SAM DEAN The Roanoke Times

Duke wide receiver Conner Vernon leaves a fallen Virginia defender on his way to scoring a touchdown in the fourth quarter during Saturday's game in Charlottesville.

SAM DEAN The Roanoke Times

Virginia head coach Al Groh (middle) watches in the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers fall to the visiting Duke Blue Devils 28-17. Virginia has lost two straight to Duke.

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Pity the poor youngsters who missed trick-or-treating for a chance to watch Virginia's football team play on Halloween.

It was the same feeling as ringing the door at an empty house.

There was a glimmer of hope when the Cavaliers twice overcame second-half deficits to take the lead Saturday, but a late Duke flurry resulted in a 28-17 Blue Devils triumph.

Three early October victories faded into the background as the noose tightened around the neck of ninth-year UVa head coach Al Groh.

UVa (3-5, 2-2 ACC) had won 12 of their previous 13 games against Duke in Charlottesville and had not lost back-to-back games to the Blue Devils since 1981-82.

Now, Duke (5-3, 3-1) has a second-year head coach, David Cutcliffe, who is unbeaten against the Cavaliers.

The Blue Devils claimed a 31-3 victory over Virginia last year in a game that was not as lopsided as the score indicated. The Cavaliers had six turnovers that day and actually held Duke's high-powered attack to 258 yards.

This time, Duke outgained Virginia 424-196.

Leading the way was quarterback Thaddeus Lewis, a four-year starter who completed 24 of 40 passes for 343 yards. In the previous three games, he had passed for 359, 459 and 371 yards.

"Our guy, if you look at what he's done the last four weeks, tell me a quarterback in the country that's played better," said Cutcliffe, perhaps best known as a mentor for Peyton and Eli Manning.

"I'm pretty good at evaluating quarterbacks. I'm not going to be cocky or arrogant, but I am, OK? But the guy we got never gets mentioned and that's OK, but show me one [who is] playing better. We just don't get the highlights."

A less experienced or talented quarterback might have gotten flustered after being sacked five times in the first half, as Lewis was Saturday at Scott Stadium.

"Absolutely," Cutcliffe said. "Absolutely. I'm talking to [backup quarterback] Sean Renfree as the game was going on and telling him, 'See, you've just got to keep competing.' "

The Blue Devils may have been down to their last bullet, facing a third-and-9 from the UVa 42-yard line and trailing 17-12 when Lewis connected with freshman Conner Vernon on the go-ahead touchdown pass with 3:45 left.

Vernon beat one of Virginia's most capable defensive backs, fifth-year senior corner Chris Cook.

A failed two-point pass left the Blue Devils with an 18-17 lead and Virginia with plenty of time to stage a late comeback, but the Cavaliers were backed up to their 13-yard line when Mike Parker was called for a block in the back on the ensuing kickoff.

After two incompletions, UVa quarterback Jameel Sewell was unable to escape Duke's pass rush and fumbled when he was hit by the Blue Devils' Ayanga Okpokowuruk.

Duke's Charlie Hatcher scooped up the loose ball and returned it 7 yards for a touchdown, at which point the Blue Devils had scored 13 points in 23 seconds.

That put Duke on top 25-17 but, with 3:22 left, Virginia could have sent the game into overtime with a touchdown and two-point conversion. The best shot the Cavaliers had came on a first-down bomb from Sewell that slipped through Jared Green's hands at the Duke 15.

Virginia didn't pick up a first down on any of its final four possessions, forfeiting all of the momentum created by an end-zone interception by Chase Minnifield with 8:01 remaining.

The Cavaliers took over at their 20 following Minnifield's pick and ran three straight running plays as a restless crowd groaned in frustration.

"Clearly, it was a critical stage," Groh said.

"If we can take the ball and move it down the field, we're going to eat up the clock and maybe get some more points. We had an opportunity to respond to a positive circumstance and didn't do enough with it."

Sewell and Marc Verica, who replaced an injured Sewell for two series in the first half, combined to complete 13 of 38 passes for 107 yards. Sewell was not sharp from the start; his first attempt of the day went straight to a Duke defender, who may have been so startled that he dropped it.

"Actually, two or three people remarked to me that [Sewell] seemed to be especially positive and energetic during warmups," Groh said.

By the end of the afternoon, Sewell was a wreck and took a late shot that caused Verica to re-enter for the final series. Sewell was often off-target and an old habit of holding onto the ball too long may have led to two late sacks and the fumble.

"Protection certainly would have to be better," Groh said. "We can all see that. We dropped some balls when we were open. We can all see that. And we missed some receivers who were open and we can all see that.

"In college football these days, a great deal of the scoring comes from the passing game. With problems in all three areas of the passing game, it's difficult to produce the amount of points that are necessary."