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Game Notes: Virginia
9/21/2020 3:15:00 PM | Football
DURHAM, N.C. – Duke travels to Virginia on Saturday for its third contest of the 2020 season.
Kickoff between the Blue Devils and Cavaliers is set for 4 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on the ACC Network.
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Saturday will mark the third time this year the Blue Devils have faced an opponent for their season-opening game ... Duke and Notre Dame both opened the season Sept. 12, while Boston College opened its season against Duke last weekend.Â
Saturday's ACCN broadcast will feature Chris Cotter, Mark Herzlich, and Eric Wood on the call. The game can also be heard on the Blue Devils IMG Sports Network through the TuneIn app or goduke.com
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HOW TO FOLLOW
Duke (0-2, 0-2 ACC) vs. Virginia (0-0, 9-5 in 2019)
Saturday, September 26, 2020 • 4:00 PM
Charlottesville, Va. • David A. Harrison III Field at Scott Stadium
TELEVISION • ACCN
RADIO • Blue Devils IMG Sports Network
GAME NOTES • Duke Notes • Virginia Notes
LIVE STATS • VirginiaSports.com
TWITTER • @DukeFOOTBALL
GAME NOTES
Virginia currently holds a 38-33 edge in the all-time series ... Duke will be making its second consecutive trip to Charlottesville on Saturday, marking the first time since 1976-77 (1976: W, 21-6; 1977: W, 31-7) it has done so ... these two schools have faced off every year for 58 straight years.
The Blue Devils opened their home slate last Saturday, falling to Boston College, 26-6 ... at the break, the Eagles held a 7-6 advantage but scored 19 unanswered points in the second half to secure the win ... the Blue Devils were plagued by five turnover but CB Mark Gilbert picked off Phil Jurkovec for his seventh career interception ... DE Victor Dimukeje added a career-high 3.5 sacks to tie teammate Chris Rumph II for the second highest single-game total in Duke history.
The Blue Devils have started the year 0-2 for the first time since 2011 when they dropped back-to-back contests to Richmond and Stanford ... during that nine-year span, Duke has gone 13-5 in its first two games of the year.
GRAY FINDING HIS GROOVE
Senior TE Noah Gray led all ACC tight ends and ranked second among Power 5 TEs with 51 receptions last year, his first as a full-time starter ... this season, he has picked up right where he left off ... in Duke's opening two games, Gray has led the Blue Devils in receptions with five versus both Notre Dame & Boston College ... he has compiled 129 yards to shift his career numbers to 86 receptions for 792 yards and six TDs ... the 86 catches rank tied for fifth all-time in Duke's career receptions by a tight end with Mike Hart ... Gray is 12 grabs shy of matching Stan Crisson's school record of 98 ... the Leominister, Mass., native has not missed a game since arriving at Duke prior to the 2017 season, has recorded 20+ receiving yards in 17 games throughout his career, and last Saturday recorded his 14th consecutive game with 2+ receptions.Â
QB1 EMBRACES NEW TEAM, NEW ROLL
After making his first collegiate start against then No. 10 Notre Dame in Duke's opener, Chase Brice has throw for 200+ yards in both of his outings as a Blue Devil ... he became the first Duke QB to register 200+ passing yards in back-to-back ACC contests since Daniel Jones did so in four consecutive games from Sept. 29 - Oct. 27 in 2018 ... Brice also has registered six passes of 20+ yards, including a season-best 55-yard completion to WR Eli Pancol ... of those six, he has targeted four different receivers in Pancol, Jalon Calhoun, Noah Gray and Dennis Smith.Â
YOUTHFUL WR UNIT
The wide receivers group, led by assistant head coach Trooper Taylor, brings a youthful look in 2020 as the unit boasts zero seniors ... junior Jake Bobo, sophomore Jalon Calhoun and redshirt junior Damond Philyaw-Johnson have been tabbed Duke's starting three in the Blue Devils' first two games this year ... Calhoun tied with senior TE Noah Gray for a team-high five receptions in Duke's opener, while Bobo matched with Gray with a team-best five catches during last Saturday's contest with Boston College ... Bobo finished the game against the Eagles with career-highs in both receptions and yards (50) ... redshirt sophomore WR Dennis Smith also tallied career-highs last weekend with three receptions for 45 yards.Â
INCREASING OUR TARGETS
During last Saturday's game against the Eagles, Duke's top four receivers in TE Noah Gray, WR Jake Bobo, WR Dennis Smith and WR Damond Philyaw-Johnson compiled to register 183 yards on 16 catches, including two receptions for 20+ yards ... Brice also found 10 different Blue Devils for a reception during that contest, which was the most in a single game since the 2019 home opener against North Carolina A&T.
TO THE HOUSE
Junior RB Mataeo Durant broke free for a 49-yard touchdown run against Boston College last Saturday ... that score was his second career rushing TD and third overall ... the 49-yard scamper was Duke's longest rushing touchdown since fellow RB Deon Jackson scored on a 75-yard jaunt at Miami in 2018 ... Durant finished last Saturday's contest with 59 yards, marking his fifth career game with 50+ rushing yards.Â
JERSEY CHANGE
The defensive line has implemented a new "reward" after top performances and it comes in the form of a new jersey number ... co-defensive coordinator Ben Albert introduced last week the team's first Defensive Lineman of the Week nods to Drew Jordan and Ben Frye after their performances at Notre Dame in Duke's opener ... for those strong outings, Jordan wore No. 2 (normally No. 86) and Frye No. 3 (normally No. 93) against the Eagles.
RETURN FOR GILBERT
Despite missing nearly two years due to a hip injury suffered at Northwestern on Sept. 9, 2018, CB Mark Gilbert has quickly found his rhythm again in Duke's opening two games ... in his first contest back in 734 days, Gilbert tied for a team-leading seven tackles at Notre Dame... last Saturday, the decorated veteran posted his seventh career interception, marking his first pick since securing a pair against Wake Forest on Nov. 25, 2017 ... in 2017, Gilbert led Duke with six interceptions.
TACKLES FOR LOSS
In 2019, Duke had five players register six or more tackles for loss, led by DE Chris Rumph II who recorded a team-best 13.5 ... DE Victor Dimukeje and LB Shaka Heyward are the other two returning players on the list with 9.5 and 6.5 TFL, respectively ... Rumph II ranked eighth in the ACC with his 13.5 TFL ... in 2020, Dimukeje and Heyward have already recorded multiple TFL with 3.5 and 2.0, respectively, while redshirt sophomore LB Rocky Shelton II joins the duo with 2.5 of his own ... five other Blue Devils have registered at least 1+ TFL, including Rumph II.
YOUTH AT LINEBACKER
Duke's depth chart at linebacker is a youthful one as the unit is comprised of two redshirt sophomores, one redshirt freshman and two true freshmen ... redshirt sophomore Shaka Heyward, who started six games last season, is the most experienced returning LB for the Blue Devils ... in two games so far in 2020, Heyward is 10th in the ACC with 17 tackles ... during Duke's game against Boston College, Heyward posted a game-high 10 tackles, marking the fourth double digit tackle game of his career ... all four of those performances have come in his last seven outings, while in all seven he's tallied at least 5+ tackles ... for his career (18 games), Heyward has 86 tackles, 8.5 TFL, 4.5 sacks, one INT, two fumble recoveries and four QB pressures.
NO FLY ZONE
Duke accumulated nine interceptions last season and the Blue Devils are looking to continue that trend in 2020 ... so far this year, Duke has registered one pick in each of its games, marking the first time it has done so in back-to-back outing since recording INTs in three consecutive games in 2019 (Virginia, North Carolina & Notre Dame) ... in seven of the last eight seasons, Duke has earned at least 9+ INTs, with its lone blip on the radar being the 2018 season (4) ... during that stretch, the Blue Devils recorded six years with double digit picks, including an impressive 18 in 2013.Â
DIMUKEJE LEAVING HIS MARK
Senior Victor Dimukeje, who's played 2,178 career snaps, owns 25 games with 3+ tackles and nine outings with 5+ stops, including a career-high eight tackles against Wake Forest in 2019 ... last Saturday against Boston College, the Baltimore, Md., native tallied 3.5 sacks to match Chris Rumph II for the second-most in program history for a single game ... Rumph II achieved his 3.5-sack performance against Miami in 2019 ... Dimukeje's 3.5 season sacks leads the ACC and is tied for 1st nationally ... for his career, Dimukeje has four games with at 2.0+ sacks and currently sits third all-time with 17.5 ... he is 4.5 sacks away from Charles Bowser's all-time school record of 22.0 ... the defensive end also sits four TFL shy of cracking into Duke's career top-10 list.
#GoDuke
Kickoff between the Blue Devils and Cavaliers is set for 4 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on the ACC Network.
Â
Saturday will mark the third time this year the Blue Devils have faced an opponent for their season-opening game ... Duke and Notre Dame both opened the season Sept. 12, while Boston College opened its season against Duke last weekend.Â
Saturday's ACCN broadcast will feature Chris Cotter, Mark Herzlich, and Eric Wood on the call. The game can also be heard on the Blue Devils IMG Sports Network through the TuneIn app or goduke.com
Â
HOW TO FOLLOW
Duke (0-2, 0-2 ACC) vs. Virginia (0-0, 9-5 in 2019)
Saturday, September 26, 2020 • 4:00 PM
Charlottesville, Va. • David A. Harrison III Field at Scott Stadium
TELEVISION • ACCN
RADIO • Blue Devils IMG Sports Network
GAME NOTES • Duke Notes • Virginia Notes
LIVE STATS • VirginiaSports.com
TWITTER • @DukeFOOTBALL
GAME NOTES
Virginia currently holds a 38-33 edge in the all-time series ... Duke will be making its second consecutive trip to Charlottesville on Saturday, marking the first time since 1976-77 (1976: W, 21-6; 1977: W, 31-7) it has done so ... these two schools have faced off every year for 58 straight years.
The Blue Devils opened their home slate last Saturday, falling to Boston College, 26-6 ... at the break, the Eagles held a 7-6 advantage but scored 19 unanswered points in the second half to secure the win ... the Blue Devils were plagued by five turnover but CB Mark Gilbert picked off Phil Jurkovec for his seventh career interception ... DE Victor Dimukeje added a career-high 3.5 sacks to tie teammate Chris Rumph II for the second highest single-game total in Duke history.
The Blue Devils have started the year 0-2 for the first time since 2011 when they dropped back-to-back contests to Richmond and Stanford ... during that nine-year span, Duke has gone 13-5 in its first two games of the year.
GRAY FINDING HIS GROOVE
Senior TE Noah Gray led all ACC tight ends and ranked second among Power 5 TEs with 51 receptions last year, his first as a full-time starter ... this season, he has picked up right where he left off ... in Duke's opening two games, Gray has led the Blue Devils in receptions with five versus both Notre Dame & Boston College ... he has compiled 129 yards to shift his career numbers to 86 receptions for 792 yards and six TDs ... the 86 catches rank tied for fifth all-time in Duke's career receptions by a tight end with Mike Hart ... Gray is 12 grabs shy of matching Stan Crisson's school record of 98 ... the Leominister, Mass., native has not missed a game since arriving at Duke prior to the 2017 season, has recorded 20+ receiving yards in 17 games throughout his career, and last Saturday recorded his 14th consecutive game with 2+ receptions.Â
QB1 EMBRACES NEW TEAM, NEW ROLL
After making his first collegiate start against then No. 10 Notre Dame in Duke's opener, Chase Brice has throw for 200+ yards in both of his outings as a Blue Devil ... he became the first Duke QB to register 200+ passing yards in back-to-back ACC contests since Daniel Jones did so in four consecutive games from Sept. 29 - Oct. 27 in 2018 ... Brice also has registered six passes of 20+ yards, including a season-best 55-yard completion to WR Eli Pancol ... of those six, he has targeted four different receivers in Pancol, Jalon Calhoun, Noah Gray and Dennis Smith.Â
YOUTHFUL WR UNIT
The wide receivers group, led by assistant head coach Trooper Taylor, brings a youthful look in 2020 as the unit boasts zero seniors ... junior Jake Bobo, sophomore Jalon Calhoun and redshirt junior Damond Philyaw-Johnson have been tabbed Duke's starting three in the Blue Devils' first two games this year ... Calhoun tied with senior TE Noah Gray for a team-high five receptions in Duke's opener, while Bobo matched with Gray with a team-best five catches during last Saturday's contest with Boston College ... Bobo finished the game against the Eagles with career-highs in both receptions and yards (50) ... redshirt sophomore WR Dennis Smith also tallied career-highs last weekend with three receptions for 45 yards.Â
INCREASING OUR TARGETS
During last Saturday's game against the Eagles, Duke's top four receivers in TE Noah Gray, WR Jake Bobo, WR Dennis Smith and WR Damond Philyaw-Johnson compiled to register 183 yards on 16 catches, including two receptions for 20+ yards ... Brice also found 10 different Blue Devils for a reception during that contest, which was the most in a single game since the 2019 home opener against North Carolina A&T.
TO THE HOUSE
Junior RB Mataeo Durant broke free for a 49-yard touchdown run against Boston College last Saturday ... that score was his second career rushing TD and third overall ... the 49-yard scamper was Duke's longest rushing touchdown since fellow RB Deon Jackson scored on a 75-yard jaunt at Miami in 2018 ... Durant finished last Saturday's contest with 59 yards, marking his fifth career game with 50+ rushing yards.Â
JERSEY CHANGE
The defensive line has implemented a new "reward" after top performances and it comes in the form of a new jersey number ... co-defensive coordinator Ben Albert introduced last week the team's first Defensive Lineman of the Week nods to Drew Jordan and Ben Frye after their performances at Notre Dame in Duke's opener ... for those strong outings, Jordan wore No. 2 (normally No. 86) and Frye No. 3 (normally No. 93) against the Eagles.
RETURN FOR GILBERT
Despite missing nearly two years due to a hip injury suffered at Northwestern on Sept. 9, 2018, CB Mark Gilbert has quickly found his rhythm again in Duke's opening two games ... in his first contest back in 734 days, Gilbert tied for a team-leading seven tackles at Notre Dame... last Saturday, the decorated veteran posted his seventh career interception, marking his first pick since securing a pair against Wake Forest on Nov. 25, 2017 ... in 2017, Gilbert led Duke with six interceptions.
TACKLES FOR LOSS
In 2019, Duke had five players register six or more tackles for loss, led by DE Chris Rumph II who recorded a team-best 13.5 ... DE Victor Dimukeje and LB Shaka Heyward are the other two returning players on the list with 9.5 and 6.5 TFL, respectively ... Rumph II ranked eighth in the ACC with his 13.5 TFL ... in 2020, Dimukeje and Heyward have already recorded multiple TFL with 3.5 and 2.0, respectively, while redshirt sophomore LB Rocky Shelton II joins the duo with 2.5 of his own ... five other Blue Devils have registered at least 1+ TFL, including Rumph II.
YOUTH AT LINEBACKER
Duke's depth chart at linebacker is a youthful one as the unit is comprised of two redshirt sophomores, one redshirt freshman and two true freshmen ... redshirt sophomore Shaka Heyward, who started six games last season, is the most experienced returning LB for the Blue Devils ... in two games so far in 2020, Heyward is 10th in the ACC with 17 tackles ... during Duke's game against Boston College, Heyward posted a game-high 10 tackles, marking the fourth double digit tackle game of his career ... all four of those performances have come in his last seven outings, while in all seven he's tallied at least 5+ tackles ... for his career (18 games), Heyward has 86 tackles, 8.5 TFL, 4.5 sacks, one INT, two fumble recoveries and four QB pressures.
NO FLY ZONE
Duke accumulated nine interceptions last season and the Blue Devils are looking to continue that trend in 2020 ... so far this year, Duke has registered one pick in each of its games, marking the first time it has done so in back-to-back outing since recording INTs in three consecutive games in 2019 (Virginia, North Carolina & Notre Dame) ... in seven of the last eight seasons, Duke has earned at least 9+ INTs, with its lone blip on the radar being the 2018 season (4) ... during that stretch, the Blue Devils recorded six years with double digit picks, including an impressive 18 in 2013.Â
DIMUKEJE LEAVING HIS MARK
Senior Victor Dimukeje, who's played 2,178 career snaps, owns 25 games with 3+ tackles and nine outings with 5+ stops, including a career-high eight tackles against Wake Forest in 2019 ... last Saturday against Boston College, the Baltimore, Md., native tallied 3.5 sacks to match Chris Rumph II for the second-most in program history for a single game ... Rumph II achieved his 3.5-sack performance against Miami in 2019 ... Dimukeje's 3.5 season sacks leads the ACC and is tied for 1st nationally ... for his career, Dimukeje has four games with at 2.0+ sacks and currently sits third all-time with 17.5 ... he is 4.5 sacks away from Charles Bowser's all-time school record of 22.0 ... the defensive end also sits four TFL shy of cracking into Duke's career top-10 list.
#GoDuke
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