5 observations and more from Duke football’s first half against No. 5 Miami

On By Littum

Facing a ranked opponent for the second straight week, the Blue Devils traveled down to Coral Gables, Fla., 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 time at Hard Rock Stadium since being fired in Miami in 2021. Diaz didn’t emphasize that story 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 that his teams wore every time they got a takeaway. On Saturday, it was Mishael Powell who would have carried the chain when he caught 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 downfield. However, Powell crossed the field to retrieve the ball out of the air and give his offense a strong starting field position. Eight plays later, senior tight end Cam McCormick caught a touchdown to make it a 14-point advantage.

Airstrikes: 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 scrambled out of the pocket as it collapsed and found Restrepo streaking toward the corner of the end zone. Jaylen Stinson had dropped into coverage and a leaping tip from Terry Moore failed to break up the pass, resulting in the game’s first score. Duke’s defense picked up from there, though, and by the end of the half, Ward had just 138 yards on a 50% completion percentage.

Pace: After failing to move the ball 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 slant to Sahmir Hagans, who broke a tackle and raced for 21 yards. Duke ran to the new line of scrimmage, and Peyton Jones quickly ripped off a 27-yard run up the middle. Back in speed mode, Murphy threw up another jump ball for Moore, who got a toe down in bounds to set up the Blue Devils at the 8-yard line. Another handoff to Jones was all it took for Duke to get into the end zone and end a statement drive.

Settles down: The Hurricanes quickly jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead and appeared to be in control of every phase of the game. Murphy was able to get the chains going when two of his three attempts missed on the opening drive for a three-and-out. His interception on the following drive further hampered his early confidence, but the Duke quarterback turned things around to bring his team back into things. After Murphy connected on a few short completions, his downward throws seemed much more accurate.

Key Penalties: On the Blue Devils’ final drive of the first half, a series of penalties against Miami made moving the ball a piece of cake. Of Duke’s 75 yards, 45 came from penalties against the Hurricanes. After a pass interference call put the Blue Devils in field-goal range, Murphy converted on another third down by connecting with Hagans. Diaz and offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer used the two-minute timeout to draw up their preferred play for the red-zone situation, resulting in a beautiful touchdown pass to Jones. Murphy caught the snap and turned to his left before rolling out to his right to find his wide open running back. The score gave Duke its first lead of the afternoon at 21-17. Another defensive stand kept Miami from retaking the lead before the break.

By the numbers

First down: The Hurricanes offense hit the ground running full steam, totaling nine first downs before the Blue Devils managed another. Most of this was a result of Ward’s accuracy and elusiveness, who made repeated plays in and out of the pocket. Duke’s normally stingy defense appeared porous, allowing six plays of more than 15 yards in the first quarter. On the other side of things, the Blue Devils once again struggled to find early consistency on offense. Outside of the one-minute touchdown drive, Duke had just one first down in the first quarter — and came on a pass interference call. However, the Blue Devils turned things around to start the second as Murphy immediately converted on a third down and marched down the field for another touchdown drive.

Total games: Despite the relatively even scoreboard, Duke ran significantly fewer plays than Miami, 30 to the Hurricanes’ 42. Miami’s drives were usually methodical as Ward picked apart the defense one play at a time to march down the field. On the other hand, the Blue Devils’ offense was either boom or bust. They found success on a pair of chunk plays – two of their three touchdown drives combined in just 12 plays – but two three-and-outs and a one-play drive ending in an interception skewed things. Heading into the locker room leading by four, Duke trailed by about 10 minutes in time of possession.

Tackles for loss: Despite Miami’s offensive success, the Blue Devils continued to rack up tackles in the backfield. Ward managed to wiggle out of most of the sacks, but Duke was still five tackles for loss in the first half. Additionally, the pressure in the backfield forced a number of incompletions from Ward, which helped dampen the Hurricanes’ early momentum. The key tackle for loss came from Wesley Williams, who finally caught Ward behind the line on a third-and-goal opportunity. Williams’ layoff ensured Miami ended the game with three points instead of seven.

A play that mattered

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 the offense up in Miami territory, Murphy faced a crucial third down. Just as he did on third down to start the drive, he found Hagans crossing the field toward the left sideline. A key block by wideout Eli Pancol helped clear Hagans’ path, and Murphy’s throw allowed him to keep his momentum moving forward. As the game progressed, Hagans saw plenty of green in front of him and ran untouched into the dirt for the score.

Dom Fenoglio
| Sports managing editor

Dom Fenoglio is a Trinity junior and a sports manager in The Chronicles 120th volume.