The Duke Blue Devils and Manny Diaz head to Miami with purpose, and one purpose only; Upsetting #5 ranked Miami, in a return for Head Coach Manny Diaz. Diaz who led the helm at Miami from 2019-2021 looks to pull off the inevitable at his former school in the Hurricanes.
Miami who is 8-0, 4-0 within conference looks to keep it’s unblemished record, ACC Championship, and Playoff hopes alive facing a feisty Duke Blue Devils team who endured heart break at home last weekend against #22 ranked SMU, losing 27-28 in Overtime.
In order to prevail at Hard Rock Stadium Duke will have need a performance on offense for the ages. The Blue Devils defense has forced 19 turnovers thus far in the season, ranking 2nd in all of college football, and rank towards the top of the country in tackles for a loss , 8.9, despite not recording a single tackle for loss last Saturday versus SMU.
The Key for the Blue Devils which hurt them versus the Mustangs was getting off the field on 3rd down, allowing long extending drives versus a versatile quarterback, which has hurt them in both losses. They face arguably the best dual threat quarterback within the ACC in Cam Ward on Saturday whose accounted for 2,746 yards through the air, with a touchdown to interception ratio of 24:5. It’s a reason he has a great chance of winning ACC player of the year, and potentially a trip to New York for the Heisman presentation.
Battle in the Secondary
The Hurricanes feature one of the most efficient and dangerous offenses in the country averaging nearly 47 points per game (46.8), and come into Saturdays showdown as a -20.5 point favorite.
Expect Hurricanes star slot receiver Xavier Restrepo to be shadowed often by All-American Chandler Rivers who has been known to contain star wideouts and shade the secondary causing opposing QB’s to go ball opposite. Jaylen Stinson, and Josh Pickett will be asked to fill a void against Hurricanes fellow wide outs Isaiah Horton, Sam Brown and Jacolby George who combine for over 1200 yards receiving. The Blue Devils allow just 166 yards a game through the air which ranks 8th in the country. Cam Ward averages nearly 10 yards per completion. This battle will be worth watching on the perimeter.
If Duke can contain the ground game and dual threat QB Cam Ward, they’ll have a chance to make it competitive, but it all starts with sustaining drives on offense, which has had struggles starting fast. Maalik Murphy will have to find Eli Pancol, and Que Brown early and often. Star Thomas and Jordan Moore, if healthy could make this a shootout at hard Rock with their game changing capabilities with just one touch of the rock.
How to Watch
TV: ESPN/ABC
When: 12:00 PM
Records: Miami 8-0, Duke 6-2
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