CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – With postseason implications on the line, No. 20/19 Virginia (8-2, 5-1 ACC), travels to Duke (5-4, 4-1) – the Cavaliers’ third trip this year to the Research Triangle – for its final ACC road game of season. Kickoff from Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium is set for 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2 and the Virginia Sports Radio Network. 

In a game without a touchdown from scrimmage, Virginia fell to Wake Forest 16-9 at Scott Stadium last week, while Duke dropped a 37-34 decision in a matchup that featured three lead changes in the fourth quarter. Full Game Preview →

INSIDE SATURDAY’S MATCHUP 

• Virginia (5-1) and Duke (4-1) are two of the five one-loss teams (along with Georgia Tech, Pitt, SMU) in the ACC standings entering week 12. The only other meeting scheduled among the five one-loss ACC teams is Georgia Tech and Pitt on Nov. 22.
• Saturday will be the 76th meeting between Virginia and Duke in a rivalry that was first played in 1890, a 10-4 Cavalier victory in Richmond.
• UVA has won eight of the last nine meetings against Duke and owns a 41-34 all-time record against the Blue Devils. The 41 wins are the third most against any UVA opponent (North Carolina – 60; VMI; 57).
• Virginia and Duke did not play one another last season for the first time since 1962. The Cavaliers won the last meeting, 30-27 at Scott Stadium in 2023. It was Tony Elliott’s first ACC win at Scott Stadium.
• With a 3-1 mark on the road this season, UVA has posted back-to-back seasons with at least three road wins for the first time since 1998-99. Four road wins would match a school record, achieved nine times in the program’s history — 1984, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2007, 2011.
• The road trip will be the third for Virginia to the Triangle this season. It is the first time since 1970 and the fourth time ever (1966, 1968, 1970, 2025) UVA has played on the road against Duke, NC State and North Carolina in the same season.
• Duke enters the contest as the No. 1 scoring offense in conference play this season (38.4 ppg). Virginia has not allowed more than 21 points in any of its last four games, including 16 against Wake Forest last week. UVA opponents are averaging 291.8 yards of total offense in that span.
• Virginia is one of 34 teams with two losses or fewer in 2025. A total of 18 Power-4 teams have one or no losses in league play this season.
• In both UVA losses this season, the Cavaliers have outgained their opponent – vs. Wake Forest (327-203); vs. NC State (514-416).
• Both Duke and UVA are among the league’s best at protecting the ball. The Cavaliers have turned the ball over nine times (6 INT, 3 fumbles), tied for the fewest in the ACC. UVA entered its game against Wake as one of only two FBS teams yet to lose a fumble, but lost all three of its fumbles in the loss last Saturday. Duke has lost the ball 11 times (7 fumble, 4 INT), fourth fewest in the league.
• Five of the Cavaliers’ last six games have been decided by one score. UVA is 4-1 in such contests. (The Cal game was a one-score game with a little as 35 seconds remaining). Duke’s last two games have been decided by a total of four points.

TOP STORYLINES

• Virginia had its seven-game win streak snapped last week in a 16-7 home loss at Wake Forest (Nov. 8). The seven-straight victories matched the longest win streak in program history and longest since the 2007 season. Only 12 teams in the country have put together win streaks of seven games or longer this season.
• After a dominant defensive performance against Wake, Virginia will square off against Duke, the ACC’s top passing offense (312.9 ypg) led by quarterback Darian Mensah. Last week, Virginia held the Demon Deacons to just 64 passing yards, the second fewest in an ACC game this season and the fewest by a Cavalier opponent since 2018. Wake only connected on nine passes and netted zero passing yards in the third quarter.
• The defensive spark plug for the Cavaliers has been Kam Robinson, who has two interception returns for touchdowns, a safety, a blocked punt and three double-digit tackle performances over UVA’s last five games. He’s been named ACC Linebacker of the Week a school-record three times this season and is one of 12 semifinalists for the Butkus Award, bestowed to the nation’s top linebacker.
• The loss to Wake Forest was the first in a little over two months. Virginia is 8-2 to start the season, its best start since 2007. The Cavaliers won their first five ACC games for the first time in program history. Virginia has reached the six-conference win plateau seven times in program history, most recently in 2019.

NUMBERS TO KNOW