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The Good, The Bad, The Ugly: Duke Edition

What went right, what went wrong, and everything in between Vs the Blue Devils. Plus team grades.

By Jerry Steinberg
Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Let's face it, this wasn't a Picasso.

But Miami pretty much controlled things from the get go, and pummeled a pretty decent Duke team from start to finish.

They let the Devils hang around, but were easily the best team on the field.

This was a very, very spirited effort.

Of course this is no time to rest on their laurels as they travel to Atlanta next week to take on undefeated Georgia Tech.

Let's break it all down:

The Good:

  • I know we all get sick of the attendance (lack thereof) theme (44,509 is the reported paid attendance). Kudos the the hardcore fans who showed up (early or late).

  • Ladarius Gunter's coverage on his fourth quarter interception was textbook coverage and a brilliant catch on the sidelines.
  • Speaking of defense,  UM's much maligned unit showed up and dominated.  Was Nebraska's O underrated?  Was Duke's O overrated coming in?  Both, maybe? The tackling for the most part was soooooooo much better than last week.
  • Freshman Brad Kaaya to freshman Joe Yearby for 46 and a the clutch TD.  Great protection, great read, great toss and catch.
  • UM's offensive line mauled the Duke defensive front all night.

The Bad:

  • Why not run the ball until they can stop it???

  • Rough night all around for Stacy Coley, especially a drop in the first half on what coulda/shoulda/woulda been a TD.

  • Get well soon big fella......(ditto Taylor Gadbois who was shaken up in the 4th quarter)   Miami is suddenly very short at RT.

  • Gus Edwards late fumble.... Can't have that big fella.

The Ugly:

  • Just a strange strange game,  this summed it up best:

  • Blocked extra point,  ugh... could have been costly.
  • Refs calling a penalty on Denzel Perryman for doing push ups after a missed INT??  Over officious and silly!

Team Grades:

Offense:

They really should have put more points on the board (unofficially 421 net yards, just 22 points). Joe Yearby (8-59 rushing, 4 catches 61 yards, 1 TD receiving) was a real weapon.  Duke Johnson sliced and diced an over-matched Duke defensive front (24-144-1).  Kaaya's two TD tosses were beautiful.

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Defense:

Perryman looked like a completely different player from last week.  The Devils did help the 'Cane D out with a couple of bad snaps, but for the most part it was all UM when Duke had the ball.  Ufomba Kamalu, Anothony Chickillo, and Tyriq McCord all had very nice games. Duke QB Anthony Boone was harassed all night.

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Special Teams:

Justin Vogel had a great night,  the rest was so-so.

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Coaching:

ESPN reported multiple times during the broadcast that Al Golden and staff made the defense watch EVERY single missed tackle from last week. The motivational ploy seemed to work. Mark D'Onofio brought more pressure, finally.   Duke Head Coach David Cutcliffe is one of the best minds in the ACC, but he couldn't find a way to overcome the very apparent talent advantage of the 'Canes. James Coley got a little too cute with the play calling, but it didn't matter.  There were a lot of whispers leading up this game that seat of the staff as a whole was going to get very warm with a loss.  They put all that aside and got a very important W.  Hopefully this is the kind of win that turns the corner for the staff and the program.

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