CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Riding a three-game losing streak to a 2-4 record, the 1995 Blue Devils (2-5, 0-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) went looking for some of the old Duke football magic in a place where it had never received any before--Charlottesville, Va. Despite having not won a game in Scott Stadium since 1981, when they squeaked by the Cavaliers 29-24, the Blue Devils came out like they owned the joint, amassing a 21-3 lead midway through the second quarter.
"In the first half, I think both the offense and the defense were clicking," wide receiver Marc Wilson said. "And that's what we need. But we obviously need to play two halves."
It was the second half that foiled Duke's bid for an upset over the then-19th-ranked Cavaliers (6-2, 5-1 in the ACC). Despite having the ball bounce their way in the first 30 minutes, the Blue Devils were outperformed in the second act as Virginia used its deep stables of talent to outscore Duke 31-6 after the break and walk away with a 44-30 win.
Momentum will be a key word when this game is described in future years. It is something that Duke had, but never quite kept a handle on. After running up the score to 21-3, Duke was ready to put the final nail in the coffin by making another big defensive stop on a third-and-nine from the Virginia 18-yard line. Things changed quickly, however, as wide receiver Demetrius Allen grabbed a 10-yard sideline route and turned it into an 82-yard touchdown that changed the game from a possible Duke runaway into a contest.
On the play, strong safety Tawambi Settles narrowly missed the ball as he cut in front of the receiver, and cornerback Desi Thomas came close, but couldn't catch Allen from behind. It was a mental mistake that gave the Cavaliers an opening that Duke could not quite close. The Blue Devils had several chances to get a win with this game, but mental and physical mistakes kept it from ever claiming victory.
"The first [big Virginia pass play] was when we were coming out of a man-to-man look," head coach Fred Goldsmith said. "We were bluffing and going into a zone, it had been good to us, but we didn't get out of the bluff quick enough."
After swapping field goals before the half, including a 45-yard rocket from Duke placekicker Tom Cochran, the Blue Devils had a 24-13 lead and received the ball to start the second half. With another chance to bury Virginia early in the game, Duke again faltered by committing two penalties and throwing an interception in four plays from scrimmage. The Spence Fischer interception led to a Virginia touchdown that started the second-half Cavalier onslaught.
"We felt pretty good," Fischer said about Duke's early lead. "We felt really good actually, coming here and being up 21-3 against a tough team. I don't know what to say about what happened. The momentum swung there. I think that my interception on the first possession of the third quarter that set up a score hurt. I thought that we had the momentum there, if we could just have knocked out a third down. It was third-and-long and I just tried to force it."
Although Fischer's three interceptions in the second half helped Virginia put the game away, Duke never would have been in the game to begin with if it weren't for Fischer and the passing game. Fischer had one of his most productive games in his third year as starting quarterback, finishing the game with 35 completions in 56 attempts for 360 yards and three touchdowns.
In addition to the short passing game, which has been Duke's only offense this year, Fischer and receivers Wilson and Corey Thomas opened the field up with a few longer passes. Wilson hauled in a 61-yard bomb to set up Duke's first touchdown, and Fischer later threw touchdown strikes of 35 and 29 yards.
"I don't know what Spence's stats were," Goldsmith said following the game Saturday. "I thought he did a heck of a job. It's just been tough trying to win this year.
"[The long pass] has been part of the plan all along. We go out there and practice that stuff. We hit them [today], I wished we had hit a couple more."
The third quarter of the game was where the long passing game was sorely missed, or any sort of passing game for that matter. Duke did not make a first down during the entire quarter and gained only seven yards of total offense. Compared to Virginia's 18 points in that pivotal quarter, it is easy to see where the Blue Devils lost this game. With Virginia's Mike Groh completing just 20-of-41 passes, it was up to running back Tiki Barber to jumpstart Virginia.
Barber gained 118 yards in the second half on 14 carries with one touchdown to accompany his three catches for 27 yards and another touchdown. His receiving touchdown turned out to be the winning points for UVa as he took a short swing pass and turned it into an 11-yard score, embarrassing half of the Duke defense on the way.
While a muddy field due to the constant rain may have slipped up a few of the Blue Devils, it did little to slow down Barber, who finished with 185 rushing yards on the day, making Duke look fundamentally weak throughout the game.
"I'm not sure we had him," Goldsmith said. "I remember one or two times I thought we were out of position for some cutbacks and things that were really critical, some of the same things that plagued us last week. It may have looked like [we missed some tackles], but he made some nice cuts."
On one positive note for the Blue Devils, after giving up 18 straight points, they didn't quit. On their first drive of the fourth quarter, the Blue Devils put together a 13-play, 80-yard drive that consisted of two third-down and one fourth-down conversions, along with a 35-yard passing strike to Thomas, one of his 13 catches on the day.
"I think that Corey coming back really helped," Fischer said. "Corey one-on-one with a defensive back is a battle that Corey is going to win nine times out of 10."
Thomas and Wilson did win most of their battles against the Virginia secondary, but they were called on a few too many times in the game. During the fourth quarter, Fisher rushed the ball four times for Duke's only rushing plays of the quarter. With such an ineffective running game (53 yards on 23 carries), Virginia loaded the secondary and just waited to make an aggressive play on a Fischer pass. Two of Duke's drives in the final minutes were halted due to interceptions.
"It's tough when you've got third-and-two and you've got to throw the ball," Fischer said. "But Virginia has a great interior line and they did some good things. They have some really good linebackers. We just had to take what they were giving us in the passing game."
While the Cavalier defense would bend but not break, the Blue Devil defense snapped like a toothpick in heavy winds. After allowing 583 yards of total offense (many coming off missed tackles or after receptions), Duke now ranks 108-out-of-108 NCAA Division I-A football teams in defense. At the end of the game, Duke could not come up with the big defensive stop when the team needed it. A four-play, 78-yard drive and a three-play, 44-yard drive in the fourth quarter served solely as insurance points, giving Virginia the final margin of 44-30.
"Being ranked 108th is not a good feeling," said defensive coordinator Jeff McInerney, during Monday's press conference. "We've got four games to get better and that's exactly what we're going to try to do."
The only thing the defense could muster was turnovers. Duke's first-half lead was built on 17 points from two interceptions, a fumble recovery and a poor punt. The ability to create points off of turnovers and opponents' mishaps is what made Duke such a formidable opponent last year. Unless it can find that magic for a full game, Duke will be in for an even longer set of games than it has experienced so far.
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