Well, that was not what I expected Saturday in Wallace Wade Stadium: Virginia QB Chandler Morris threw two touchdown passes, just a week after being forced to the sidelines, and the Cavaliers’ defense carried the day in a 34-17 win over Duke.
Oh, and to be clear, the final score wasn’t that close.
UVA led 31-3 in the fourth quarter as most of the Duke fans fled the antiquated Wallace Wade.
Yes, the visiting lockers are still about 200 yards from the field, but at least, from what I understand, they now have running water.
ICYMI
- UVA Football: Morris, Taylor, D key ‘Hoos to convincing 34-17 win at Duke
- UVA Football: ‘Hoos dominate Duke, win 34-17, to improve to 9-2, ahead of bye
- ‘Hoo do we root for next week? The Road to Charlotte for UVA Football
In what was essentially an elimination game for a spot in the ACC Championship Game, Duke (5-4, 4-2), which lost its second straight game since stealing a win over Clemson, is finished.
But enough about Duke; Saturday belonged to Virginia.
Let’s start with Morris.
Unable to finish last Saturday’s game due to two cheap-shot late hits by Wake Forest defenders, Morris was in concussion protocol all week, which limited him to just a few partial practices.
Makes me think of this:
We’re talking about practice, not a game, not a game. We’re talking about practice.”
– Allen Iverson, 2002
Morris wasn’t a go until a few hours before kickoff, but finished 23-for-35 for 316 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.
The second interception, a picksix by Duke, made the final score look closer than it really was.
Duke was limited to just four first downs through the halfway point of the third quarter.
Simply put, Virginia dominated Duke.
UVA led 31-3 before Duke found the endzone with 10:23 remaining. Duke then returned the second Morris interception 18 yards for a touchdown, slicing the deficit to 14, at 31-17 with 9:30 remaining.
But before the most pessimistic of us doom-and-gloom Cavalier fans could start losing hope, Virginia responded with a solid drive that ended with Will Bettridge’s 42-yard field goal.
Order restored, 34-17, as Duke said, uncle.
Let’s go back to Virginia’s dominance over Duke on Saturday.
UVA outgained the Blue Devils 308-50 in the first half, and they came right out of the locker room (200 yards away) by making a statement.
The Cavaliers, which failed to score a touchdown a week earlier against Wake, drove the ball right down Duke’s throat on the opening drive.
J’Mari Taylor’s 5-yard TD run punctuated a 14-play, 75-yard scoring drive, which included a key fourth-down conversion.
Virginia had a 128-16 advantage in first-quarter total yards.
Dominance, from the very get-go.
And the icing on the cake?
Duke’s chances of competing in the ACC title game were suddenly cut short by Virginia.
Perfect.
“Down two touchdowns (17-3) and getting the ball out of the locker room (after the first half), I mean, there was not a sense of panic. If we could just raise our level of execution, we’d be right here,” said Duke coach Manny Diaz.
Huh?
I’m not claiming to be a coach, but maybe, just maybe, Diaz and his Duke players should have shown a little more panic.
Because 17-3 soon became 31-3.
Sometimes panic translates to urgency.
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