Virginia has lost 3 of its last 4 games to fall to 3-7 on the season, while Duke has dropped 3 straight after a 6-1 start to stand at 6-4. So what will fans get when two slumping football teams face off on Saturday at Scott Stadium?
Probably a feisty and chippy contest if recent seasons are any indicator. The Blue Devils have won 6 of the last 7 meetings to inject some rivalry blood back into the series, but the two teams have had an on-again, off-again intensity over the years anyway.
“Well, I can really only speak to the games since we’ve been here,” Duke coach David Cutcliffe said. “You sensed the rivalry. I think the rivalry is for a lot of reasons, certainly not just football but basketball and just two really outstanding institutions and longtime ACC members, so it’s just all the right things to create a rivalry. They’re very good. They’re talented. As I mentioned, not just this year, they’ve always played tough schedules. When you go up there, it’s an environment where you’d better play well. … Each one of these games have had a different personality since we’ve been here, but you know this, it’s going to be full of fireworks and competitive. It’s just been a good, intense rivalry, one that has impressive in that regard, just very, very intense.”
With UVA’s seniors fighting for a positive finish at home and Duke battling to get back on track, it could be intense again this weekend. Here’s Everything You Need To Know …
Essentials
- Game Time: Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015, 3:30 p.m.
- T.V. Info: ESPN3
- Radio Info: WINA 1070AM | Other affiliates | Satellite Radio: Sirius 83, XM 83
- Live Game Tracker Stats
- Park and Ride Shuttles
- Maps and Parking Information
- Scott Stadium Information
- Tailgating Info and Policies
- UVa Official Notes and Stats – printable pdf
- Duke Notes and Stats – printable pdf
- Projected UVa Depth Chart – printable pdf
- UVa vs Duke Roster Card – printable pdf
- Exclusive Weather Updates
Game Nuggets
- Virginia and Duke each have won 33 games in this series, which dates back to 1890. The two teams have played every year since 1963.
- While Duke has won 6 of the last 7 meetings, but Virginia won 8 straight before that reversal and has won 22 of the last 32 meetings.
- It is Military Appreciation Day at Scott Stadium. The coin toss will be done by the Honorable Deborah Lee James, Secretary of the Air Force. The U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Band from Fort Eustis, Va., will perform the National Anthem. A pregame flyover of two F-18E’s will be conducted by the VFA-87 Golden Warriors (call sign “War Party”) out of Virginia Beach, Va. There will be a halftime performance by the U.S. Army Drill team.
- This marks the 450th all-time game to be played at Scott Stadium. The first game was played on Oct. 15, 1931 against VMI.
- Over their last 20 ACC regular season games, the Blue Devils are 14-6. They have won 12 of their last 14 road games.
Spotlight On Taquan Mizzell
Virginia running back Taquan Mizzell is closing in on some ACC records for a running back.
With two games to play, Mizzell has hauled in 63 receptions, which is tied with fellow Hoo Alvin Pearman for No. 4 in ACC history for single season receptions by a running back. He needs 14 catches to break the record of 76 held by Boston College’s Andre Callender. Mizzell is also third all-time for single-season receiving yards by a running back in the ACC with 628 yards, just two yards behind Duke’s Roger Boone in second place. He needs 93 yards to surpass Callender in that category.
Throw in 577 rushing yards and Mizzell is having a breakout season as a junior running back.
“He is a great athlete, and he’s a guy that’s got incredible ball skills and body control, and so he’s dangerous in the open field,” Cutcliffe said. “He is a very good running back, but he is one of those guys — we had a player here, Desmond Scott, who I think in a lot of ways was similar. Desmond could – he actually even switched to playing full-time receiver as a senior, and I think he could. We didn’t have a really good answer for him. He’s, again, a guy that you’ve got to have great respect for. You’ve got to stop a lot of things with Virginia, but he is certainly one you’ve got to minimize his damage, and he is a very uniquely talented young man.”
Match-ups To Watch
Virginia center Jackson Matteo vs. Duke safety Jeremy Cash. The center of UVA’s offensive line has a key task against Duke’s defense and that’s keeping Cash out of the backfield. Cash leads the ACC with 17.5 tackles for loss, a clip of 1.75 per game (that ranks second nationally). Matteo is the one responsible for protection calls and blocking assignments so he’ll need to make sure Cash is accounted for up front.
Duke quarterback Thomas Sirk vs. Virginia linebacker Micah Kiser. Sirk, who is expected back from injury this week, leads Duke in rushing and passing yards – he’s one of just five Power 5 quarterbacks to lead his team in both categories. Sirk has 555 yards rushing (4.9 per carry) on a team-high 113 carries despite missing a game. He also has thrown for 1,979 yards and 12 touchdowns (5 INTs) with a 58.7% completion rate. At one point this season, he went 178 passes in a row without a pick. Duke is 5-1 in games where Sirk didn’t throw an INT. Kiser will have at least some of the duties in keeping Sirk in check in the run game as UVA’s second-leading tackler. Kiser has 90 stops on the year.
Virginia receiver Canaan Severin vs. Duke safety DeVon Edwards. The Blue Devils often have a trio of safeties on the field in a 4-2-5 scheme, which can open up zones for receivers to exploit. As fans saw last week, Severin is very good at finding those spots to get open. He could be in line for another big game if quarterback Matt Johns can get the ball between defenders and between levels regularly. Edwards will be one of the safeties trying to prevent those throws as will corner Breon Borders, who leads Duke with 7 pass break-ups.
Kris’ Keys
1. Key on the QB. As mentioned above, Duke quarterback Thomas Sirk is a big running threat and at least some of that comes of read option concepts. Mobile QBs have given Jon Tenuta’s defense problems and Sirk is capable of joining that list. He’s a touchdown threat on carries as Duke’s leader in rushing touchdowns with 5.
2. Attack the seams. The Blue Devils mix defenses, but play a lot of downs in a 4-2-5 defense that features three safeties. This variation of nickel defense often leaves openings between the hash marks if teams can slide a receiver in that area and execute the throws against the zone looks. Miles Gooch worked that area some last season and ended up with 129 yards receiving.
3. Third down defense. Duke enters the game ranked 32nd nationally in third down conversion offense at 44.4%, while UVA’s defense is ranked 63rd in allowing 38.1% If the Blue Devils can move the chains, they could control the tempo and possibly the outcome.
The Pick
Virginia can win if … it wins the red zone touchdown battle. Both teams struggled to convert trips inside the 20 into touchdowns with Duke ranked 109th nationally at 51.16% and Virginia next at 110th and 50%. Best success in red zone wins?
Virginia can lose if … it can’t slow down receiver screens. Duke neutralizes pass rushes by getting the ball out of the pocket quickly, which includes some of the receiver screens so popular in spread football. The Cavaliers will need to make the right reads and make clean tackles to keep the Blue Devils from rolling up yards on those simple throws.
And the winner is … Virginia. I feel like the Hoos have one win left in the tank this season and I can’t see picking them against the rival Hokies with the way that series has gone lately. The Blue Devils appear to be reeling and aren’t the same team of the last two seasons. UVA 27, Duke 24. 2015 record to date: 8-2.
