Virginia’s next test comes with a familiar edge.
Duke and UVA are set to meet for the third time in 11 months, and this one arrives Friday night at Scott Stadium, where the Cavaliers will try to handle a Blue Devils team they know well. The teams split last season’s matchups: Virginia won 34-17 in Durham, then Duke answered in the ACC championship game with a 27-20 overtime victory in Charlotte.
This time, the rosters look different on both sides, even if the matchup still carries plenty of familiar traits. Virginia head coach Tony Elliott said Tuesday that Duke has “a lot of new faces, new numbers, new guys to get adjusted to, but structurally they’re very similar [to last season],” adding, “They still do what they do, but personnel-wise, they're very different, just like we're different as well.”
That turnover hasn’t erased all the reminders of last year’s title game for Virginia. The Cavaliers’ defensive two-deep includes several players who were in the program last season, among them end Fisher Camac, tackle Anthony Britton, linebackers Kam Robinson, Maddox Marcellus and Landon Danley, spurs Donavon Platt and Corey Costner, and safeties Ethan Minter and Montino Williams.
Defensive coordinator John Rudzinski said the previous meeting is impossible to ignore when preparing for Duke.
“I think it’s tough not to, because it's part of your breakdown. It's part of the film you're going to see.
It smacks you in the face, because of the opportunity there. But at the same time, it's a different team.
The team that we're working now is a different team. But I think for some of these guys, it’s a huge motivator, knowing that they've competed against this group twice last season.
They know how important that game was for them last year, and it’s an awesome opportunity to get a good team here in our stadium.”
Duke’s offense still has a major centerpiece in Nate Sheppard, even with quarterback Darian Mensah now at Miami. Sheppard leads all FBS players in all-purpose yards per game at 179.8, and he ranks third in rushing yards per game at 136.7.
He’s also a factor in the passing game. In Duke’s most recent game, a loss to North Carolina, Sheppard caught 11 passes. This season, he has 28 receptions for 259 yards and four touchdowns.
“Last year I was like, ‘Man, this kid can't be a freshman,’ ” Elliott said, “because he played like an upperclassman. And so where you've seen him improve is he's really, really making an impact in the passing game.”
Elliott also pointed to Duke quarterback Walker Eget, saying he is “not forcing bad balls down the field,” and noting how dangerous that becomes when a quarterback has a weapon like Sheppard nearby.
“He's going to find his checkdown. And if you’ve got a checkdown like [Shepphard], if you throw it to him at four yards and he can take it 40, then that's how I'm going to make my living as a quarterback, too. I'm just going to dump it down and let him do the work.”
As a runner, Sheppard has drawn more praise from Elliott for the way he plays within the offense.
“He’s really understanding the schemes,” Elliott said. “So you're not seeing him make many bad decisions.
He’s not trying to bounce it when he's not supposed to. He's banging it up in there when he needs to.
And then when he sees green grass on the counter, then he can bounce it on the counter. ... So [he’s] definitely by far the best back that we've seen all year and probably the best one in the league.”
In Other News...
Virginia Secondary Takes Another Hit Before Pivotal Duke Game
Virginia heads into its ACC matchup with Duke already shorthanded, and the secondary is the biggest concern. The Cavaliers will be without free safety Ethan Minter and 19 other players for Saturdays game, leaving a defensive backfield that is already stretched thin with multiple names either out or questionable, including starting cornerback Omillio Agard.
The trouble doesnt stop there, either, with strong safety Brandyn Hillman among the key defenders dealing with an ankle issue as Virginia tries to patch together the back end of its defense. Duke has its own injury list to manage, but for the Cavaliers the timing is especially difficult, with the matchup carrying real weight and little margin for a depleted secondary to absorb another hit. [Read more 🡒]
Tony Elliott Just Put Virginia's Biggest Midseason Problem In Focus
Seven weeks into the 2026 season, Tony Elliott is looking at a Virginia team that has hit a rough patch on both sides of the ball. The defense has struggled to find consistency, and the offense has lost some of the rhythm it showed earlier in the year, leaving the Cavaliers searching for steadier production as the schedule has worn on.
Pribulas recent drop-off has become part of that larger conversation, even if Elliott is not pinning the slide on the quarterback alone. The run game has also failed to give the offense much cover in recent losses, while linebacker Robinsons return from injury has added another layer to the defenses uneven stretch, with Virginia still waiting for him to look fully like himself again. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Faces One Costly Matchup Problem Against Duke
Virginia heads into its matchup with Duke trying to steady a season that has gone win-loss-win-loss and keep its bowl hopes on track in a game that carries real weight for both sides. The Cavaliers have been solid enough to stay in the conversation, but this one asks a specific question of a defense that has been up and down against the run and will need to be sharper in a conference game with postseason implications hanging over it.
The problem is the Blue Devils bring a backfield threat that can change the shape of the night if Virginia loses control at the line of scrimmage. Duke has leaned on a ground game built around sophomore Sheppard, who has emerged as one of the ACCs most productive runners, and the Cavaliers cannot afford to let the game become a showcase for him. Both teams have taken care of the ball well, which puts even more pressure on Virginia to win the physical battles and avoid giving Duke easy chances to dictate the pace. [Read more 🡒]