Duke football had spent the last two weeks on the wrong side of close losses.
Against Georgia Tech and North Carolina, the Blue Devils offense made enough plays to take late leads but its defense couldn't get the critical stop late. Against Virginia on Friday, Duke's defense finally got that stop.
The Blue Devils took a 19-16 lead when Nate Sheppard connected with Brody Keefe on a trick play. After a missed extra point left the door open for Virginia to tie the game with just over a minute remaining, safety Patrick Smith-Young came up with a game-sealing interception to help Duke snap its two-game losing streak.
Smith-Young said the difference was a defense that trusted itself to play fast instead of trying to be perfect.
"I think the biggest thing, I think we played fast," Smith-Young said during a Oct. 27 media availability. "We played fast and we trusted one another. The coaches told us that what they wanted us to know is that nothing's going to be perfect, you're never going to get it right every play because that's just football. So just play fast. And I think that's what we did best Friday night. And it allows guys to trust one another and know that if I play fast, my brother plays fast, we'll be able to make the play as needed."
That trust translated into one of Duke's best defensive performances of the season.
Virginia reached the red zone four times but scored a touchdown on only one of those trips and settled for field goals on the others, helping Duke hold the Cavaliers to just three points after halftime.
The Blue Devils also finished with two turnovers and a season-high five sacks. After recording no sacks against Georgia Tech and two against North Carolina, Duke generated consistent pressure against Virginia, including three sacks on third down. One by Che Ojarikre helped force a missed 47-yard field-goal attempt in the third quarter.
To Manny Diaz, the difference showed up in two key areas: limiting explosive plays and forcing Virginia to settle in the red zone.
"We took away the explosive, and then we defended our red zone really well," Diaz said on Oct. 26. "We forced a missed field goal after a third down sack, we got the turnover in the high red, fringe area, and then we held in the field goals after the first touchdown of the game, and ultimately, that was enough to secure the victory."
The challenge now is to carry that into Saturday's matchup against Boston College. The Eagles rushed for nearly 400 yards and five touchdowns against Georgia Tech, with quarterback Mason McKenzie accounting for 170 yards and two scores on the ground.
"I think this week for Boston College with the running quarterback and a team that likes to do a lot of eye candy, a lot of shifts is trusting your brother, trust that he's going to do his job, but at the same time, shifting that mindset to know that we got to bow up and we have to do what we're supposed to do," Smith-Young said.
Kickoff is set for noon ET at Wallace Wade Stadium.
Anna Snyder covers Duke for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at asnyder@usatodayco.com or follow her @annaesnydr on X.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: What was different for Duke football’s defense in win over Virginia?