Miami Hurricanes Matchup Preview: Duke Blue Devils

Miami will wrap up the regular season on the road this week vs the Duke Blue Devils. The Canes are still reeling after a horrible 30-24 loss to FIU just one week ago. Miami will need to play with the same resolve that they showed after another bad loss to Georgia Tech earlier this season. Duke has one great win vs Virginia Tech earlier in the year, but the Blue Devils have struggled mightily this season and sit at just 4-7.

Can the Offense Rebound?

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Miami was brutal on offense against FIU, but has shown potential to be more explosive than they were last week. Duke is not very good defensively after giving up 39, 49, 38, 20, and 48 in 5 consecutive losses. There has been a lot written about the need for the Canes to open up the offense and go to a more uptempo spread system, and if Dan Enos is smart he will start that transformation this week. Duke can get after the QB as they have 26 sacks as a team, and are led by Victor Dimukeje, who has 8.5 on the season. Miami will need Zion Nelson and DJ Scaife to keep Dimukeje from wrecking their offensive game plan. If they can protect, Jarren Williams should have time to bounce back from a poor performance vs FIU. There is no reason to think that Miami can’t score 30 plus points.

Stop The Dual Threat

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Quentin Harris isn’t Daniel Jones, but he does pose a threat with his arm and legs. Harris has thrown for 1922 yards and 15 TDs taking over for the 1st round pick, but may be more dangerous on the ground, adding 461 yards and 6 TDs. Miami must contain him and make him throw much like they did Bryce Perkins of Virginia. Deon Jackson had a huge TD run vs Miami a year ago, so the Canes must find a way to make the Blue Devils ineffective on the ground. The Canes allowed FIU to dictate tempo, and pick up way too many 3rd down conversions, so if they can limit Duke on the ground then Miami should be in a good spot.

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So much bad has been written about the Canes this week, so I wonder how the team will respond to all of the negative publicity. Miami isn’t playing for anything more than a better bowl matchup and to try and erase the awful optics of last week’s loss. Duke hasn’t played a good game in almost 2 months, but the Canes can’t take anyone lightly. It would be nice to see Miami with some pride and intensity and wrap up the regular season on a high note.