Takeaways from Duke’s overtime victory in ACC championship
They don’t call the ACC the “All Chaos Conference” for nothing. A playoff bid on the line for one side, and a five-loss team on the other, the Duke Blue Devils threw the ACC into chaos with a 27-20 overtime victory in Charlotte over No. 17 Virginia to win the conference championship.
It’s Duke’s first ACC Championship victory in program history, but it didn’t come easy. Manny Diaz rolled the dice on fourth down three times and hit on each try. The Blue Devils led by 10 points with less than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Cavaliers didn’t go away.
Virginia scored 10 points in quick succession to tie the game and send it to overtime. Darian Mensah tossed a fourth-down touchdown pass in the extra period to go ahead, and the Duke defense finally won a game for the Blue Devils, as linebacker Luke Mergott came up with a walk-off interception of Chandler Morris to win the ACC.
There were a number of incredible moments for Duke in this game that ultimately led to a conference championship win in Diaz’s second season at the helm in Durham. While the Blue Devils may not crack the College Football Playoff with five losses, nobody can take away this championship from Duke’s trophy case. Here are three things that stood out in Duke’s ACC Championship victory.
Manny Diaz’s Aggressive Gambles Win Again
Since Duke lost at home to Virginia a few weeks ago, Diaz has been ultra-aggressive in big spots. Against North Carolina, Duke ran a fake field goal that set up the game-winning score. Against Wake Forest, he opened the door for punter Kade Reynoldson to run a fake in the fourth quarter and went 3-for-5 on fourth-down tries.
On Saturday in Charlotte, Diaz played with house money once again. On the first drive of the second quarter, from Duke’s own 33-yard line, Diaz sent the Blue Devils out in punt formation, but sent a direct snap to backup defensive end Kevin O’Connor to move the chains.
Duke went on to convert all four fourth-down tries in the game. The last one was the most important, as Mensah rolled to the right and threw back across his body to find tight end Jeremiah Hasley on fourth-and-goal in overtime for the eventual winning score.
Diaz has been vocal this week about why Duke should be in the playoff as ACC champions, but he called the game as if it were do-or-die, because it was. Even though Duke’s defense played well for the most part on defense in this game, the decision to go on fourth down so often and go for the kill shot in overtime was gutsy, and the Blue Devils proved their coach right time after time.
Long, Sustained Drives The Key For Duke’s Offense
When Duke lost to Virginia last month, the Blue Devils held the ball for only 24 minutes and ran the ball for just 42 yards. That was not going to happen again.
In fact, in the first half of Saturday’s game alone, Duke held the ball for 20:29 and played keep away from the Cavaliers. The Blue Devils also made a concerted effort on the ground, especially in the second half, and found success.
The Blue Devils ran for 131 yards in the win. True freshman tailback Nate Sheppard carried the ball 21 times for 97 yards and scored one touchdown, and also added five catches for 31 yards. It was impressive to watch Duke’s strategy shift from the previous matchup.
The opening drive touchdown for the Blue Devils was 15 plays and took 9:38 off the clock, making it the longest drive in terms of elapsed time in ACC Championship Game history. For an encore, Duke’s third drive lasted 13 plays and took another 8:02 off the clock, making it the second-longest drive in the history of the ACC Championship Game. Sheppard finished it off with a 16-yard score.
While the long and slow drives mostly ended for Duke after halftime, Duke continued to sustain drives with the run game and Mensah delivering timely throws in big spots. Mensah only threw seven passes in the second half.
Mensah was money all night, except for one bad interception. He completed 19-of-25 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns. He had three huge completions in the second half to receiver Cooper Barkate, who led the team with five catches for 91 yards.
It was a much more complete performance from the Duke offense this time around, thanks to a more balanced and effective approach.
Blue Devils’ Defense Finally Steps Up
All season long, the thorn in Duke’s side has been its pass defense. The Blue Devils allowed 273.7 passing yards per game during the regular season (14th in ACC) and routinely made the Duke offense have to compete in shootouts.
In Charlotte, Duke’s defense finally stepped up and helped the Blue Devils win the game. Virginia’s offense scored 33.2 points per game in the regular season, and the Blue Devils held down the Cavaliers for about 55 minutes.
Virginia started to have success throwing the ball on the Duke secondary, which also provided a few penalties, late in the fourth quarter, to tie the game. However, Duke got pressure, forced turnovers, and did not get totally gashed on the ground again.
Duke picked off Morris twice, including in overtime for the win, and hit him nine times on dropbacks. Vincent Anthony Jr. pulled down the only sack of the night for the Blue Devils, which led to a missed field goal for the Cavaliers.
While it was far from a perfect night, this is one of the few times this season that the defense made multiple plays to actually help the team win a big game. Defensive coordinator Jonathan Patke was very smart with his blitzes on third down. Defensive end Wesley Williams was chasing Morris all night and making plays in the backfield against the run.
The only way Duke could right a wrong against Virginia was to have a defensive effort that provided the offense with extra opportunities. Two takeaways, a missed field goal and one turnover on downs were more than the Blue Devils could have bargained for, and it turned into an incredible conference championship victory.
As always, make sure you stay up to date with all Duke content by following us on Facebook, by clicking HERE, and following us on X (formerly Twitter) HERE.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/duke as Takeaways From Duke’s Overtime Victory In ACC Championship.
- Mengapa Info GTK dan PTK 2026 Tidak Bisa Dibuka? Ini Link Baru Info GTK Kemendikdasmen - January 16, 2026
- Savannah Guthrie’s Health Update After Sudden Today Show Hiatus for Surgery - January 16, 2026
- Cara Memilih Masker Rambut yang Tepat untuk Anda, Menurut Para Ahli - January 16, 2026
Leave a Reply