Duke Falls to No. 20 Virginia, 34-17

Saturday, November 15

Durham, N.C.

3:30 p.m.

Duke University

5-5 , 4-2

Virginia

9-2 , 6-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Virginia

Duke

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Duke Falls to No. 20 Virginia, 34-17

11/15/2025 7:12:00 PM | Football

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DURHAM, N.C. – Duke mounted a 14-point rally in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough as the Blue Devils dropped a 34-17 decision to No. 20 Virginia on Saturday inside Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium.

The Blue Devils (5-5, 4-2 ACC), trailing 31-3 at the start of the fourth, made it a 31-17 contest with 9:30 to play, but could not close the gap. Duke got a 49-yard field goal from Todd Pelino, an 11-yard touchdown catch from Cooper Barkate and an 18-yard interception return for a score from Tre Freeman but No. 20 Virginia (9-2, 6-1 ACC) was led by a 300-yard passing performance from Chandler Morris and two rushing touchdowns from J'Mari Taylor.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Virginia covered 75 yards on its opening drive to take a 7-0 advantage as J'Mari Taylor punched it in from five yards away.
The Blue Devils went three-and-out on consecutive drives before a Chandler Rivers interception gave Duke the ball again. Another three-and-out followed before Duke's defense answered by halting a Virginia fourth-down attempt with 11:22 remaining in the second quarter.
Duke took the turnover on downs and made it a 7-3 contest with a Todd Pelino 49-yard field goal at the 5:33 mark of the second quarter.
The Cavaliers used a late burst to score the final 10 points before the half to take a 17-3.
Virginia tacked on two more touchdowns in the third to push the advantage to 31-3.
The Blue Devils made it a 31-10 affair with 10:23 remaining in the contest as Darian Mensah found Cooper Barkate for an 11-yard score. The touchdown gave Barkate six on the year, all in league play.
Less than a minute later, Tre Freeman returned an interception 18 yards for a touchdown to make it 31-17 with 9:30 to play. The pick-six was the first for Duke since Rivers' against Florida State on October 18, 2024.
Virginia scored the game's final points with 5:42 remaining on a 42-yard field goal.