After the game, a bratty little kid in a Duke shirt uttered words stranger than fiction: "Hey, mommy, we're on a winning streak!"
The giddy pipsqueak had a right to be excited. His precious Blue Devils were winners for the second week in a row. Once again they had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, this time emerging from a late-game situation with a heart-stopping 35 yard touchdown run to seal their first ACC victory in more than a year.
Drifting past the joyful kid was a navy-and-orange cluster of silent mourners, a deflated group contemplating improbable defeat in the wake of last week's convincing victory. Once again the Virginia faithful had entered the Duke game eagerly anticipating a much-needed win, and once again they left it enduring the pangs of a heart-wrenching loss. At the end of the day, they were left to chew on this embarrassing reality: the Duke Blue Devils have won a grand total of five ACC games during the past three years, and three of those five wins came against Virginia.
It's understandable that all three of my years at Virginia featured losses to the Duke basketball team - this year's forecast calls for 99 percent chance of defeat. But it's humiliating that they also included nothing but losses to the Blue Devils on the gridiron. Duke - a school that has always placed its football team on the backburner in favor of its big-spending basketball program - has become the Virginia football program's unlikely kryptonite. Apart from Virginia Tech, Duke is the only Coastal Division team to beat Virginia each of the past three years.
This latest installment of Cavalier bedevilment stands as the most bizarre ever. Most teams that put up 48 points, 643 yards and 33 first downs against Duke walk away with a landslide victory. But not Virginia. The Cavaliers surrendered 55 points against a Duke team that averaged just 12 points during its previous three ACC games. In the second-highest-scoring ACC contest of all time, Virginia's 48 ticks marked the most points the Cavaliers ever scored in a loss, bettering the previous high of 38.
Senior cornerback Ras-I Dowling's absence - along with Chase "INT" Minnifield only playing a couple of series - certainly hampered the Cavaliers' defensive effort. Duke quarterback Sean Renfree had a fine day throwing the ball, completing 17-of-29 pass attempts for 219 yards and a score. But it was Virginia's struggling rush defense - which ranks 11th in the conference - that really undid the Cavaliers. Sophomore running back Desmond Scott ran for 98 yards and a game-winning touchdown, and Duke's two quarterbacks combined for 129 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
By no means should Virginia have been mowed over by its opponent's running attack. This wasn't the lethal triple-option offense of Georgia Tech or the hard-nosed ground game of Virginia Tech. This was Duke, a team that in recent years has consistently ranked toward the bottom of the conference in rushing yards. Moreover, the Cavaliers were coming off a game during which they stuffed Miami's respectable rushing attack, save for one or two plays. With Jacory Harris out of the game, though, Virginia was able to stack the box and dare the Hurricanes' freshman quarterback to beat them with his arm rather than his legs. Duke's third-ranked passing offense certainly helped open up running lanes, but that does not excuse the Virginia defense from giving up six rushing scores.
The front seven obviously needs to do a better job of making reads and clogging running lanes. Just as important, though, is recognizing the situation. When backup quarterback Brandon Connette replaced an injured Renfree for a series in the third quarter, the Virginia defense should have expected run-heavy play-calling from the signal-caller who much prefers running out of the wild-cat than throwing out of the shotgun. Yet the defense seemed caught off-guard when Connette ran five straight times to set up another Duke rushing touchdown.
On the other side of the ball was Marc Verica, who was three interceptions away from turning in one of the greatest performances in ACC history. The fifth-year senior threw a career-high four touchdown passes to go along with 417 passing yards, the most ever by a Virginia quarterback. His three turnovers, however, highlighted the deceptive nature of statistics. Verica may be Virginia's eighth all-time leading passer, but he is far from its greatest. Once again, his interceptions - which led directly to 16 Duke points - kept his team from running away with a victory.
Penalties were no less detrimental to the Cavaliers. While the Blue Devils totaled just three penalties for 20 yards, Virginia racked up 11 for 103 yards. Whether it was a late hit out of bounds or a pass interference call, Virginia continued to find innovative ways to shoot itself in the foot. Yellow flags flew in all directions Saturday, reminding Virginia fans that their team still lacks discipline at just about every position.
Normally, the sight of the Duke sideline singing along to DJ Khaled's "All I Do Is Win" embodies the epitome of irony. But when Virginia stands across the field, it has become all too fitting.
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