Duke football built a 28-17 lead over the undefeated Miami Hurricanes early in the third quarter but couldn’t hang on for the upset.
The Duke Blue Devils could taste it for a moment in the Miami afternoon air.
Head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag], who spent six years in Hard Rock Stadium on the home sideline before getting fired by the Hurricanes in 2021, had vengeance within his fingertips. Despite preaching all week about how he’d made peace with his time as the Miami head coach, a top-5 victory over a team favored to make the College Football Playoff would be a statement no matter the history.
Instead, the Hurricanes exploded in the second half for a 53-31 victory powered by five touchdown passes from quarterback Cam Ward as Duke dropped to 6-3 for the season.
In the first 10 minutes of the game, it felt like it wouldn’t be Duke’s day at all. In fact, that actually might be underselling the disastrous opening drives. Ward, one of the leading contenders for the Heisman Trophy, capped off the first possession with a 34-yard pass that Duke safety Terry Moore somehow deflected directly to star wideout Xavier Restrepo in the back of the end zone.
A few minutes later, Miami punter Dylan Joyce pinned the Blue Devils at their own 5-yard line, and Maalik Murphy tried to get the field position back in one play with a deep shot to Jordan Moore. The Hurricanes didn’t bite, however, and defensive back Mishael Powell ran under the overthrown heave for an easy interception.
Eight plays later, when Ward found tight end Cam McCormick for a 4-yard score, Miami led by 14 points with five minutes left in the first.
Like it’s done so many times, however, the Duke offense scratched and clawed its way back into the game. The Blue Devils covered 83 yards in four plays, highlighted by a toe-tapping grab from Moore down the right sideline for a gain of 27.
Sophomore running back Peyton Jones capped off that drive with an untouched 8-yard rushing touchdown, and he came through on the following possession with a 40-yard over-the-shoulder catch to march Duke right back into Miami territory.
That splash play set up a 27-yard Sahmir Hagans touchdown on a whip route. After holding the Hurricanes to a field goal, Murphy found Jones in the flat for a 6-yard receiving touchdown, and Duke led 21-17 with less than two minutes before the half.
The sophomore finished the game with 132 yards from scrimmage (71 rushing and 61 receiving) on just 15 touches.
Murphy threw his third touchdown of the day to start the third quarter, finding Moore on a beautiful fourth-and-1 play design from offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer. The 6-yard score gave the Blue Devils a 28-17 lead, but the Hurricanes showed why they remain College Football Playoff contenders over the next few minutes.
Ward marched his team 69 yards in seven plays for a touchdown, finding Restrepo for another score before barreling forward himself on the 2-point conversion to make it a 28-25 ballgame.
Murphy made a critical mistake on the next possession, overthrowing Moore again on another deep shot for his second interception to set the Hurricanes up with ideal field position. Seven plays later, Miami true freshman Elija Lofton pushed into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown.
Ward and Jacolby George threw a haymaker in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. Two plays after Duke kicked a field goal to make it a 32-31 game, George raced behind the Blue Devils defense and Ward hit him in stride for a 49-yard score. The dagger completed a 9:20 stretch in which the Hurricanes outscored Duke 21-3 to take complete command of the game.
Two late touchdowns over the final eight minutes ballooned the final margin, erasing any evidence that Duke once controlled the game.
The Blue Devils travel to NC State next week for a road game against the Wolfpack, who improved to 5-4 with a big victory over Stanford on Saturday.
