Duke astonished, No. 17 Virginia in a dramatic and unforeseen turn on Saturday evening, winning 27–20 in overtime to secure the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championship, its first unequivocal conference title since 1962.
From the start, the game pledged conflict. While an unranked Duke team, at 8-5, was seen as a long shot, Virginia entered with a 10-3 record and hopes of its first College Football Playoff (CFP) berth. Duke not only won the championship by the end of the night, but the outcome also called into question whether the ACC would be included in the 12-team CFP field.
Driving the Blue Devils’ attack, quarterback Darian Mensah completed 19-of-25 with 196 yards and two touchdowns, both to Jeremiah Hasley. Duke’s attack was balanced by running back Nate Sheppard, who also contributed 97 yards on the ground and a rushing score. Statistically speaking, Virginia, meanwhile, had the upper hand, surpassing the Duke Blue Devils for the evening and dragging the contest into additional time with a last-minute touchdown grab by Eli Wood with just 22 seconds left in regulation.
Overtime, however, showed a different narrative. Duke converted a fourth-and-goal with a 1-yard pass from Mensah to Hasley on the first possession. Virginia’s roughing-the-passer penalty changed field position by placing the ball at the Cavaliers’ 40-yard line. Virginia failed to pull a trick play on their next drive, and Duke linebacker Luke Mergott intercepted their quarterback, Chandler Morris, on the first play, effectively terminating the game.
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Could This Be the ACC’s Biggest Headache?
One can feel the ripple effects of this outcome much further afield. With Duke likely to be completely denied of the national playoffs given its five losses, the ACC now finds itself in great hardship for one of the college football’s power five conferences.
For Virginia, the loss closes off what seemed like a brilliant postseason path. For Duke, the victory starts conversations about postseason possibilities, although the odds are formidable. For the ACC, it might signal one of its worst postseason results in years.