Miami loses to Duke 45-21

The Miami Hurricanes fell to the Duke Blue Devils, 45-21, on Saturday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL.

Miami started the game strong, with safety James Williams forcing and recovering a fumble on Duke’s second offensive play of the game. The Hurricanes turned the sudden change into points, when quarterback Tyler Van Dyke found wide receiver Colby Young in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown pass.

Meanwhile, Duke couldn’t get much going on offense, punting on their next two first quarter possessions. They caught a break when Miami running back Jaylon Knighton fumbled, giving the Blue Devils the ball at the Miami 23-yard line. Duke capitalized with 9-yard TD run by quarterback Riley Leonard, tying the game, 7-7.

The Hurricanes fumbled the ensuing kickoff, giving Duke great field position again. Leonard then rushed for his second touchdown of the game, this time from 5 yards out.

Miami committed their third fumble of the game on their next possession, when Tyler Van Dyke was sacked by Duke linebacker Cam Dillon. The Miami QB hurt his right shoulder on the play and was replaced by backup Jake Garcia. The Blue Devils cashed in again, going up 17-7 on a 28-yard field goal by Todd Pelino.

Duke maintained the 17-7 lead at halftime after a Jake Garcia interception on a forced throw late in the second quarter.

The Canes started the second half strong, with a 71-yard scoring strike from Garcia to Colbie Young; his second touchdown of the day. Miami kept the momentum going on defense, with cornerback DJ Ivey forcing and recovering a fumble by Duke’s wide receiver Eli Pancol.

The Canes did not waste their opportunity, scoring on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Garcia to tight end Will Mallory, putting Miami up 21-17 early in the third quarter.

Duke responded with a long touchdown drive of just under 10 minutes. Leonard threw a 2-yard shovel pass to tight end Nicky Dalmolin regaining the lead, 24-21.

After a Garcia missed throw on fourth down in Duke territory, the Blue Devils marched down the field and scored on an 11-yard Riley Leonard run, his third of the day.

Duke kept up their momentum on defense, sacking Miami’s Garcia while forcing and recovering a fumble on their 25-yard line.

The Blue Devils didn’t let their opportunity go to waste, as they took a 38-21 lead on running back Jordan Waters’ 2-yard run.

To cap off the performance, Garcia threw a pick-six on their next offensive play. Duke’s Brandon Johnson took it back 29 yards, putting the Blue Devils up for good, 45-21.

Miami made it an even eight turnovers on the day after yet another fumble, this time by Garcia as he was trying to throw the ball. The backup QB was responsible for five turnovers himself.

The 24-point win by Duke was their largest margin of victory in the series.

Next up: Miami travels to Charlottesville to face Virginia next Saturday, 10/29 at 12:30 EST. Duke has an off week before traveling to Chestnut Hill to take on Boston College on 11/4 at 7:00 EST.