In the penultimate home game of the season for the Miami Hurricanes, tonight’s game was about getting back on the road. Battling the Duke Blue Devils this evening, UM was not only trying to quash their current two-game losing streak in conference games, but the team was really trying to win over a fanbase fed up with what they’ve witnessed within the last month. Whether tonight’s 20-12 loss to Duke does anything but ramp up the scepticism surrounding the program, will only continue to play itself out in the coming days.

The Hurricanes lost once again in less than impressive fashion. So we’re left with trying to find some positive out of the negative. To be blunt, there’s not too many players who warrant praise this evening, as the Hurricanes’ losing streak extends itself to three games. It has become difficult to mine any semblance of the positive from the team lately. Be sure to check Cam’s breakdown for The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, where no punches will be pulled. Perhaps we should focus on three star films that would have been better than watching tonight’s debauchery. However, we soldier on. Here are your stars for this evening.

Third Star

Travis Homer

Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images

The junior tailback wasn’t able to break for big yardage a week ago. Tonight, he made up for that by rushing for 7.4 yards-per-carry on his way to 134 rushing yards in the game. Homer’s six-yard touchdown scamper helped extend Miami’s lead in the second quarter. Miami gained 235 rushing yards in the first half, with Homer contributing 83 yards to the cause. A big 19-yard carry late helped to give Miami a chance to tie the game late in the fourth quarter.

Second Star

Shaq Quarterman

Shaq Quarterman continues to be a beast, pumping blood to rest of the defense from his middle linebacker spot. A timely deflection by the junior linebacker led to a Jaquan Johnson interception. Quarterman was able to get hit miss on a pair of other passes late in the game as Miami’s defensive leader harassed the Duke offense all night. Showing that he’s more than just a downhill linebacker, Quarterman finished the game with a pass breakups to go along with 11 tackles.

First Star

Gerald Willis III

The Blue Devils dared to block Willis with a single human being. For that they paid dearly, as G surged up the middle of UM’s defense to collapse the pocket, applying pressure directly in the face of the Duke QB Daniel Jones. The UM defensive tackle’s final stat line reads six tackles, two tackles-for-loss and a sack, serving as a reminder that Mr. Willis remains a force of nature along the defensive line.

Honorable Mentions

The Hurricanes’ rushing game has endured its struggles in recent weeks, yet sophomore RB DeeJay Dallas found a sliver of light. He picked up some healthy yardage tonight. Dallas’ 83-yard touchdown gallop was the longest run of his promising career. Dallas sparked the Hurricanes’ running game, accounting for 124 of the team’s 300 rushing yards on the day. Unfortunately, Dallas’ two lost fumbles are going to haunt him in a game that could’ve — and should’ve, been much better.

It took nine games into the 2018 season, but senior safety Jaquan Johnson finally secured his first interception of the year. Johnson finished the game with seven tackles and a tackle for loss to close out the night.

Michael Pinckney was all over the field for the Canes tonight. Finishing with five tackles, one PBU and helped limit Duke QB Daniel Jones to just 31 rushing yards.

Both UM defensive ends, Joe Jackson and Jonathan Garvin, combined for 10 tackles.

IT’S ALWAYS ABOUT THE U!