Johns' career day helps Virginia beat Duke 42-34
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) - Matt Johns passed for a career-high 344 yards and two touchdowns as Virginia held off a late Duke rally to win 42-34 Saturday at Scott Stadium.
The Cavaliers (4-7, 3-4 ACC) had lost three straight and six of the last seven to the Blue Devils. Duke (6-5, 3-4) rallied from a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit and drove inside the Virginia 20 in the final minute. But Wilfred Wahee batted away Parker Boehme's fourth-down pass attempt to Anthony Nash to seal the victory.
Taquan Mizzell had 104 total yards and three touchdowns and caught five passes to set a school record for receptions by a running back in a season. He entered the game with 63 receptions, tied with Alvin Pearman's 2003 output.
Mizzell's first touchdown, a 3-yard run late in the first quarter, gave the Cavaliers a surprising 21-0 lead after they converted on two Duke turnovers. Previously, Darious Latimore's end-zone interception of Thomas Sirk's pass set up a four-play, 80-yard drive capped by wide receiver T.J. Thorpe's 26-yard touchdown run. Mizzell's other touchdown came after Virginia defensive end Mike Moore recovered Boehme's fumble.
DeVon Edwards returned the ensuing kickoff 94 yards to get Duke got on the board. The Blue Devils' Ross Martin added two field goals sandwiched around a 36-yard scoring pass from Johns to Mizzell as the Cavaliers took a 28-13 lead into halftime.
Mizzell scored his third touchdown on a 10-yard third-quarter run before Duke got its first offensive touchdown, a 7-yard pass from Sirk to Braxton Deaver. The Cavaliers answered with a 50-yard touchdown pass from Johns to Olamide Zacchaeus two plays after Duke's standout safety, Jeremy Cash, was ejected for targeting after a massive hit on Johns.
Zacchaeus was on the passing end of Virginia's first touchdown, hitting Evan Butts for a 15-yard score after catching a backward pass from Johns on the Cavaliers' first drive. The score was initially ruled an illegal forward pass before the call was reversed upon review.
Duke fought back with Boehme's 12-yard pass to T.J. Rahming. Boehme, who had replaced Sirk at quarterback, added a touchdown on a 1-yard sneak to bring the Blue Devils within one score at 42-34 with 7:24 remaining. But Latimore broke up a fourth-down pass to end one of Duke's late possessions and Wahee's deflection in the final minute secured the win.