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Virginia turns turnovers into win over winless Duke

Sep 30, 2006 - 9:07 PM DURHAM, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Virginia used a lot of short fields to make short work of Duke.

The Cavaliers had no scoring drives longer than 46 yards and took advantage of five turnovers in a 37-7 Atlantic Coast Conference rout of winless Duke.

Jason Snelling ran for 92 yards and a touchdown for Virginia (2-3, 1-1 ACC Coastal), which limited Duke (0-4, 0-3 Coastal) to eight first downs and 100 total yards while racking up eight sacks.

It was Virginia's first shutout since November 6, 2004 vs. Maryland. Duke was blanked for the third time this season and has been outscored, 100-13.

A 22-yard punt return by Mike Brown set up Virginia at the Duke 27. Four plays later, running back Emmanuel Byers threw a 21-yard TD pass to Fontel Mines.

Duke's next possession ended with a failed fourth down at its 29-yard line, leading to a 31-yard field goal by Chris Gould. Less than two minutes later, Josh Zidenberg blocked a punt that was recovered by Jamaal Jackson at the 1, and Snelling went in on the next play for a 17-0 bulge with less than nine minutes elapsed.

The Cavaliers took a 24-0 lead into the break when defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald returned a fumble 23 yards for a score. Duke quarterback Thaddeus Lewis coughed up the ball after being sacked by Clint Sintim.

Fitzgerald's fourth-quarter interception and three-yard return set up the Cavaliers at the Blue Devils 8. Three plays later, Jameel Sewell threw a 12-yard TD pass to Tom Santi.

Another fumble by Lewis led to Mikell Simpson's two-yard TD run that closed the scoring.

In addition to his fumbles, Lewis completed 11-of-25 passes for 121 yards and three interceptions.