North Carolina Sports: The Weekend In Review

Virginia 28, Duke 21

The Blue Devils (4-2, 1-2 ACC) dropped its second straight game with a narrow, seven-point loss to Virginia (4-1, 1-0 ACC) on the road. Daniel Jones finished with 14-of-42 passing for a touchdown and two interceptions for Duke. Brittain Brown rushed for 54 yards on 10 carries.

Duke managed to start off strong by forcing a Cavalier turnover on downs at midfield on UVa’s opening drive. However, the Devils’ luck wouldn’t hold up as Jones threw a 58-yard pick-six to Quin Blanding three plays into the subsequent drive.

It would appear as the game would continue to spiral downward for Duke with another Jones interception, this time to Juan Thornhill. However, Jeremy McDuffie returned the favor by picking off Kurt Benkert for a 42-yard score. Jones and Benkert would both throw touchdown passes before the close of the half to put the game at 14 all going into halftime.

Following a three-and-out from Duke to open the second half, Virginia retook the lead for good with another Benkert touchdown pass. After the Devils failed to score off a Wahoo turnover on downs, Benkert delivered another touchdown strike before Shaun Wilson brought Duke all the way down to the UVa 12 on the ensuing kickoff. That return set up the Blue Devils for a scoring drive capped off by a four-yard touchdown rush by Quentin Harris.

Duke’s final drive appeared to be a promising one. Down by only a touchdown, Jones completed his first five passes, overcoming an eight-yard sack following a first down inside the Devils’ 45. However, after the offense drove down to the Virginia 30, a 10-yard sack on third down halted the momentum as Jones’ fourth-down pass attempt ended up falling incomplete, sealing the game.