Duke heads to Charlottesville on Friday night trying to stop the skid and get back on track after back-to-back losses to North Carolina and Georgia Tech.
The Blue Devils are 4-2 overall and 1-2 in ACC play, which leaves little margin for error heading into their second league road game in three weeks. Virginia, meanwhile, enters at 4-3 and 2-2 in the conference after a 23-13 road loss at SMU. It’s the kind of matchup Duke can handle, but only if it finishes drives and keeps its offense moving late.
A big part of that conversation starts with Virginia quarterback Beau Pribula. The Missouri transfer has put up solid numbers on the season - 1,211 passing yards, 13 touchdowns and one interception while completing 65.4% of his throws - but his recent stretch has been shaky.
Over the Cavaliers’ last three games, the York, PA native has thrown for just 418 yards, an average of 139.3 per game, with two touchdowns. The roughest outing came in a 38-7 loss to Florida State on Oct. 3, when he was sacked 10 times.
That matters because Virginia has given up the most sacks in the ACC this season with 21. Duke’s defensive front has a chance to make life miserable again if it can keep forcing pressure.
On the other side, Jacobie Henderson has been one of Virginia’s most active defenders. He leads the team with 38 tackles, ranks fifth in the ACC with five passes defended, and has added a forced fumble.
Virginia has allowed the third-fewest passing yards per game in the conference at 174.6, so Duke’s passing game will need a better showing than it has delivered so far. Henderson is a key piece of that secondary.
Another name to know is defensive end Matthew Fobbs-White. He has been heating up, collecting 12 tackles and a sack over Virginia’s last two games.
His four sacks lead the Cavaliers, and he’ll be a key challenge for a Duke offensive line that has only allowed two sacks this season. Walker Eget also needs a sharper performance after a lackluster outing against UNC.
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Dukes 2028 Recruiting Push Just Added Another Major Name
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Collins also brings a recognizable basketball background as the son of coach Mardy Collins, which only adds to the intrigue around his recruitment. For now, he has not announced a decision or narrowed things down to finalists, so Duke is still in the early stages of what could become a competitive chase. The Blue Devils have also offered Josiah Rose, another 2028 prospect, as Scheyer and his staff continue building relationships well ahead of that class coming into focus. [Read more 🡒]
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The lineup gives Duke a mix of experience and upside, with senior Katie Li joined by sophomores Avery McCrery and Rianne Malixi and freshmen Mia Hammond and Martina Navarro Navarro. Junior Carla De Troia will compete as an individual, adding another layer to a roster that has already shown it can handle pressure and still has room to grow before the calendar turns to the spring portion of the schedule. [Read more 🡒]
Cameron Boozers NBA Debut Showed More Than His Shot Didnt
Cameron Boozers NBA debut for the Memphis Grizzlies was the kind of night that can get reduced to one glaring number, but the full picture was a lot more encouraging than his shot chart suggested. He finished with 7 points on 2-of-15 shooting, yet also pulled down 11 rebounds and handed out 5 assists in a season-opening win over the Utah Jazz, a 123-103 result that gave Memphis plenty to feel good about beyond the box score.
Boozers impact showed up in the quieter ways that tend to matter when a team is trying to establish itself early. Even with the shooting struggles, he posted a team-best plus-minus of +32, the highest mark in a season opener in franchise history, which is the kind of number that usually says more about how a player fit into the game than how many shots fell. For a debut, it was a reminder that there are nights when the best sign of promise is not the jumper. [Read more 🡒]