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Cavaliers Defeat Duke, 31-10
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Sept 29, 2001
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By HANK KURZ Jr.
AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) – Bryson Spinner threw two touchdown passes andBilly McMullen caught two Saturday as Virginia beat Duke 31-10, the Cavaliers’third straight victory and the Blue Devils’ 16th straight loss.
Virginia (3-1, 2-0 ACC), which won its first two games by a total of threepoints, led 17-3 at halftime and was never challenged as the Blue Devils (0-4,0-2) lost their 19th in 21 games since winning 24-17 here in 1999.
Spinner, starting for the third straight game, hit McMullen from 5 yards outin the first quarter to give the Cavaliers a 7-0 lead. He then got a huge breakin a 64-yard touchdown connection with Tavon Mason.
The pass was intended for McMullen, but he slipped, the ball appeared to bekept aloft by diving Duke safety Alex Green and deflected right into Mason’shands. Mason scored easily, giving Virginia a 17-0 lead.
The Blue Devils, meantime, had little success against Virginia’s defense,even with tailback Chris Douglas gaining 101 yards on the ground.
Their only points of the first half came on the last play, a 27-yard fieldgoal by Brent Garber, and they didn’t break through again until midway throughthe final quarter on Douglas’ 2-yard run. That drive took 12 plays and featuredthree helpful penalties against the Cavaliers.
Virginia finished with 13 penalties for 110 yards, many in the sloppy finalquarter. Duke was whistled 10 times for 116 yards.
Matt Schaub, who replaced Spinner in the second half, drove Virginia to twofourth-quarter touchdowns. Arlen Harris got the first on a 2-yard run, andMcMullen caught a 15-yard scoring pass for the final points.
It was McMullen’s seventh touchdown reception of the season.
Spinner finished 15-for-23 for 194 yards with one interception, and Schaubwas 9-for-13 for 90 yards.
Before the game, the names of four alumni killed in or missing after theSept. 11 terrorist attacks were read over the public address system, and allvictims were honored with a moment of silence. Four New York City firefightersalso were presented a check for $250,000 in donations.