 YARDS TO THE HOUSE 🏡
That’s the 11th-longest rush in school history 💯
HOOS ARE ROLLIN’ 🤜🤛
📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/5BAxhMJPdt
— Virginia Football (@UVAFootball) November 15, 2025
Duke is still trying to hang around: 12 plays, 72 yards, Mensah connects with Cooper Barkate for an 11-yard TD pass.
Would be nice to get a first down or two on the next possession to bleed some clock.
UVA 31, Duke 10, 10:23/4th
I don’t know how you can eff up something any more than that: Rollout pass incomplete on first down, when you should be running on the first two downs. Then a loss on a run on second down.
Third down: screen picksix by Tre Freeman.
UVA 31, Duke 17, 9:30/4th
More breathing room: Will Bettridge good from 42, capping a seven-play, 50-yard drive that ate 3:48 off the clock.
UVA 34, Duke 17, 5:42/4th
Quick recap
Virginia put up more than 500 yards for the first time since September, and the defense held a potent Duke offense to 255 yards, in a 34-17 win.
With the W, UVA (9-2, 6-1 ACC) heads into a bye, ahead of the regular-season finale with Virginia Tech in Charlottesville.
Chandler Morris, who was listed as questionable on Thursday after suffering a concussion in last week’s lost to Wake Forest, passed for 316 yards and two TDs.
Trell Harris had 161 yards on eight catches; and J’Mari Taylor had 133 yards and two TDs on the ground.
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