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DURHAM -- Thaddeus Lewis couldn't believe his fortune. Eron Riley had lined up to the left and was being ignored like the nominee of the Green Party.

Duke's quarterback was so excited that yelling for center Bryan Morgan's snap was almost the hardest part of the day's biggest play.

"I was tongue-tied," Lewis admitted.

The resulting screen pass and 30-yard touchdown offered the latest indication that dismissing the Blue Devils now carries consequences.

David Cutcliffe's Devils are writing a compelling screenplay, and on Saturday, their 31-3 whipping of Virginia ended a 25-game ACC losing streak with considerable punctuation. Question marks are now mingled with exclamation points and joyful emoticons.

"The streak being over is great," senior noseguard Clifford Respress said. "What's even better is that a streak has started."

These guys won't get cocky. When Jabari Marshall finished a 42-yard interception return by diving needlessly into the end zone to make it 24-3, Cutcliffe yanked him for the rest of the afternoon.

"The great part of this victory is that we have so much to learn from it," the coach said. "When you can win 31-3 and have a lot to learn from it, it beats the heck out of getting beat. Real positive day for our team."

The Devils led 10-3 in the third quarter when they took their no-huddle offense to the Virginia 30. Riley had been briefly left uncovered earlier in the game, but the play netted little. The second chance, Cutcliffe said, may have been helped by the new timing rules of the college game in place this season.

"In the old method of a 25-second clock, the official's job was to hold everything for 12 to 14 seconds and let everything get re-established. By that time, the defense had their signal. Now, they give it a little, but we're back at the line of scrimmage (quicker.)"

In this instance, Cavalier cornerback Vic Hall meandered into Riley's area, but his attention was divided. He was too busy looking at the sideline for the defensive call to complete his task.

"They were out of position, basically, the whole game," Lewis said. "We finally focused, saw the whole field and took advantage of it."

Hall chased Riley in vain. The Blue Devil got to the corner of the end zone and put this one out of reach.

The Duke defense, which had kept the team in the game with a pair of first-half stands, oppressed the Cavs after a slow start. In a stretch that spanned halftime, 11 consecutive Cavalier plays failed to gain yardage. The Devils came up with five second-half turnovers.

"When that's happening, so much energy is building inside you," Respress said. "As a defense, you feel all your teammates swarming with you."

The Devils are 3-1 or better for the first time since 1994, when Fred Goldsmith was coaching and the Internet was in 10 percent of American homes. Since that time, Goldsmith and two of his successors have overseen four winless seasons.

Buoyed by a rigorous offseason conditioning program, Cutcliffe's first team has outscored its foes 76-14 in the second half.

"There's a collective confidence throughout the team," senior linebacker Michael Tauiliili said. "We trust our coaches are going to make the right calls, and they trust we're going to make the right plays."

Contact Rob Daniels at 373-7028 or rob.daniels@news-record.com

Virginia 3 0 0 0 -- 3

Duke 0 3 14 14 -- 31

UVa--FG Reyering 33

Duke--FG Maggio 20

Duke--Hollingsworth 10 pass from Lewis (Maggio kick)

Duke--Riley 30 pass from Lewis (Maggio kick)

Duke--Marshall 42 interception return (Maggio kick)

Duke--T.Robinson 1 run (Maggio kick)

A--25,527.

Virginia Duke

First downs 17 16

Rushes-yards 33-110 37-84

Passing 194 174

Comp-Att-Int 19-42-4 19-33-2

Return Yards 13 71

Punts-Avg. 6-38.2 8-43.6

Fumbles-Lost 2-2 0-0

Penalties-Yards 6-41 3-35

Time of Possession 28:58 31:02

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Virginia, Jackson 8-43, Payne 5-36, Simpson 13-31, Green 1-2, Verica 6-(minus 2). Duke, Hollingsworth 15-59, Harris 9-28, Jackson 4-12, T.Robinson 1-1, Z.Asack 1-(minus 1), K.Jones 1-(minus 3), Lewis 6-(minus 12).

PASSING--Virginia, Verica 19-42-4-194. Duke, Lewis 18-32-2-160, Z.Asack 1-1-0-14.

RECEIVING--Virginia, J.Phillips 5-59, Ogletree 3-36, Burd 3-31, Green 2-17, Simpson 2-13, Inman 1-16, Jackson 1-11, Koch 1-10, Payne 1-1. Duke, Kelly 4-34, Riley 3-36, T.Robinson 3-17, Bell 2-18, Hollingsworth 2-8, J.Williams 1-16, Huffman 1-14, Parker 1-14, Chestnut 1-9, Harris 1-8.