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Duke Football: Surging Blue Devils hosting confident Virginia

By Kevin Connelly

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - OCTOBER 7: Daniel Jones #17 of the Duke Blue Devils throws a pass during a game against the Virginia Cavaliers at Scott Stadium on October 7, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - OCTOBER 7: Daniel Jones #17 of the Duke Blue Devils throws a pass during a game against the Virginia Cavaliers at Scott Stadium on October 7, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images) /
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Duke Football hosts a surging Virginia Cavaliers team that is fresh off of an upset win over the Miami Hurricanes last weekend.

It’ll be a battle between two teams who are trying to cement their status in the ACC Coastal Division this Saturday afternoon at Wallace Wade Stadium as the Duke Blue Devils host the Virginia Cavaliers.

The Blue Devils are 5-1, with a 1-1 record in the ACC after a convincing win on the road against Georgia Tech last weekend while the Cavaliers are riding high after an upset win at home over then No. 16 Miami.

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The win put Virginia at 4-2 overall on the season and 2-1 within the ACC, along with wins over Richmond, Ohio, and Louisville while falling to Indiana and NC State, both on the road.

While Virginia isn’t a team that runs the triple option like Army or Georgia Tech, they do like to establish their run first offense behind running back Jordan Ellis who has rushed for 564 yards this season and seven touchdowns.

However, the Blue Devils defense cannot forget about Cavs quarterback Bryce Perkins who is completing 62.7% of his passes for 1,217 yards and 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Perkins also is comfortable taking off with the football has he has eclipsed the 400 rushing yards mark, while also running for three touchdowns.

After looking inept on offense against Virginia Tech, but Blue Devils came right down the field for a touchdown after a bye week against Georgia Tech, but again struggled for the remainder of the first half before hitting their stride in the third quarter en route to a 28-14 win.

Back at home, Daniel Jones and the Duke offense should carry that momentum into this week against Virginia however, the Cave defense will be very confident heading into this game after only surrendering 13 points to Miami.

Regardless, Duke has the superior offense between the two teams and if the Blue Devils defense shows up and is dominant like they have been all season, Duke should win this game rather comfortably at home, pulling away in the second half.

The game is at 12:30 pm ET and can be seen on the ACC Network.

PREDICTION: Duke 27, Virginia 13

Stay tuned to Ball Durham at our Twitter page, @Ball_Durham, and here at our website, balldurham.com, for extensive coverage of the Duke Blue Devils vs. the Virginia Cavaliers. 

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