The Virginia defense, minus its star linebacker, Kam Robinson, who officially logged three snaps, made $7 million Duke QB Darian Mensah look very average.
Mensah had video-game numbers on the season coming into Saturday’s game – 310.4 yards passing per game, 69.8 percent completion rate, 24 TDs, four INTs, a 115.5 NFL passer rating, second in FBS.
Mensah’s numbers in Saturday’s 34-17 UVA win: 18-of-35 (51.4 percent), 213 yards, one TD, 77.4 NFL passer rating.
The secret to what Virginia did: it wasn’t necessarily just focusing on Mensah.
ICYMI
- UVA Football: ‘Hoos dominate in all phases in pivotal 34-17 win at Duke
- 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
“We knew coming in that we hadn’t seen really anybody get to the quarterback, right. Their offensive line and their scheme had done a really, really good job. We felt like we had to stop the run, first and foremost,” ‘Hoos coach Tony Elliott said.
“I think everybody knows how great 10 is, the quarterback, and a very experienced offensive line, but I thought what really made them go was their ability to stay ahead of the chains and run the football, which allowed them to be, you know, deadly RPO-wise, allowed them to have the play-action stuff. I thought they did a really good job, from a staff standpoint, put together a good plan, and then the guys, man, they owned it,” Elliott said.
And to that point, Duke only gained 66 sack-adjusted yards and 3.5 yards per attempt on the ground – and on their 15 rushing attempts on first-down plays, the Blue Devils averaged 2.1 yards per attempt.
That’s an average of second-and-8 after rushing attempts on first down.
And on passes, Mensah was 5-of-11 for 56 yards – which sounds good, but 32 of those first-down passing yards came on a third-quarter pass to Landen King.
The other four first-down completions went for a total of 24 yards; factor in the six incompletions, and you’re at an average of second-and-eight, again, after passes on first-down plays.
Second-and-longs result in a lot of third-and-mediums, which, in turn, give a defense a fighting chance to get off the field.
To that end: Duke was 4-of-15 on third downs, with two conversions on four fourth-down tries.
Virginia’s defensive front recorded four sacks – Duke had allowed an average of two per game coming in – and recorded pressures on a total of 15 of Mensah’s dropbacks.
But even when he had a clean pocket, Mensah wasn’t as effective as usual – 13-of-25 (52.0 percent) for 123 yards, a TD and a 79.3 NFL passer rating.
The Virginia secondary had eight pass breakups – corner Emmanuel Karnley logging three, safety Devin Neal two, one of his on a third-and-goal pass that preceded a fourth-down sack and turnover on downs.
So, the D bottled up the run – holding Duke to less than half its season average on the ground coming in – got to the QB, and even when Mensah had a clean pocket to work within, the secondary broke up a lot of his passes.
Not bad, again, considering that the best defender on the roster, Robinson, was out there for three snaps – he went out after the second defensive snap of the first half, and tried to make a go of it coming out of halftime, but left after one snap.
Elliott addressed Robinson’s status postgame.
“Status-wise, he came back in for one play. The initial thought was, or after they went in, did a scan, got X-rays, everything was clean, thought it was maybe a bruise to maybe the nerve. And then he tried to go back in, and wasn’t able to play full speed, so, shut him down,” Elliott said.
Robinson missed the opening three games of the 2025 season after having surgery for a broken collarbone in training camp.
The guy who filled in for him on Saturday, sophomore Landon Danley, tied for the team lead in tackles on the day, with six.
“Depth-wise, it just goes to show the belief that, the next man just has to be ready,” Elliott said.
Support AFP
Share
Chris Graham
