Duke tops Virginia in overtime for first outright ACC football title since 1962, awaits playoff fate :: WRALSportsFan.com
Duke Blue Devils
27
16Virginia Cavaliers
20
F/OT
Duke’s Jeremiah Hasley scores a first-quarter touchdown in the ACC Football Championship Game against Virginia at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2025. (Photo credit: Atlantic Coast Conference Photography)
Duke won an unlikely ACC football title Saturday night, defeating favored Virginia 27-20 in overtime for the program’s first outright conference title since 1962.
Now the five-loss Blue Devils, who won a five-team tiebreaker to get into the conference title game, will find out if they become an even unlikelier participant in the 12-team College Football Playoff.
“These guys deserve to be in,” coach Manny Diaz said.
Duke led throughout, but Virginia rallied late in the fourth quarter – including a 96-yard touchdown drive in the final two minutes – to force overtime, where the Blue Devils scored on a fourth-down pass from quarterback Darian Mensah and then got an interception from redshirt sophomore Luke Mergott to end the game. Mergott carried the ball with him throughout postgame interviews and into the locker room.
“A guy who probably thought he’d have a limited role most of this year, playing behind [injured starter] Nick Morris, and he makes arguably the play of our season,” Diaz said. “One he’ll never forget. I know he’s still holding the football. I’m not sure he’ll ever relinquish that football.”
Diaz’s Blue Devils were aggressive throughout, faking a punt and consistently going for it on fourth down. They converted on all three fourth-down tries in the first half, helping to sustain long drives.
Mensah, the game’s MVP, completed 19-of-25 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns, both to Jeremiah Hasley. The eventual game-winner came on a rollout to the right with Mensah waiting and waiting and waiting for a receiver to pop open.
“Jerry just slipped open, and I just, by the grace of God, found him,” said Mensah, who transferred from Tulane to Duke in the offseason and led the ACC in passing.
But it was the Blue Devils’ running game – running back Nate Sheppard had 97 yards rushing – and the Duke defense that were key Saturday night. Duke stuck with the run game (44 attempts), running five times on seven overtime plays to set up the game-winning pass. The defense kept Virginia’s offense under control all night – at least until the final dramatic drive.
The win over Virginia is Duke’s best of the season and its main talking point in lobbying for a spot in the College Football Playoff. The field will be announced Sunday afternoon.
The five highest-ranked conference champions are assured of a spot. Indiana (Big Ten), Georgia (SEC) and Texas Tech (Big 12) are in. The next two ranked champions are expected to be Tulane (American) and James Madison (Sun Belt). Unlike those five teams, Duke — which lost to Tulane earlier this year — wasn’t ranked in last week’s CFP Top 25.
“This ranked win is a huge one for our chances to make the playoff,” Mensah said after the game. “Now we leave it up to them boys on the committee and hope that we get in.”
The ACC could be without a team in the field, though Miami is in play for one of the final at-large berths.
Duke had two 75-yard touchdown drives in the first half that consumed nearly 18 minutes between them. Mensah capped the first drive with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Hasley. Sheppard’s 16-yard scoring run gave Duke a 14-7 in the second quarter.
Duke led 20-10 with 5:02 remaining in the fourth quarter before Virginia rallied to force overtime on an 18-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Chandler Morris to receiver Eli Wood. The Cavaliers, ranked No. 17 in the CFP rankings this week, were assured of a spot in the playoff with a win.
The stunning final drive in regulation didn’t shake the Blue Devils.
“We preach the next play mentality and that’s all it was, it was just next play,” Diaz said. “We say, ‘Hey, guess what?’ We get to go to play overtime to win the ACC. Everybody was like, yeah, that sounds pretty fun. Let’s go do it.”
Scoring summary
First quarter
DUKE – Jeremiah Hasley 12 pass from Darian Mensah (Todd Pelino kick), 5:22. Drive: 15 plays, 75 yards, 9:38. Key play: Mensah completed a pass for 17 yards on fourth-and-2. Virginia committed an offsides penalty on fourth-and-7 as Duke lined up to punt. Duke 7, Virginia 0.
Second quarter
UVA – J’Mari Taylor 11 pass from Chandler Morris (Will Bettridge kick), 14:16. Drive: 3 plays, 23 yards, 1:31. Key play: Virginia’s Jahmal Edrine intercepted a pass from Mensah at the Duke 24. Duke 7, Virginia 7.
DUKE – Nate Sheppard 16 run (Pelino kick), 6:14. Drive: 13 plays, 75 yards, 8:02. Key plays: Duke converted a fake punt on fourth-and-2 at its own 33 and then picked up a fourth-and-1 at its own 48. Duke 14, Virginia 7.
Third quarter
UVA – Bettridge 24 field goal, 7:19. Drive: 17 plays, 68 yards, 7:41. Key plays: Virginia converted on three third-down attempts on the drive, but stalled inside the Duke 10 and had to settle for a field goal attempt. Duke 14, Virginia 10.
DUKE – Pelino 29 field goal, 3:53. Drive: 6 plays, 63 yards, 3:26. Key play: Mensah hit Cooper Barkate for 38 yards, and a facemask penalty added 15 yards to the end of the play, moving Duke from its own 32 to the Virginia 15. Duke 17, Virginia 10.
Fourth quarter
DUKE – Pelino 23 field goal, 5:02. Drive: 5 plays, 28 yards, 2:19. Key play: Duke’s Caleb Weaver intercepted Virginia QB Chandler Morris at the Virginia 33, and Barkate had a 30-yard catch on the next play. Duke 20, Virginia 10.
UVA – Bettridge 42 field goal, 3:54. Drive: 8 plays, 50 yards, 1:08. Key play: Virginia quarterback Chandler Morris connected with Cam Ross for a 25-yard pass to move into Duke territory. Duke 20, Virginia 13.
UVA – Eli Wood 18 pass from Morris (Bettridge kick), 0:22. Drive: 10 plays, 96 yards, 1:22. Key plays: Duke committed two penalties early in the drive, and Harrison Waylee had a 19-yard run late in the drive. Duke 20, Virginia 20.
Overtime
DUKE – Hasley 1 pass from Mensah (Pelino kick). Drive: 7 plays, 28 yards. Key play: Mensah rolled right on fourth down and eventually found Hasley in the end zone. Duke 27, Virginia 20.
