Duke Game Report

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(Oct. 20, 2018)
 
 
By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com
 
DURHAM, N.C. – His football program has not arrived. After every victory, Bronco Mendenhall states matter-of-factly that much work remains to be done at the University of Virginia. Still, two-and-a-half seasons into Mendenhall’s tenure as their head coach, the Cavaliers clearly are progressing, and he’s happy to acknowledge as much.
 
A week after defeating then-No. 16 Miami at Scott Stadium, UVA recorded its first road win of the season, knocking off Duke 28-14 at Wallace Wade Stadium on Saturday afternoon. With five regular-season games left, Virginia is 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the ACC.
 
His program’s growth, Mendenhall said after the Wahoos’ fourth straight victory over the Blue Devils, is the result of “time together. The principles we have are guiding principles. That might sound like banter, but it’s real, and the guys adhere, believe and support those things. Those things frame our culture, and within the culture is how they work.”
 
As a team’s ability to execute under pressure improves, “the outcome starts to shift over time,” Mendenhall said, “and that’s just what’s happening now at the two-and-a-half-year mark. We can just see it shifting — not shifted, but shifting. We’re watching it happen right in front of us.”
 
Many of his starters also played key roles in 2017, when Virginia advanced to a bowl game for the first time since 2011. But there are exceptions, most notably quarterback Bryce Perkins, who enrolled at UVA in January.
 
Perkins, a junior who began his college career at Arizona State, has revitalized an offense that sputtered late last season. Against Duke (5-2, 1-2), he rushed 15 times for 61 yards and two TDs. In the passing game, he was 20 of 32 for 189 yards and one TD pass.
 
That strike could not have come at a more opportune time for UVA. On first-and-10 from the Blue Devils’ 16-yard line, Perkins took a shotgun snap, rolled to his left, avoided a sack and then spotted senior tight end Evan Butts in the end zone. Butts, his arms outstretched, leaped to snare Perkins’ pass, making it 26-14 with 3:58 remaining.
 
“That’s sort of our scramble drill coming to life, I guess,” Butts said. “We actually work on those type of situations, where I may be covered up and Bryce may not see me. We just kind of keep the play alive. We have different spots on the field we have to go to. Just work to get open. Never stop till the play’s over.”
 
Perkins then passed to senior wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus for the 2-point conversion, and the Cavaliers’ defense did the rest.
 
For the game, Virginia sacked Duke quarterback Daniel Jones four times and intercepted him twice. He’s a redshirt junior who’s considered an outstanding NFL prospect, so this might be his last season at Duke.
 
If he never has to face the ‘Hoos again, Jones will probably be relieved. They intercepted him five times in 2016 and twice last season.
 
“I don’t know if it’s just him in particular,” said junior cornerback Bryce Hall, who had one of Virginia’s picks Saturday. “Something happens every time we play Duke. We get extra dialed-in. He’s a really good quarterback. It’s just good to come out here and play well against him every time.”
 
The Cavaliers held Duke scoreless in the first half. Their most impressive defensive stand, however, came midway through the fourth quarter. On the Devils’ previous possession, they’d gone 59 yards for a touchdown that made it 20-14. This drive started at the Duke 12 after an excellent punt by UVA’s Lester Coleman.
 
An 11-yard completion moved Duke to its 23, but then outside linebacker Chris Peace sacked Jones for a 2-yard loss. On second down, Jones tried to run, and two linemen – sophomore Mandy Alonso and junior Eli Hanback — corralled him for another 2-yard loss. Finally, on third down, Peace and the Cavaliers’ other starting outside linebacker, sophomore Charles Snowden, sacked Jones for a 10-yard loss.
 
“Honestly, I knew that was probably going to be the most important drive of the game,” said Peace, a fifth-year senior who’s one of Virginia’s captains. “Before that drive, I was pumped up, telling everybody, ‘These are the moments we practice for and work hard for. Let’s just go execute.’ “
 
Mendenhall said: “As always in the ACC, the team that makes the most plays at the critical time wins, and we made a few more plays than our opponent.”
 
After Virginia’s victory over Miami last weekend at Scott Stadium, students and fans rushed the field afterward to celebrate. Media members were quick to call it the “signature win” of Mendenhall’s tenure, and that added to the challenge facing the Cavaliers in Durham, where a letdown was possible. 
 
Mendenhall praised how his players showed “the maturity and resiliency to come on the road and start fast. It wasn’t just the way that they played the game, but the start was indicative of their mindset. We worked really hard on that, if you will, to erase Miami on Monday and insert Duke.”

SPECIAL PERFORMANCE: Mendenhall said the Cavaliers “return game, I think, was the catalyst for this victory, especially early on. Duke is very strong on defense, but they were backed up consistently. And so field position through our return game gave us a really nice advantage in momentum after coming on the road into this environment.”
 
Junior Joe Reed returned the opening kickoff 37 yards, and Virginia’s first touchdown drive followed.
 
Freshman Tavares Kelly gained 72 yards on his two punt returns, and junior Chuck Davis returned another punt 27 yards.
 
NEXT MEN UP: Virginia lost two starters to injuries during the game: fifth-year senior running back Jordan Ellis in the final minute of the first half and sophomore safety Joey Blount early in the fourth quarter.
 
In the absence of Ellis, who’s a team captain, sophomores PK Kier and Lamont Atkins and junior Chris Sharp all made key contributions.
 
Sharp picked up a first down with an 8-yard gain on his only carry, and Atkins gained 12 yards on his lone carry. Kier rushed 12 times for 36 yards, often in situations where Duke figured he’d be getting the ball.
 
“PK is his heir apparent, and he’s capable, as we all saw, and he’s tough,” Mendenhall said. “So I’m at ease. Certainly J.E. is a leader on our team and a captain and proven, but PK is the next in line.”
 
Ellis rushed for 55 yards before leaving the game. Overall, the Cavaliers gained 178 yards on the ground.
 
“PK did a great job of coming in and running hard and physical, and so did Lamont and Chris Sharp,” Perkins said. “The running back room is so deep. J.E. went down, and some guys had to step up, and they did a great job of it.”
 
On defense, redshirt sophomore De’Vante Cross, who began the season at wide receiver, replaced Blount. Cross, who switched to defense recently, was credited with two tackles.
 
“He just had to learn on the fly and get ready to go,” Peace said of Cross, who worked at three positions last season – quarterback, receiver and cornerback.
 
CLOSING IN: Not since 2004 and ’05 when the Cavaliers played in the MPC Computers Bowl and the Music City Bowl, respectively, have they advanced to postseason in back-to-back years.
 
They need one more win to become bowl-eligible this season.
 
GAME BALLS: At Wallace Wade Stadium, UVA fans were often louder than the Duke faithful, and they had much to cheer Saturday. In addition to Perkins, Butts and Kelly, the Cavaliers’ standouts included:
 
* Zaccheaus, who had 10 catches for 66 yards. With 203 career receptions, Zaccheaus ranks second all-time at UVA behind Billy McMullen (210).
 
* Sophomore kicker Brian Delaney, who won the starting job with his performance last weekend against Miami. Delaney was 0 for 2 on field goals in the first half Saturday, missing from 33 and 51 yards, but he was 2 for 2 after intermission. He connected from 37 and 42 yards, both in the third quarter.
 
“The field goals he made were huge,” Mendenhall said. “As disappointed as we were in the first half … I’m equally impressed with the ones he made in the second half, because there’s more pressure and more at stake.”
 
* Peace, whose seven tackles included 2.5 sacks, for 13 yards in losses.
 
* Senior safety Juan Thornhill, who had eight tackles, tying sophomore linebacker Zane Zandier for team honors, and picked off a pass. The interception was Thornhill’s fourth of the season and 11^th of his career. He’s intercepted Jones four times.
 
* Hall, whose interception was his second of the season and fifth of his career. He also had a game-high three pass breakups. He leads the ACC in passes defended, with 16.
 
After each Virginia win, a player who had a major role in the victory is selected to break a rock with a sledgehammer in the locker room. Hall was the choice Saturday.
 
“That was fun,” he said, smiling broadly. “It’s an honor to be selected to smash the rock for our team.”
 
THEY SAID IT: The UVA players who met with reporters after the game were tired but happy. Among the comments of note from them and Mendenhall:
 
* Mendenhall on Perkins: “For someone that’s that dynamic, sometimes the personality that comes with that is dynamic. With that comes really high and really low [moods] and the swings that come with it. He’s a dynamic player with a very consistent mindset, and that’s a unique quality.”
 
* Mendenhall: “There’s not a greater payback, other than being a parent with your own kids and seeing them smile through accomplishment, than seeing the kids you coach smile through accomplishment. And the accomplishment comes at a price. It’s really hard, and they work tirelessly, and I love seeing them happy:”
 
* Snowden on his connection with Peace: “We just always joke around and say, ‘Meet you at the quarterback.’ ” 
 
* Snowden: “We know we can have a really special season, so every practice, every game, we go in [with that objective].”
 
* Hall on the defense’s strong play: “It’s so much fun, especially the brotherhood we have together. We complement each other, and so it’s just so much fun to see us having success relying on each other and playing for a bigger purpose than just ourselves.”
 
FRIENDLY CONFINES: A three-game homestand starts next weekend for UVA, which will host, in order, North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Liberty. 
 
In a Coastal Division game to be shown on Raycom Sports, the ‘Hoos (5-2, 3-1) meet the Tar Heels (1-5, 1-3) at 12:20 p.m. Saturday at Scott Stadium. On Friday, Nov. 2, UVA hosts Pitt at 7:30 p.m. 
 
The starting time for the Cavaliers’ Nov. 10 game against the Flames has not been announced. Virginia and Liberty have never met in football.
 
UVA had dropped seven straight to UNC before winning 20-14 in Chapel Hill last season. 
 
Carolina lost 40-37 to Syracuse in the Carrier Dome on Saturday afternoon.