Lewis throws for 343 yards as Duke grabs third straight ACC win

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Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	22	14
Total Yards	424	196
Passing	343	107
Rushing	81	89
Penalties	5-54	5-50
3rd Down Conversions	9-20	4-16
4th Down Conversions	0-0	1-3
Turnovers	1	2
Possession	35:26	24:34

Air/Ground Leaders
Duke Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Lewis 24/40 343 1 1 Kelly 0/1 0 0 0	Virginia Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Sewell 8/22 86 1 1 Verica 5/16 21 0 0
Duke Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Hollingsworth 12 39 0 10 Scott 7 26 0 7	Virginia Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Jackson 16 83 0 16 Simpson 5 21 0 9
Duke Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Varner 7 113 0 40 Vernon 7 103 1 42	Virginia Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Torchia 3 44 1 21 Burd 1 14 0 14

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER				DUKE	UVA
	FG	09:27	Will Snyderwine 44 Yd	3	0
	FG	02:56	Will Snyderwine 28 Yd	6	0
SECOND QUARTER				DUKE	UVA
	FG	14:55	Will Snyderwine 34 Yd	9	0
	FG	11:51	Robert Randolph 33 Yd	9	3
THIRD QUARTER				DUKE	UVA
	TD	11:38	Jameel Sewell 1 Yd Run (Drew Jarrett Kick)	9	10
FOURTH QUARTER				DUKE	UVA
	FG	13:50	Will Snyderwine 25 Yd	12	10
	TD	11:17	Joe Torchia 19 Yd Pass From Jameel Sewell (Drew Jarrett Kick)	12	17
	TD	03:45	Conner Vernon 42 Yd Pass From Thaddeus Lewis (Two-Point Pass Conversion Failed)	18	17
	TD	03:22	Charlie Hatcher 7 Yd Fumble Return (Will Snyderwine Kick)	25	17
	FG	01:05	Will Snyderwine 43 Yd	28	17

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Thaddeus Lewis hit Conner Vernon on a 42-yard touchdown pass with 3:45 remaining and Duke rallied to beat Virginia 28-17 on Saturday.

Will Snyderwine made five field goals for the Blue Devils (5-3, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who added a touchdown when Charlie Hatcher recovered a fumble by Jameel Sewell with 3:22 left to clinch it. The victory is Duke's third in a row -- all in ACC play -- the first time since 1989.

The victory also kept Duke in the thick of the ACC Coastal Division race. The Blue Devils and No. 11 Georgia Tech each have one loss in league play, and their meeting on Nov. 14 in Durham, N.C., could be decisive.

Virginia (3-5, 2-2) lost its second in a row as its pass defense, ranked fifth in the nation coming in, was unable to slow the Lewis-led sixth-best passing attack in the country.

Lewis was 24 for 40 for 343 yards, despite being sacked six times.

Before he and Varner hooked up for the big play down the middle of the field, the Cavaliers looked like they might pull of a somewhat dramatic victory of their own.

Trailing 12-10, Virginia drove to the Blue Devils 40, where Sewell rolled left and hit Joe Torchia for a 19-yard completion on fourth-and-1. On the next play, they teamed up again, Sewell rifling a pass to Torchia down the middle of the field to put Virginia up 17-12.

The Cavaliers' chances improved when Chase Minnifield made a diving interception in the end zone to stop another Duke drive, but Virginia went conservative on offense and had to quickly punt. The Blue Devils took over at their 33, and five plays later, Lewis found Varner in one-on-one coverage in the middle of the field and he pulled in the go-ahead pass.

Until then, Virginia had allowed Lewis to move up and down the field with a possession passing game, but forced Duke to settle for field goals of 44, 28, 34 and 25 yards.

The Cavaliers came into the game having scored a total of two offensive touchdowns in three ACC games, and managed just 81 yards of offense and trailed 9-3 at the end of the half.

But Sewell led a 66-yard drive to his 1-yard dive with the first possession of the third quarter, giving the Cavaliers their first lead, and then gave them the lead again later.

The Blue Devils added a late touchdown and field goal after the go-ahead touchdown.