Notes: Duke 28, Virginia 17

10/31/2009 8:00:00 PM | Football

By: Duke Sports Information

Duke vs. Virginia Notes
Saturday, October 31, 2009

Pregame:

Game captains: Duke - Leon Wright, Jay Hollingsworth, Kinney Rucker, Austin Kelly
Virginia - Chris Cook, Vic Hall, Will Barker, Nate Collins

Virginia won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. The Blue Devils will receive and defend the north end zone.

Weather at kickoff: 68 degrees, cloudy, 82-percent humidity, wind S at 16 mph

Duke Game Starters: Offense - QB Thaddeus Lewis, RB Jay Hollingsworth, WR Johnny Williams, WR Donovan Varner, WR Conner Vernon, TE Brett Huffman, LT Kyle Hill, LG Mitchell Lederman, C Bryan Morgan, RG Brian Moore, RT Jarrod Holt; Defense - LDE Patrick Egboh, DT Vince Oghobaase, NG Charlie Hatcher, RDE Ayanga Okpokowuruk, SLB Adam Banks, MLB Vincent Rey, WLB Damian Thornton, CB Leon Wright, CB Chris Rwabukamba, LS Catron Gainey, RS Matt Daniels.

Duke 28, Virginia 17

Blue Devils With Three Straight Wins
Duke has won each of its last three games, all against conference opponents. The last time the Blue Devils won three straight games was 1994, which was also the last time they won three straight in league play. The win was the third on the road this season, also the most since 1994. The two ACC road wins are the most since 1999.

Opening Drive
The Blue Devils drove 60 yards in 11 plays on its opening drive, capping it off with a 44-yard field goal by Will Snyderwine. Duke has scored on its first offensive possession in four of the last six games.

Lewis First Duke Player With Four Straight 2,000-Yard Seasons
Senior quarterback Thaddeus Lewis became the first player in Duke history and just the third ACC player to throw for over 2,000 yards in four consecutive seasons. Lewis joins Philip Rivers of N.C. State and Riley Skinner of Wake Forest.

9,000 Career Passing Yards
Lewis posted 343 passing yards to become the seventh player in ACC history and third Duke player with 9,000 career passing yards. The 343 yards give him 9,050 in his career, moving him up four spots all-time in the ACC to sixth place. He passes Spence Fischer to climb into second all-time at Duke.

300-Yard Game
Lewis went over 300 passing yards for the ninth time in his career and fifth time this season with 343 yards against Virginia. He has thrown for at least 300 yards in four straight games. His nine 300-yard games rank tied for second most in school history with Ben Bennett. His five 300-yard games this season are also the second most at Duke.

Two 100-Yard Receivers
For the second straight week both Donovan Varner and Conner Vernon recorded over 100 receiving yards. Varner finished with seven catches for 113 yards, his third straight game with over 100 receiving yards. He is averaging 129 yards per game the last three contests. Vernon tallied seven grabs for 103 yards and one touchdown. He has three 100-yard receiving games in his first season. Duke only had three 100-yard receiving games by freshmen all-time entering the season.

Vernon Sets Freshman Record
True freshman Conner Vernon became Duke's all-time leader in receptions by a freshman Saturday. His seven catches give him 38 on the year, passing Corey Thomas' record of 37 set in 1994. Vernon also moved into second place in receiving yards with 562, passing Thomas. His touchdown gave him three on the year, tied for fourth most by a freshman.

Blue Devils Hold Virginia Under 200 Yards
Duke limited Virginia to 196 yards of total offense. It is the second time this season the Blue Devils allowed less than 200 yards. They held N.C. Central to 181 yards. The last two weeks Duke has allowed only 222.5 yards per game.

Defense Strong Out of the Gate
The Duke defense allowed just one yard of total offense in the first quarter, holding Virginia to a three-and-out on the first drive and intercepting a pass on the third play of the second drive. Duke outgained Virginia 112-1 in total offense in the first quarter and held a 13:26 to 1:24 edge in time of possession.

Oghobaase Moves Up Career Sack List
Senior defensive tackle Vince Oghobaase posted his 13th career sack to move into a tie with Ryan Fowler and James Kirkland for fifth all-time at Duke. Oghobaase has 1.5 sacks this season.

Duke Notches Three Sacks
The Blue Devils tallied three sacks in the game. Vince Oghobaase recorded his 13th career sack and has 1.5 on the season. Ayanga Okpokowuruk forced a fumble and recorded his third sack of the season and seventh of his career. Jeremy Ringfield tallied his second career sack.

Hatcher Scores First Career Touchdown
Redshirt sophomore Charlie Hatcher scored his first career touchdown on a seven-yard fumble return in the fourth quarter. The fumble return for a score was the third of the year for the Blue Devils and 16h all-time at Duke.

Wright Gets Fourth Interception
Senior cornerback Leon Wright recorded his fourth interception of the season in the first quarter and ninth of his career. The nine interceptions are tied for seventh most in a career in school history.

Wright On Top 10 For Interception Yards In Season
Wright's 32-yard interception return gives him 116 return yards on the season, which ranks eighth on Duke's single season list.

Wright In Top 10 For Pass Breakups
Wright had one pass breakup to move into a tie for 10th on Duke's career pass breakups list with 18. Wright has six pass breakups on the season.

Rey Records Double Digit Tackles
With 10 tackles, senior linebacker Vincent Rey has now posted three games of 10 or more tackles on the season. He now has 15 career double digit tackle performances.

Snyderwine Extends Field Goal Streak
With five made field goals, Snyderwine has now made 11 straight field goal attempts since missing his first career attempt. He connected on attempts of 44, 28, 34, 25 and 43 yards. He is now 7-of-7 on attempts of 30 or more yards in his career.

Snyderwine Sets Career High
The five made field goals by Snyderwine are tied for the second most in a single game in Duke history with Doug Peterson who made five against Maryland in 1997. Snyderwine's previous best was a 4-for-4 performance against Virginia Tech.

Attendance: 41,713