Cavs want to carry momentum onto the road
Through six games last season, Virginia was surprising everyone sitting pretty with a 5-1 record before ultimately collapsing late in the season. The Cavaliers won just one of their last seven games to finish the season at 6-7.
This season, Virginia is once again the surprise of the ACC’s Coastal Division with a 4-2 record and just one game back of rival Virginia Tech for the top spot in the division. Saturday’s trip to Durham, N. C., to face Duke (5-1, 1-1) could be a telling game to see how the Cavaliers’ 2018 season finishes.
“They had Saturday night and Sunday to enjoy a good victory at home,” Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall said about his team’s win over Miami. “And now every bit of attention and energy goes into working hard to prepare for another ACC opponent.”
Virginia has won three straight games over the Blue Devils and has had success against Duke quarterback Daniel Jones who has thrown seven interceptions against the Cavaliers in the team’s two previous meetings.
The Cavaliers will look for another solid defensive performance which may be needed for them to make it four in a row over the Blue Devils. Virginia’s offense has struggled in its last two games and will face a Duke team that has been stingy in the points allowed department this season.
“The difference in the two games we have won against Duke has been Jones’ decision-making and more turnovers than in other games,” Mendenhall said. “He can make any throw and has been coached by one of the best offensive minded coaches there is. He gets better each year.”
With a chance to stay in the Coastal Division title hunt, Virginia will need to do something that they haven’t done all season — win a true road game. If the Cavaliers can accomplish that feat, they will then play three straight home games before ending the season with two games on the road.