For the first time since 1989, Duke football can call itself ACC champions. The Blue Devils survived a stunning 96-yard game-tying drive in the final minutes of regulation, then delivered in overtime, beating No. 17 Virginia 27-20 on Saturday night at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium to capture their first ACC football crown since 1989.
Duke won a dramatic season’s long conference championship chase in dramatic fashion. On fourth-and-goal in overtime, quarterback Darian Mensah hit Jeremiah Hasley for the go-ahead touchdown, giving the Blue Devils a 27-20 lead. Moments later, Luke Mergott sealed the championship with his first collegiate interception, touching off a celebration decades in the making.
The victory completes one of the most improbable title runs in modern ACC history and introduces another layer of chaos to the College Football Playoff selection process, which concludes Sunday.
Duke (8-5) reached the championship game through a five-team tiebreaker and avenged a 34-17 loss to Virginia from just three weeks earlier. On Saturday night, the Blue Devils finished the job — and restored a piece of program history last claimed during Steve Spurrier’s final season in Durham. It was the first outright ACC title for Duke since 1962.
Mensah, a transfer from Tulane (which also won its conference this weekend), was named ACC championship game MVP. He threw for 196 yards and two touchdown passes, both to Hasley.
Duke’s kicking game came up big again. A few weeks ago it was a 26-yard fake field goal rush by kicker Todd Pelino that proved pivotal in a win over UNC. The Blue Devils used a fake punt in the second quarter Saturday that eventually led to a go-ahead score. Pelino hit two pivotal field goals, and punter Kade Reynoldson pinned Virginia at its 1 and 4 yard lines with precision kicks in the second half.
While Virginia went 96 yards to close the fourth quarter with the game-tying score, Duke regrouped in extra time. Three power runs by Nate Sheppard put the Blue Devils at the 1. While Virginia stopped two more runs for no gain, and Mensah threw an incompletion, the Duke quarterback stayed alive on a fourth-down rollout in time to allow Hasley to work free in the end zone.
Duke, in Manny Diaz’s second year in charge of the program, improved to 8-5 overall with the win, 7-2 against ACC foes. Virginia, which was seeking its first-ever ACC championship game victory and playoff berth, dropped to 10-3.
So how is that the Blue Devils have almost no shot at making the CFP themselves? It’s complicated.
Only the five highest-ranked conference champions are guaranteed spots in the 12-team field. Newly minted league champs Indiana (Big Ten), Georgia (SEC), Texas Tech (Big XII), Tulane (American) and James Madison (Sun Belt) all came into the weekend ranked ahead of Duke. That isn’t likely to change with Saturday night’s result.
The question now is whether the ACC will get a team into the playoff at all? Virginia has surely been knocked out of contention. Miami is on the bubble, and it appears the committee will have to chose between the Hurricanes, Notre Dame and Alabama for the two remaining at-large spots.
Diaz made his case on national TV after the win that Duke should be considered. Ironically, Diaz was let go as head coach at Miami several years ago after going 7-5. This year that record was good enough to make the ACC title game at Duke.
ACC Champions! 🔵😈🏈 pic.twitter.com/yatYnnhBQk — Duke Report (@DukeReport) December 7, 2025
Stat Leaders
Duke Blue Devils
Darian Mensah: 19-of-25 passing, 196 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Nate Sheppard: 21 carries, 97 yards, 1 TD
Cooper Barkate: 5 catches, 91 yards
Jeremiah Hasley: 3 catches, 19 yards, 2 TDs
Luke Mergott: 9 tackles (team high), game-sealing interception in OT
Caleb Weaver: 4 tackles, interception
Todd Pelino: 8 points (2 FGs, 2 PATs)
Kade Reynoldson: 4 punts, 186 yards, 46.5 yards-per-punt average, 3 inside the 20-yard line.
Virginia Cavaliers
Chandler Morris: 21-of-40 passing, 216 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
Harrison Waylee: 11 carries, 66 yards
J’Mari Taylor: 15 carries, 65 yards; 4 catches, 34 yards, 1 TD
Eli Wood: 3 catches, 30 yards, 1 TD
Will Bettridge: 2-3 FGs, 2-2 PATs for 8 points
LIVE Updates
We kept a live blog during the game. Below were our ongoing updates and observations:
Overtime Updates
- Virginia wins the toss and defers for the first OT. Duke pounds the ball with three straight Nate Sheppard runs to the UVA 1. But the Cavaliers bow up! Two runs net zero yards, and a pass falls incomplete. Fourth and a championship for Duke.
- Touchdown Duke! Darian Mensah rolls out to the right, looks in trouble but finds Jeremiah Hasley in the end zone for a score. Maybe the biggest 1-yard TD pass in modern Duke football history. Todd Pelino hits the PAT, and Virginia gets their shot behind by 7. Duke 27, Virginia 20.
- A roughing-the-passer penalty on Mensah will force Virginia to start its OT series at the 40 instead of the 25. On first down, the Cavaliers try a trick play, and a halfback pass is intercepted by Duke’s Luke Mergott. His first-ever college INT gives Duke the ACC CHAMPIONSHIP! FINAL SCORE: Duke 27, Virginia 20.
4th Quarter Updates
- Turnover on downs, Virginia! Duke pressures QB Chandler Morris on a fourth-and-five pass, and he throws incomplete to the end zone. DaShawn Stone credited with pass breakup. Blue Devils get the ball back at their 24, hoping to burn clock and add to the lead.
- The bad news: Duke can’t turn its first fourth-quarter possession into points. The good news: Kade Reynoldson pins the Cavaliers on their own 1-yard-line with a 47-yard punt. 8:46 left in Charlotte, and the Cavaliers have 99 yards to go to tie it. Duke 17, Virginia 10.
- INTERCEPTION DUKE! Caleb Weaver picks off UVA quarterback Chandler Morris, setting the Blue Devils up in prime real estate, the Virginia 33, with 7:21 to go. Per ESPN, Duke winning percentage now at 93.8 percent. Will a Duke win send the (James Madison) Dukes to the playoff? Prepare for chaos if the Devils hang on.
- Three More for Pelino, Duke. The Blue Devils get to the Virginia 1 but can’t punch it in. Enter Todd Pelino, who boots his third field goal and puts Duke ahead by two possessions with 5:02 left. Duke 20, Virginia 10.
- Don’t paint the ACC trophy Duke blue just yet. Virginia goes 50 yards in eight plays, and gets a 42-yard field goal from Will Bettridge to pull within a touchdown. 3:54 to go. Duke 20, Virginia 13. Let’s see if Nate Sheppard, Darian Mensah and the Blue Devils can run some clock.
- Two minute warning. HUGE third-down pass from Darian Mensah to Cooper Barkate for 15 yards and a first down. Duke near midfield, facing second-and-eight.
- Duke shoots itself in the foot, committing a penalty and running out of the bounds on third down. The Blue Devils have to punt the ball away. The kicking game may be the MVP if Duke wins this. Kade Reynoldson pins Virginia at its own 4 with a 46-yard punt.
- This is going to be a sweat! A 19-yard run from Harrison Waylee puts Virginia at the Duke 33 with 47 seconds left. Two former Coastal Division teams are certainly keeping the Coastal Chaos mantra alive. Still Duke 20, Virginia 13.
- Amazing. Virginia goes 96 yards in 10 plays, and ties the game 20-20 with 22 seconds left. First, the Cavaliers convert on fourth-and-four, with a 9-yard Chandler Morris pass to Elijah Wood. Virginia went quick on the next play, and Morris threaded the ball to Wood again for an 18-yard touchdown. It’s looking like overtime now in Charlotte. Duke 20, Virginia 20.
3rd Quarter Updates
- UVA for Three. Virginia turns to the power run game coming out of halftime. With J’Mari Taylor and Harrison Waylee leading the way, the Cavaliers go 68 yards in 16 plays. But Duke stiffens at the goal-line and UVA has to settle for a Will Bettridge 24-yard field goal. Duke 14, Virginia 10 with 7:19 left in the third.
- Duke Answers With a Three. Blue Devils also move the ball but stall out in the red zone. Todd Pelino, he of the now famous 26-yard fake field goal run against UNC, pushes the Blue Devils lead back to 7 points with a 29-yard FG. Duke 17, Virginia 10.
- End of the third: Virginia facing third-and-9 at the Duke 28. Virginia quarterback Chandler Morris a little gimpy after taking a hard hit late in the quarter. One quarter left! Can Duke do it? Still Duke 17, Virginia 10.
Halftime Stat Pack
Halftime — Duke 14, Virginia 7.
The Blue Devils control possession, lead the yardage battle, and take a one-score advantage into the locker room. Key halftime numbers:
Darian Mensah (Duke): 14-of-17 passing for 107 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Nate Sheppard (Duke): 9 rushes, 33 yards, 1 TD; 5 catches, 31 yards
Anderson Castle (Duke): 7 rushes, 23 yards
Sahmir Hagans (Duke): 35-yard reception to set up 2nd Duke TD
Duke Offense: 63 rushing yards, 107 passing yards, 170 total yards, 10 first downs, 20:29 time of possession
Chandler Morris (Virginia): 9-of-14 passing for 89 yards, 1 TD
Harrison Waylee (Virginia): 5 rushes, 17 yards
J’Mari Taylor (Virginia): 3 catches, 26 yards, 1 TD
Corey Costner (Virginia): Interception, 1 tackle
Virginia Offense: 26 rushing yards, 89 passing yards, 115 total yards, 8 first downs, 9:31 time of possession
2nd Quarter Updates
- Touchdown Virginia: Cavaliers don’t need long to get the equalizing score. Three plays, 23 yards, 11-yard TD pass from Chandler Morris to J’Mari Taylor, a transfer from North Carolina Central. We’re all tied up in Charlotte. Duke 7, Virginia 7. (Taylor has made a great FCS-to-FBS jump this season.
- Gutsy call by Duke! Fake punt from the Blue Devils own 33. Kevin O’Connor gets first down, and drive continues.
- Devils strike again! Duke converts yet another fourth down and short, survives a strip fumble, and Nate Sheppard pinballs his way for a 16-yard touchdown run. Todd Pelino’s second successful PAT puts Duke back in front with 6:14 left before half. Duke 14, Virginia 7.
- Duke’s Kade Reynoldson punts to Virginia with just under two minutes left before intermission (49 yards). UVA takes over from its own 30 with 1:43 to go. Can the Cavaliers, who get the ball to start the second half, get points to draw closer or tie the game?
- Virginia punts it back to Duke, who burns the final 53 seconds of the half. Blue Devils taking a lead into the locker room! 30 minutes to an ACC championship (and possible CFP chaos). Duke 14, Virginia 7.
This kid is ridiculous… pic.twitter.com/osXjQP1NHx — Duke Football (@DukeFOOTBALL) December 7, 2025
1st Quarter Updates
- Interesting move by Virginia not to receive the opening kickoff. Wahoos set the tone with a strong opening drive a few weeks ago, and the Devils never recovered, ultimately falling behind 31-7.
- Duke takes the opening drive and grinds out a near 10-minute drive, paying it off with a 12-yard Darian Mensah-to-Jeremiah Hasley touchdown pass. Duke 7, Virginia 0.
- Mensah was 9-for-10 on the opening series for 56 yards. Great start for the Duke QB.
- Virginia’s first possession ends in a missed 45-yard field goal. Blue Devils catch a break. Virginia kicker Will Bettridge came into the game 20-of-24 on field goals.
- Mensah throws an interception in Duke’s second series, setting Virginia up at the Devils’ 23.
- End of first quarter: Duke 7, Virginia 0.
WHAT. A. START. pic.twitter.com/ffbArA515x — Duke Football (@DukeFOOTBALL) December 7, 2025
What’s at Stake
For Duke
A victory would give the Blue Devils:
- Their first ACC football title since 1989
- A program-record 34 wins over four seasons
- One of the most improbable championship runs in modern ACC history
But it could also unleash College Football Playoff chaos. Because the playoff awards automatic bids to the five highest-ranked conference champions, a Duke win could put the ACC at risk of missing the CFP entirely — a potential national storyline by midnight. American champ Tulane and Sun Belt champ James Madison, which could stand to benefit from a Duke victory, will be watching intently. Or perhaps a Duke win opens the door for Miami to overtake Notre Dame and get into the field.
For Virginia
The Cavaliers look to secure their first ACC crown in the championship game era and strengthen their CFP position after a breakthrough 10-win regular season that no one outside of Charlottesville saw coming.
