CHARLOTTESVILLE | Thaddeus Lewis and his Duke teammates don’t know if opponents are starting to believe that the rumors of the Blue Devils’ vast improvement are true.
He doesn’t care either.
Lewis threw for 343 yards and hit Conner Vernon for a 42-yard touchdown with 3:45 to play Saturday as Duke rallied for its third consecutive victory, a 28-17 win against Virginia.
“We just know what we have,” Lewis said.
What the Blue Devils had at Virginia was a dynamic passing game led by Lewis, a four-year starter who shook off six sacks and made the big throws when his team needed them.
“That route was open all day,” Lewis said of the go-ahead score. “[Receiver Donovan Varner] did a great job of carrying the first guy, and then I saw the window open up for Conner.”
The play gave the Blue Devils (5-3, 3-1 ACC) an 18-17 lead. They essentially sealed it 23 seconds later when Ayanga Okpokowuruk forced Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell to fumble; Charlie Hatcher recovered and took it 7 yards into the end zone.
“We’re having fun right now,” Okpokowuruk said. “We’re enjoying every minute of it.”
Will Snyderwine made five field goals for the Blue Devils as they won their third game in a row - all in ACC play. It’s their first three-game winning streak since the 1994 season.
The victory also kept Duke in the thick of the Coastal Division race, with a game against No. 11 Georgia Tech, the division leader, looming Nov. 14 in Durham, N.C. But Lewis said the Blue Devils don’t care to look that far ahead, especially not with a game against in-state rival North Carolina coming Saturday.
“We’re going to let everyone talk, and we’re just going to continue with the plan that we have of taking it one by one, taking it a game at a time,” Lewis said.
Virginia (3-5, 2-2) lost its second in a row as its pass defense, ranked fifth in the nation coming in, was unable to slow the sixth-best passing attack in the country.
“It’s something I thought we were ready for, but you have to tip your hat to them,” said defensive end Nate Collins, who had 10 tackles and two of Virginia’s sacks. “They are good at what they do. We got to him a little bit early, but in the end it wasn’t enough.”
Lewis finished 24-for-40; Varner caught seven passes for 113 yards, Vernon had seven for 103 yards and four other receivers caught at least two passes.
Before Lewis and Vernon hooked up for the big play, the Cavaliers looked like they might pull off a somewhat dramatic victory of their own.
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