DURHAM, N.C. -- Virginia overcame nine penalties for 85 yards and shaky play from quarterback Marques Hagans to knock off Duke, 37-16, thanks to a resurgent ground game. Senior tailback Alvin Pearman ran 38 times for 223 yards, falling one short of Virginia's single game yardage record.
The No. 14 Cavaliers (6-1, 3-1 ACC) trailed Duke 7-0 in the first quarter before Pearman took over for Virginia. The Charlotte, N.C., native carried on 10 consecutive plays, gaining 69 yards before junior Wali Lundy punched in a one-yard run for the touchdown. Pearman had only two runs of fewer than five yards, pounding away play after play behind the right side of the offensive line.
"That's what coach Groh likes to do," Pearman said. "If a play is working, we're going to stick with it."
Virginia had to adjust its offensive game plan quickly after Hagans missed wide on three of his four throws on the first drive. Hagans, who left the Florida State game last week with a hip injury, did not practice until Thursday. After the game, however, he downplayed the impact of the injury despite his poor accuracy and noticeable limp.
"I just made some bad throws, that's all," he said. "The injury had nothing to do with it. It had no effect in the game."
The Cavaliers rarely threw the ball downfield after that first drive in which Hagans twice missed an open Deyon Williams on deep posts. Instead, Virginia relied on his ground game, rushing for a season-high 348 yards on 61 carries.
Duke entered the game with the nation's lowest ranked offense but gained 337 yards on the day, 91.5 yards better than their average. After scoring first, the Blue Devils failed to take advantage of additional opportunities, missing a field goal and getting stopped on third and fourth down plays at the one yard line later in the first half. On third down, Duke running back Cedric Dargan launched himself over the middle of the line but was abruptly stopped by the flying shoulder of Virginia linebacker Ahmad Brooks.
"I just saw him going up, trying to jump over the pile," Brooks said. "Right when he jumped, I reacted as soon as I could and caught him in mid-air."
The Blue Devils nearly scored earlier in that drive, as wide receiver Deon Adams took the handoff on an end-around and landed a deep pass into the hands of teammate Ronnie Elliott. The play went for 31 yards down to the Virginia five, Adams' second completion of the game, but the ball was under thrown, giving Virginia cornerback Tony Franklin a chance to catch Elliott from behind.
The Virginia secondary also fell victim to 191 yards and two touchdowns from Duke quarterback Mike Schneider, but they were aided by a fierce Cavalier pass rush that produced seven sacks, including two by Dennis Haley.
"He's pretty good on his feet when he scrambles, and we wanted to make him feel uncomfortable in the pocket," said Brooks, who had eight tackles and a sack.
Three Connor Hughes field goals in the second quarter and a punt blocked by Jon Thompson that led to a second Lundy TD run in the third helped Virginia mount a 23-7 lead before Duke scored the game's next 10 points to cut the lead to one touchdown.
Poor tackling by Virginia helped Duke close the gap. Facing third-and-14 deep in his own territory, Schneider dumped a pass over the middle to tight end Ben Patrick, who slipped two tackles and rumbled 45 yards to the Cavalier 36.
"On third-and-14, that's a bad play," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "That really made the game a lot stickier than it needed to be."
Virginia scored two late touchdowns to put the game out of reach. With its sixth win, Virginia clinches bowl eligibility and will use the forthcoming bye week to rest Hagans and several of his banged-up teammates.
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