Up by five late, UVa yields 16 points and loses to Duke

CHARLOTTESVILLE — Each dropped pass in Jameel Sewell’s 8-for-22 outing was an inkblot test for fans.

Some blamed Sewell for not delivering a good pass. Others blamed a receiving corps with the tendency to drop those passes. And the rest turned toward the coaches’ box and blamed offensive coordinator Gregg Brandon.

This wasn’t a single-answer test, though. Virginia’s 28-17 loss to Duke was all of the three, and defensive disarray at unfortunate times.

“We kind of gave that game away,” fullback Rashawn Jackson said. “It’s a collective effort.”

The Cavs led the game with 12 minutes remaining, a testament to a defense that had shut down Blue Devils quarterback Thaddeus Lewis for most of the game with steady, relentless pressure.

But the same formula worked for Duke down the stretch, including a fumble recovery for a touchdown that gave the Blue Devils an eight-point lead in the final minutes.

Coach Al Groh wouldn’t cite Brandon — “I don’t critique my coaches in public,” he said — but added that a number of aspects of the passing game weren’t working.

“Certainly we have to be better,” Groh said. “The protection has to be better, there were dropped balls when we were open, and we missed some receivers when they were open. We could all see that.”

Virginia now drops to 2-2 in ACC play, and 3-5 overall, meaning a sixth victory will be challenging to achieve.

The Cavs offense gained one yard in the first quarter and finished with 196, compared to Duke’s 424. Jackson was a bright spot, but little else went right for the unit.

Sewell, a proficient runner, did not have a single carry in the game. He was injured in the second quarter, but returned to the game. After the game, he was not available for comment because he left for x-rays, but Groh said that the lack of running was unrelated to his injury.

He found a way to deliver late in the game, with a crucial fourth-and-1 play in Duke territory. He rolled out left and threw a strike to tight end Joe Torchia, who then caught the touchdown pass that gave UVa the lead.

“Jameel went to his reads, there was a good job blocking, and it all worked out,” Torchia said.

That was all the offense could muster, though, and with the team down by a point and three minutes left, Sewell stayed in the pocket too long on third-and-eight, was hit by Ayanga Okpokowuruk, and Charlie Hatcher took the fumble back for a touchdown.

“They made plays, and when we needed plays, we didn’t make them,” defensive end Nate Collins said.

The defense did a strong job sniffing out Duke’s early strategy. The Blue Devils tried to establish the run game, but the defensive line shut that down in a hurry and made Lewis go back to the pass.

“It seemed in the first quarter, they wanted to run the ball a lot more than we expected to catch us off guard,” lineman Zane Parr said. “But we shut that down pretty quick.”

For the rest of the half the unit bent but didn’t break, allowing the Blue Devils into the red zone several times, but they couldn’t escape with more than a field goal.

But the breakdowns started in the third quarter. With Duke trailing 10-9 and taking the field, the defensive calls got mixed up, freeing up receiver Donovan Varner for a 32-yard catch that led to a field goal on the drive.

At another point, the unit had to call a timeout because of personnel questions. Cornerback Chase Minnifield slipped to allow another long pass by Lewis.

Still, with the score 17-12 Virginia, the mood was optimistic.

“I thought we had it,” Parr said. “When the offense took the field, I thought they would get another score and put us even further in the lead.”

Instead it was a few key plays that turned things for the Blue Devils, and left the Cavs wondering what might have been.

Now they’ll try to rebound, knowing they play in a conference where every game is a winnable one and no team that much worse than another.

Still, Groh said that as he left the field after this one, it was a sinking feeling.

“We put a lot into this,” he said. “We put everything we had into this. When you get nothing back, it’s a sinking feeling.”

Phillips is a staff writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.