No. 14 Virginia Defeats Duke 37-16

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Posted 8:03PM on Saturday, October 23, 2004

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- Alvin Pearman ran for a career-high 223 yards and a touchdown, lifting No. 14 Virginia past Duke 37-16 Saturday. Wali Lundy added 82 yards and two scores for the Cavaliers (6-1, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who rebounded from a lopsided loss at Florida State last week by piling up 511 yards - 348 on the ground. Pearman, who also had three catches for 44 yards, nearly matched his season rushing total and finished 1 yard shy of tying John Papit's single-game school record set against Washington & Lee in 1948. This was hardly an opportune time for the Blue Devils (1-6, 0-4) to end a four-game losing streak to Virginia. The Cavaliers, who lost 36-3 at Florida State, beat its first five opponents by a combined score of 212-58. Virginia rushed for just 20 yards in last week's humbling loss. Pearman and Lundy had little trouble erasing that performance. Virginia's offensive line opened spacious running lanes, and the running backs patiently picked their way through them and over Blue Devils tacklers. Pearman was the workhorse. Midway through the first quarter, he carried the ball 10 straight times for 69 yards on a drive that ended with Lundy's 1-yard touchdown. Early in the third quarter, he carried the ball seven straight times for 42 yards. At one point late in the third, Pearman had more total yards (203) than Duke's entire offense (188). Yet Virginia struggled to put away the pesky Blue Devils, showing little sign of the explosive offense that was its trademark through the opening weeks of the season. The Cavaliers had to settle for field goals on three first-half drives inside the 20, and Marques Hagans - the ACC's leader in passing efficiency and total offense - threw for just 63 yards in the first 45 minutes. Still, Pearman - as he had all day - kept the Cavaliers a step ahead. After Duke closed to 23-16 early in the fourth quarter, Pearman led a Virginia scoring drive that prevented the Blue Devils from building momentum. He carried for 8 yards on the first play, then closed with three straight carries, the last a 3-yard touchdown for a 30-16 lead with 11:49 left. He broke the 200-yard mark midway through the fourth quarter with a run that summed up his afternoon. He took the handoff from Hagans, bounced left to avoid a tackler then sprinted by three Duke defenders to the sideline for an 8-yard gain. He came in with 256 yards rushing this season. His previous single-game high was 138 against Troy State last October. Mike Schneider threw two touchdown passes to lead the Blue Devils, and Cedric Dargan ran for 108 yards.