Facing a ranked opponent for the second straight week, the Blue Devils traveled to Coral Gables, Florida, to take on No. 5 Miami. After the first 30 minutes of play, Duke leads the home team 21-17:

Five observations

Homecoming: Saturday marked Duke head coach Manny Diaz’s first appearance at Hard Rock Stadium since he was fired in Miami in 2021. Diaz didn’t emphasize this storyline in the week leading up to the game, but the crowd was certainly hostile toward the Blue Devils. During his time with the Hurricanes, Diaz popularized the turnover chain, which his team wore every time they got takeout. On Saturday, it was Mishael Powell who would have worn the chain, when he encountered an errant pass from redshirt sophomore Maalik Murphy midway through the first quarter. Murphy, throwing from his own end zone, tried to find senior wideout Jordan Moore on a go route down the field. However, Powell crossed the field to pluck the ball out of the air and give his attack a strong starting position. Eight plays later, senior tight end Cam McCormick ran in a touchdown for a 14-point lead.

Air Raid: On Miami’s first offensive drive of the game, it was all Cam Ward. The senior quarterback attempted five passes, including a 34-yard touchdown strike to Xavier Restrepo. On that play, Ward was scrambling out of the pocket as it collapsed and found Restrepo shooting toward the corner of the end zone. Jaylen Stinson had dropped into coverage and a jumping tip from Terry Moore failed to break up the pass, resulting in the first score of the game. However, Duke’s defense moved on and by the end of the half, Ward had only totaled 138 yards with a 50% completion rate.

Pace: After failing to move the ball at all on their first four drives of the game, the Blue Devils picked up their first touchdown of the game in less than a minute. It started with a pass to Sahmir Hagans, who broke a tackle and ran for 21 yards. Duke ran to the new line of scrimmage, and Peyton Jones made a quick 27-yard run up the middle. Once again in rush mode, Murphy threw another jump ball to Moore, who got a toe-down to put the Blue Devils at the 8-yard line. One more handoff to Jones was all Duke needed to get into the end zone and break up a statement drive.

Settling down: The Hurricanes jumped out to an early 14-0 lead and seemed to be in control of every phase of the game. Murphy was able to get the chains moving as two of his three attempts missed on the opening drive for a three-and-out. His interception on the next drive further hampered his early confidence, but the Duke quarterback turned things around and got his team back on its feet. After Murphy made a few short completions, his downfield throws seemed much more accurate.

Main penalties: On the Blue Devils’ final drive of the first half, a series of penalties against Miami made moving the ball a breeze. Of Duke’s 75 yards, 45 came on penalties against the Hurricanes. After a pass interference call put the Blue Devils within field goal range, Murphy set up another third down by connecting with Hagans. Diaz and offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer used the two-minute timeout to set up their favorite play for the red zone situation, which resulted in a nice touchdown pass to Jones. Murphy took the hit and turned to his left before rolling to his right and seeing his wide-open running back. The score gave Duke its first lead of the afternoon, 21-17. A new defensive position prevented Miami from regaining the lead before halftime.

By the numbers

After running the ball in for their first score, the Blue Devils took to the air to tie the game early in the second quarter. After Jones’ big catch set up the attack in Miami territory, Murphy faced a crucial third down. Just as he did on third down to start the drive, he saw Hagans cross the field toward the left sideline. A key block from wideout Eli Pancol helped clear Hagans’ path, and Murphy’s throw kept his momentum moving forward. As the game progressed, Hagans saw a lot of green in front of him, untouched in the paydirt for the score.