After receiving the opening kickoff, the Blue Devils came out strong with a 9 and a half minute TD drive taking up the majority of the 1st quarter. If their game plan was to play keep away from the Cavaliers, it was a good start.
On the ensuing drive, the Cavs miss a FG opportunity following a Blue Devil 3rd down sack of QB Chandler Morris, giving the ball back to Duke’s offense. Duke QB Darian Mensah makes a huge mistake on 2nd down on that drive and throws an interception to give the ball right back to UVA, already in the redzone. Virginia capitalizes on the turnover and punches it in from the 10-yard line, tying the game up 7-7 early in the 2nd quarter.
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Duke faked a punt on 4th down in their own territory just short of the 40-yard line, a gutsy call from the Blue Devils, paying off by way of a 6-yard gain by Duke DE Kevin O’connor. But this won’t be the last 4th down conversion on this drive by the Blue Devils, as they end up being forced to go for it again on the next set of downs. The 4th down gamble pays off as the Blue Devils score on this drive and pull ahead 14-7 while draining even more time off the clock before the half.
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It is worth noting that these two drives from the Blue Devils offense were the two longest in ACC championship history, since the 2009 game between Georgia Tech and Clemson. Which is a bold strategy by Duke’s coaching staff to essentially force Virginia to play in the hurry up under a condensed clock. A spot that the Cavs are not used to as they averaged 23rd nationally in time of possession per game this season.
On the last drive of the second quarter with 1 minute remaining, Duke deflects Cavalier’s QB C. Morris’ pass on 3rd down to stall UVA’s drive to try and tie the game up before the half, ending the half with a 14-7 Blue Devil lead.
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UVA came out in the second half looking to tilt the scales of time of possession, as they methodically march down the field on a near 8-minute drive ending in a 24-yard FG. On the ensuing drive the Blue Devils go for it on 4th down inside the 10-yard line, but rather than drawing the defense offsides with a hard count, they end up with a penalty of their own as a offensive lineman jumped early. Duke ends the drive with a FG setting the lead back to 7 with the 3rd quarter winding down.
The 4th quarter was one of keep-away bully ball as the Blue Devils attempted to ice the game. But the Cavalier’s offensive halftime adjustments were visible, as their 3rd down efficiency went from 40 percent in the first half, to over 50 percent in the second. UVA came out in the second half with clear intention on taking the time of possession back, as well as working their elusive RB J’Mari Taylor. For good reason as it was clearly working, averaging over 4.5 yards per carry.
After a clutch Duke punt to put UVA’s offense in a difficult position, inside their own 5 yard line, Cavalier QB Chandler Morris throws a critical interception standing in his own end zone. Giving the Blue Devils great field position to mount what would be a momentum clinching 23-yard FG to put them up by 2 possessions with 5 minutes remaining in the game.
Virginia responded with a FG of their own to narrow the lead to a touchdown to attempt to remain in the game with time running out. Duke’s corresponding drive eats up some clock as they punt the ball back to the Cavaliers with less than 2 minutes remaining and two timeouts left. Virginia drives past midfield, aided by a couple of controversial penalties called on the Blue Devil’s secondary.
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With less than 30 seconds remaining Cavalier QB Chandler Morris throws a clutch game tying touchdown pass from the 18-yard line, ultimately sending the game into overtime, tied at 20 a piece.
Duke leans on its run game as they bare down on the Cavalier’s front seven for their possession to start overtime. But it is ultimately Mensah’s elusive, throw-on-the-run ability, that puts the Blue Devils ahead as they move in to try and checkmate the Cavs.
UVA assembles a historic 1-minute drive to tie the game with less than 10 seconds remaining, sending the game into overtime for the first time in ACC championship history.
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The Cavaliers win the toss and elect to go on defense as Duke receives the kickoff to start overtime. Blue Devil’s QB Darian Mensah finds an open receiver in the end zone to score the go-ahead touchdown after pounding the running game to make it inside the 5 yard-line. The Blue Devils intercept a reverse QB throw by Virginia to seal the victory in this field storming overtime win by the Duke Blue Devils.
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This game was everything a conference championship should be, a tightly contested dogfight, pushing both teams to pull out all the stops for this grand finale of the ACC. The first ACC Championship game in history to go into overtime. Duke controlled the important metrics in this game by way of time of possession and momentum. Proving that they are in fact, 2025’s best team in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Congratulations to the Duke Blue Devils, whose last outright ACC Football Championship was in 1962, though they shared the title in 1989, coincidentally with Virginia.
