CHARLOTTESVILLE — Though it took the Cavaliers until the fourth quarter to take the lead for good, UVa eventually did just that, capping a 10-play, 94-yard drive with the first of two touchdowns from Brennan Armstrong to Lavel Davis on the way to a 38-20 win over Duke.
The Wahoos (1-0, 1-0 ACC) made plenty of mistakes in their opener, starting on the first play of the game when Tavares Kelly fumbled the opening kickoff. But after Virginia—and specifically Armstrong—got settled, the Cavaliers got rolling.
In his first career start, the redshirt sophomore went 24 for 45 for 269 yards with both two TDs and two picks. He and the offense were aided by 188 yards rushing, as Wayne Taulapapa and Shane Simpson carried it a combined 26 times for 95 yards and 47, respectively. Taulapapa, the junior vet, added two TDs in the victory.
Davis, meanwhile, shined in his first college game. The 6-foot-7 receiver, who was targeted nine times on the day, caught four passes for 101 yards to go with his pair of scores.
The story of the game, outside of the emergence of Davis, was UVa’s defense. The Cavaliers forced seven Blue Devil turnovers, including four interceptions by quarterback Chase Brice. The former Clemson signal caller finished the day 16-for-36 passing for 246 yards and a pair of TDs for Duke (0-3, 0-3 ACC).
In all, four UVa defensive backs intercepted passes including D’Angelo Amos, Joey Blount, Nick Grant, and Brenton Nelson, who had two.
The Wahoos were led by their middle linebackers, as Zane Zandier had a game-high 15 tackles while fellow ILB Nick Jackson added 12. UVa combined for five sacks and 11 TFLs.
Though the Cavalier offense wasn’t consistent, they put together touchdown drives of 75, 53, 94, 49, and 10 and made the biggest plays late.
That really came down to Davis, who caught his first pass in the second quarter and didn’t catch his second until the fourth. The 39-yard gain set UVa up at the Duke 18, where Armstrong then hit Davis again for the score with 12:33 left to play. After Blount picked off Brice on the ensuing drive, it only took the Wahoos four plays before Armstrong and Davis connected again, this time on a 26-yard strike that put Virginia up 11.
JOIN CAVSCORNER TODAY!
If you are not already a member of CavsCorner, come join us and see what all of the buzz is about.
Click HERE to subscribe and get all of the latest news and join hundreds of other UVa fans in talking about Cavalier football, basketball, and recruiting. You won't be disappointed!