Duke football uses ground game to beat Virginia, 38-17, end 13-game ACC losing streak
Two Duke football losing streaks, relics of the previous coaching staff that was replaced last December, were rolled into oblivion Saturday night.
On the strength of a solid running game that produced four touchdowns, Duke rolled over Virginia, 38-17, at Wallace Wade Stadium.
The win ended Duke’s 13-game losing streak in ACC play, a skid that stretched back to October 2020. It also marked the Blue Devils’ first win over Virginia since 2014 after suffering seven consecutive losses to the Cavaliers.
It also gave the Blue Devils (4-1, 1-0 ACC) more wins this season than they managed in either of the past two. Duke went 5-18, including 1-17 in ACC play, over the past two seasons, which led to coach David Cutcliffe’s ouster.
Mike Elko, who replaced him, directed the Blue Devils to a resounding win in their first ACC game this season behind a powerful rushing attack.
Duke gained 248 rushing yards, averaging a healthy 5.2 yards per attempt. It’s just the third time in their last 19 ACC games the Blue Devils surpassed 200 yards rushing in an ACC game.
“I thought our offensive line played physical and I thought our backs ran really, really hard,” Elko said. “That’s what you have to do against those types of teams. If those teams are going to load the box, you’re gonna have to account for the extra people with your backs at times. With movement up front and I thought we were able to do that.”
Jaylen Colemen paced the Blue Devils with 97 yards on 19 carries. Quarterback Riley Leonard gained 59 yards on nine carries, including a pair of first-half touchdown runs when Duke built a 21-0 lead.
Up 21-7 at halftime, Duke added rushing touchdowns by Leonard and Jaquez Moore to pull away from the Cavaliers (2-3, 0-2).
Duke built a 21-0 lead, aided by a strong running game and big special teams plays.
First, the runners: Jordan Waters and Leonard each scored rushing touchdowns in the first half, and Leonard fired a 19-yard touchdown pass to Jalon Calhoun.
Duke blocked a Virginia punt to set up one of its scoring drives and recovered a Cavaliers’ fumble on a kickoff to add another score.
Ryan Smith blocked the Cavaliers’ punt, giving Duke the ball at its own 42. Leonard completed that drive with his 2-yard touchdown run with 13 seconds left in the second quarter for a 14-0 Duke lead.
On the ensuring kickoff, Duke kicker Charlie Ham tackled Virginia returner Demick Starling, jarring the ball loose. Duke’s Terry Moore recovered at the Virginia 41.
Waters completed that possession with a 1-yard leap over the goal line into the end zone putting Duke up 21-0 with 10:25 to play until halftime.
Virginia cut into the lead with an 83-yard scoring drive late in the first half. Brennan Armstrong’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Perris Jones with 1:12 left in the second quarter sliced Duke’s lead to 21-7 at halftime.
But Elko, unhappy with how the first half ended, challenged his team at halftime to play its “best quarter of the season” in the third quarter.
Duke did just that, getting a defensive stop before the offense drove for a touchdown (one of Leonard’s touchdown runs) to lead 28-7.
Duke’s defense limited Virginia to 295 yards of total offense. The Cavaliers gained just 93 yards of rushing while quarterback Brennan Armstrong completed 19 of 37 passes for 202 yards with an interception.
“That’s our style of defense,” Duke defensive tackle Ja’Mion Franklin said. “We just attack and attack and attack especially up front. That’s what we’re about.”
This story was originally published October 1, 2022 at 10:34 PM with the headline "Duke football uses ground game to beat Virginia, 38-17, end 13-game ACC losing streak."