Totally had Virginia outgaining Duke on the ground. And Brennan Armstrong putting up pedestrian numbers through the air. And the UVA defense pitching a shutout. Totally did.
Don’t go back and look at my pregame forecast that had Mateo Durant running roughshod, Armstrong and Duke QB Gunnar Holmberg going bonkers, the scoreboard going tilt more than once.
Actually, there were power issues with the scoreboard in the first half that caused it to go blank for a couple of decent stretches, but it had nothing to do with UVA (5-2, 3-2 ACC) getting out to a 34-0 lead at the half on its way to an easy 48-0 win.
This is a Duke team that had just played well in a 31-27 loss to Georgia Tech, beat Northwestern, put up 52 on Kansas.
But the Duke team that showed up on Saturday was more the team that lost its season opener to Charlotte.
Durant put up nice numbers – 82 yards on 17 carries – but was not a factor after the first drive.
Holmberg, who had been completing 72.5 percent of his passes coming in, was 20-for-34 for 134 yards, was intercepted twice, and had an ugly 80.2 passer rating.
The Blue Devils (3-4, 0-3 ACC) only had one real scoring opportunity when the outcome was in doubt, on their first drive, which stalled at the UVA 7, then came up empty when kicker Matthew Alswanger doinked the left upright – sound familiar? – from 25 yards out.
Duke had one other good chance, with a first-and-goal at the 1 inside of three minutes to go in garbage time, but backup QB Riley Leonard fumbled the second-down snap, and UVA was able to run out the clock.
The Virginia offense, on schedule, went past the 500-yard mark on the day, but it wasn’t the cleanest day. Armstrong was just 25-of-45 passing for 364 yards, and a 138.2 passer rating.
The ‘Hoos fumbled the ball four times in the first half, but recovered all four.
The surprise was that the running game was as productive as it was, gaining 162 yards on 30 rushing attempts, with a multitude of guys contributing, led by Devin Darrington’s 60 yards on five carries.
Nick Jackson led the defense with 11 tackles, four of them for losses.
Virginia next hosts Georgia Tech, next Saturday, at 7:30 p.m.
Story by Chris Graham
Share
Chris Graham
