After dropping a tough one at Miami last Friday night and losing their senior All-American captain to a season-ending injury, the Cavaliers are back at home tomorrow when UVa hosts Duke (3:30 p.m., ACCN).

Virginia (4-2, 2-1 ACC) still controls its own destiny in the Coastal Division but the loss to the Canes leaves the Hoos a little more vulnerable. Had they won that, tomorrow’s matchup with Duke would’ve served an even bigger function. But now, given that both of these teams have the same record, it becomes something akin to a must-win if UVa is going to make things easy in the division.

David Cutcliffe and the Blue Devils, who have an identical record, are hoping to break a four-game losing streak to UVa. And that would make sense in this topsy-turvy series, as Duke has won six of the last 11 despite Virginia’s recent dominance.

Duke Blue Devils (4-2, 2-1 ACC)

Head coach: David Cutcliffe, 18th season (115-103 overall, 71-74 In 12 years at Duke)

Series: UVa leads the all-time series 37-33.

Last Meeting: The Cavaliers beat the Devils 28-14 last year In Durham.

-- Cutcliffe is known for putting together successful offenses year after year, and his 2019 team is no different. Through six games, the Blue Devils are averaging 34.2 points per game. The only game where Duke was held under 30 was the 42-3 loss to Alabama to open the season, which is understandable given the talent disparity between those two programs. In fact, Duke has scored 40 points or more in all of its wins and lost both of the games where the team failed to reach 40 points. The level of competition since beating Alabama isn’t as impressive as the group of teams that Virginia has faced, but the production is impressive nonetheless. Duke made some significant tweaks to the offense this season, incorporating a lot more option looks and quarterback runs than we’re accustomed to seeing. The Blue Devils have been above average in the red zone (22-of-24 with touchdowns on two thirds of their drives), and an impressive 11-for-15 on 4th-down attempts. They are 15th nationally in 4th-down attempts and second nationally in total conversions.

-- The big change for Duke this season came at quarterback, with the Blue Devils forced to replace three-year starter Daniel Jones, now with the New York Giants. The Devils had senior Quentin Harris waiting in the wings and an injury to Jones last year afforded Harris some valuable experience as the starting quarterback. He showed plenty of promise, throwing for seven touchdowns and just one interception while Jones was out, and he has done a nice job leading the Duke offense as the full-time starter this year. Through half the season, Harris has thrown for 1,183 yards in Duke’s run-heavy offense with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions. Harris shined in the four wins, with 230 passing yards per game, 10 TDs, and no picks. And in the two losses, both against excellent defenses, he threw for 131 yards per game, completing just 30 of his 65 attempts, with a touchdown and all four INTs. Harris has been a big threat with his legs as well, rushing 83 times for 380 yards and five scores, including a pair of 100-yard rushing performances, coming against Middle Tennessee State and Virginia Tech in consecutive weeks.

-- Duke doesn’t usually have the top end skill talent around its quarterback that many of the other teams in the Coastal have annually but the Blue Devils have enough this year to compliment Harris and make the offense work. Unfortunately the Blue Devils lost running back Brittain Brown for the season, after he rushed 12 times for 56 yards over three games. But junior Deon Jackson is more than capable of carrying the load and has rushed 93 times for 361 yards and fives TDs. He is complemented by sophomore Mataeo Durant, who has 56 carries for 219 yards and a score this year. With Durant and Jackson, and Harris keeping the ball often on quarterback runs, there is plenty for the Cavalier defense to worry about in the running game. At receiver, Duke has been boosted by the performance of freshman wide receiver Jalon Calhoun. The Greenville (SC) native leads Duke in receptions (27), yards (254), and touchdown receptions (three). He, senior receiver Aaron Young, and junior tight end Noah Gray will be looking to test Virginia’s young secondary.

-- Duke runs a 4-2-5 with three safeties starting on the depth chart. The Blue Devils are one of three programs to be in the top half of the ACC in both scoring offense and scoring defense this season (the other two being Clemson and Miami). They are allowing 23.2 points and just 16 points per game in their four wins. Duke has been stout against the run, allowing just four rushing touchdowns to this point. The Devils have also created nine turnovers on the season, with three interceptions and six fumble recoveries. Four of those nine turnovers came in the 33-30 loss to Pitt. Duke didn’t create a lot of turnovers last season (just four interceptions), but when it happened, the Blue Devils found success. In each of their five losses last year, the defense didn’t create a turnover and in all but one of their victories they did. They have had two games this year in which they didn’t force a turnover but won both (Middle Tennessee State and Georgia Tech).

-- Up front, Duke has talented players who have had a great deal of success against the run and getting after opposing quarterbacks. Arguably the most notable in the front seven is defensive end Victor Dimukeje, who is coming off of a big outing last week against Georgia Tech. Dimukeje recorded three sacks and was named ACC Defensive Lineman of the week for his efforts in the blowout win over the Jackets. His six tackles for loss (22.5 career TFLs) is tied for the most on the team with linebacker Koby Quansah, who has done a nice job for the Blue Devils at the second level. Quansah, a senior, has recorded a team-high 59 tackles, nearly 10 per contest. He has reached double-digit tackles on four occasions this year, and in each of Duke’s last three games.

-- While the Blue Devils haven’t forced INTs they do have one of the more talented and experienced secondaries in the conference. Their five starting defensive backs have all played more than 1,000 career snaps heading into Saturday’s contest at Scott Stadium and several of them were counted on to step in for injured defensive backs last year. Senior safety Dylan Singleton is the most experienced player in the secondary, with 41 games played and 18 career starts. Singleton is third on the defense in tackles with 41 and leads the defense in solo stops with 24. Of Duke’s three team interceptions, two were forced by members of the secondary. Cornerback Leonard Johnson forced his takeaway in the second half of the blowout win over Virginia Tech, and safety Marquis Waters recorded his pick in the loss to Pittsburgh.