Virginia is making a defensive about-face this week, going from preparing for the ACC team that runs the ball best to the one that throws it most.
The Cavaliers (3-4, 2-1 ACC) didn’t fare too well in their 34-9 home loss to No. 11 Georgia Tech last week. While they have won 17 of their last 20 meetings with Duke, these pass-happy Blue Devils bear little resemblance to those weak teams of the past two decades.
Or even to the one that last year forced five second-half turnovers and ended a 25-game winless streak against conference teams with a 31-3 embarrassment of the Cavaliers.
Behind Thaddeus Lewis, Duke (4-3, 2-1) is sixth in the nation with an average of 323 passing yards. Lewis completes 64 percent and has 14 touchdowns and three interceptions.
Virginia coach Al Groh said Lewis’ confidence is readily apparent, even on film, and he described his 40-for-50, 459-yard, five-touchdown performance against N.C. State in late September as “probably the greatest performance that anybody’s ever coached.”
The reason for the comfort level, Groh surmised, is simple.
“He is with a coach that really knows the offense, and he is in his second year with it, and he has really elevated his performance,” Groh said of the four-year starter.
Offense isn’t the only thing improving for Duke under coach David Cutcliffe. The Blue Devils have won twice on the road - at Army and N.C. State - and their 17-13 victory against Maryland last weekend gave them consecutive ACC triumphs for the first time since 1994.
“I think it’s a great confidence boost for this football team, knowing that we can go on the road and win,” Lewis said. “We just know what we have to do.”
Lewis has thrown for 396 yards a game in conference play, with nine touchdowns and just one interception. His targets include three of the ACC’s leading receivers in Austin Kelly (5.6 catches per game, three TDs), Conner Vernon (5.2, two TDs) and Donovan Varner (5.0, five TDs).
At Scott Stadium, he doesn’t expect Virginia to make things easy.
“They could drop eight back and force us to run the ball, try to take away all the passing lanes,” he said. “This’ll probably be the best secondary we face all season.”
If any team can give Lewis and Co. trouble, Virginia is a good candidate.
The Cavaliers, who had won three in a row before losing to the Yellow Jackets, have the fifth-stingiest pass defense in the country. They have allowed just 151 yards a game, relying on 6-foot-2 cornerbacks Chris Cook and Ras-I Dowling.
Groh would love for his front line to apply some pressure, too, but the Cavaliers have managed only 10 sacks this season. Lewis has been sacked just 14 times.
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