The goal for No. 19 Virginia and Duke is to get to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.
So that makes Saturday’s contest in Durham, N.C., pretty much a play-in opportunity for both teams in the tightly contested conference race.
“It’s about what’s in front of us right now,” Duke defensive tackle Josiah Green said. “For us, it’s about us.”
Virginia (8-2, 5-1 ACC) was in solo possession of the ACC lead until last week’s 16-9 home loss to Wake Forest.
Duke (5-4, 4-1) has been unscathed in ACC play other than a 27-18 home loss to Georgia Tech on Oct. 18.
There are five ACC teams with one league loss, while two others have dropped two conference games.
Much of Virginia’s strategy could depend on the availability of quarterback Chandler Morris, who entered the concussion protocol during the Wake Forest game. Team officials haven’t said whether Morris suffered a concussion, while his status might be determined based on if he practices by midweek. He attended but didn’t take part in activities on Monday and Tuesday.
“I think there’s so much with the game plan that you need, plus you need to practice and be able to take some of those reps,” Virginia coach Tony Elliott said. “His position is about timing, so we would need him to get into practice.”
Morris’ back-up is redshirt freshman Daniel Kaelin, who completed 18 of 28 passes for 145 when he was summoned against Wake Forest. He also rushed six times for 49 yards.
The Blue Devils are expecting similar schemes from Virginia regardless of who takes the snaps.
“There’s not a lot of sample size (with Kaelin),” Duke coach Manny Diaz said. “There will be a different skill set. They’re going to do what they do. You’re going to have to get your defense set up to stop them.”
The Blue Devils have plenty of concerns about how their defense has performed the past couple of weeks. The unit was vulnerable in a 46-45 victory at Clemson and was then picked apart at times in a 37-34 loss last weekend at Connecticut.
“We know our defense hasn’t been great the last two games,” Green said.
The Blue Devils say they can’t dwell on recent results, understanding the setback to UConn wasn’t damaging in terms of the ACC picture.
“Excited about what’s to come,” Diaz said. “We’re not talking about anything other than how to win one football game this weekend.”
Duke’s offense revolves around quarterback Darian Mensah, who has thrown for 2,794 yards with 24 touchdowns and four interceptions. He had a program-record streak of 211 throws without an interception snapped last week.
The Cavaliers have had tight finishes in two earlier visits to the state of North Carolina this year. They lost 35-31 at North Carolina State in a nonconference clash between two ACC members Sept. 6 and then pulled out a 17-16 overtime victory at North Carolina on Oct.25.
Duke has experienced its share of late-game drama as well.
“Through the course of the year, you recognize these games are going to be close,” Diaz said. “This month isn’t going to be any different.”
