Late-season success depends, in part, on reaching that point of the season with goals left to accomplish. That’s the task for Duke and Virginia as they meet Friday night in Charlottesville, Va.
“October’s hard,” Virginia coach Tony Elliott said Tuesday. ” … The month of October, and I think you’re seeing it in college football, is when, man, the injuries start to mount up.”
These teams clashed in last year’s Atlantic Coast Conference championship game, but this rematch looks like a must-win for each team just to maintain a shot at returning to Charlotte in early December.
Virginia (4-3, 2-2 ACC), one of 10 teams with a .500 record or better in ACC play, comes off a 23-13 loss to nationally ranked SMU.
Duke (4-2, 1-2) has lost two games in a row despite rallying to take a fourth-quarter lead both times. Two weeks ago, Georgia Tech scored with 54 seconds left for a 28-25 triumph. Last week, North Carolina shrugged off 20 straight Duke points by scoring with 1:53 to go for a 24-20 win.
“This is college football,” said Duke coach Manny Diaz. “The fine margins have gone against us.”
Diaz said the Blue Devils will be anxious to shed their skid, so having one day less to prepare might not be a detriment.
“I think in a weird way, I think playing on a short week benefits us because sometimes you get less into what you can do against the other team,” Diaz said. “You want to just do the best of you.”
Duke safety Andrew Pellicciotta will miss the game with an injury suffered versus North Carolina. Diaz said he knows Virginia has been bashed by injuries, so figuring out the response is of utmost importance.
“It feels like a subplot of college football this year is injuries and depth,” Diaz said.
Based on injuries sustained in the SMU loss, receiver Rico Flores Jr. is out against Duke while several teammates are day-to-day, Elliott said.
Virginia quarterback Beau Pribula, who threw for 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions last year at Missouri, has delivered 13 touchdown strikes with just one interception this year.
Pribula was at Penn State from 2022-24, which overlapped with some of Diaz’s tenure as the Nittany Lions’ defensive coordinator.
“I’ve seen Beau’s magic first-hand,” Diaz said.
This will be the third meeting in less than 12 months between the teams. Virginia won 34-17 last November at Duke and then the teams met three weeks later for the ACC title. The Blue Devils won 27-20 in overtime to claim the championship.
“The rosters are different, a lot of new faces, new numbers, new guys to get adjusted to,” Elliott said. “But structurally very similar.”