Duke Soars Past Virginia to Win ACC Opener

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke football rolled up 242 yards on the ground and rushed for four touchdowns in a 38-17 victory over Virginia on Saturday night at Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium in the Blue Devils’ ACC opener.

Sophomore quarterback Riley Leonard finished the night 18-of-24 passing for 129 yards and accounted for three touchdowns as Duke beat the Cavaliers for the first time since the 2014 season and won the program’s first ACC game since Oct. 10, 2020 vs. Syracuse.

In a battle of first-year head coaches, Mike Elko saw his Blue Devils limit Virginia to just 93 yards rushing in improving to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the ACC. Tony Elliott’s Cavaliers fell to 2-3, 0-2.

The Blue Devils controlled much of the opening half, building a 21-7 advantage at the break. Leonard accounted for two of those touchdowns as he connected with senior Jalon Calhoun for 19-yard touchdown midway through the first quarter before scampering in from two-yards out with 13 seconds left in the frame.

Leonard again found paydirt to open the second half, handing Duke a 28-7 advantage with 11:13 left in the third. The Cavaliers responded driving 47 yards over the next five minutes, but the Blue Devil defense held their visitors to just a 34-yard field goal to make it a 28-10 ballgame.

Sophomore Jaquez Moore then broke free for a career-long 59-yard touchdown run for his first career score to kick off the fourth quarter. Virginia answered back with a Brennan Armstrong five-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 35-17 with 10:30 remaining in the game but a 34-yard field goal from Duke’s Charlie Ham ultimately put the game out of reach.

Notables

– Riley recorded his second career multi-touchdown rushing game.
– Redshirt junior Jaylen Coleman led the Duke rushers with a career-high 97 yards on 19 carries.
– Redshirt senior Shaka Heyward compiled a game-high 13 tackles for his ninth career double-digit tackle performance.
– Heyward added one tackle for loss, to shift into a tie with Scott Youmans for 15th all-time with 30 in his career.
– Redshirt senior Ja’Mion Franklin recorded Duke’s lone sack and a career-high two pass breakups.
– Calhoun registered a career-high 43-yard punt return.
– The Blue Devils earned 200-plus rushing yards against Virginia for the first time since October 6, 2010.
– Duke held the Cavaliers to just 93 yards rushing, marking the third time this season the Blue Devils held an opponent to under 100 yards rushing.
– The last time Duke started 1-0 in ACC play was to start the 2019 season.

The Blue Devils are back on the road when they head to Atlanta, Ga., on Saturday, Oct. 8 for a matchup with Georgia Tech at 4 p.m. The game will be broadcast on RSN.
Georgia Tech defeated Pittsburgh on Saturday night, 26-21.

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